Brewed-in-pub beer set to delight Delhi boozers

Move will increase revenue of excise department

Bars and restaurants in shopping malls and five-star hotels in the capital may soon be brewing beer for their patrons at micro units on their premises if an ambitious plan of the Delhi government goes through. 

Quite like the use of micro brewery plants in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune, Delhi’s excise department is upbeat about allowing similar units in the capital – a move aimed at increasing the department’s revenue.

According to a senior official in the capital, the excise department has sent the proposal to the finance department for reviving a proposal which had got the Delhi cabinet’s approval around two years ago.

“We are now trying to revive the proposal which would generate revenue,” said the official.

Setting up a micro beer plant requires a space of around 4,000 sq foot area and it costs around Rs 10 crore.

“We have got some inquiries from Delhi hotels and pubs which have cited the example of similar units in Gurgaon,” said an official.

Officials of the finance department said the entire process of seeking approvals for the project may be followed all over again.

“After the Delhi cabinet’s approval earlier, the file was sent to the Central government’s urban development ministry. At that time, the  government the the centre allowed setting up of a micro brewery only at the Delhi airport,” said an official.

Official nod awaited

Now that fresh inquiries are coming to the excise department from entreprenuers, the officials are seeking a nod from the Delhi government to revive the proposal for hotels and malls.  “A letter will again have to be written to the Union government,” said the finance department official.

Hotel entrepreneurs and leisure industry experts believe beer consumption in the country is much less as compared to other countries. 

“The micro breweries help prepare customised or flavoured beer for our patrons virtually in front of him or her,” said a pub owner from Gurgoan.

Gurgaon, a Haryana town bordering Delhi and home to  offices of multinational compnaies and upscale residential areas, already has eight micro breweries doing roaring business, he said.