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Indian Beer

Bira 91 and New Belgium Launch a Global Collab Beer – “Chutney Sour” – Inspired by Indian Flavors

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FORT COLLINS, Colo./NEW DELHI, India— Bira 91 – India’s leading craft beer company, and one of the fastest growing beer brands globally, and New Belgium Brewing – one of the largest craft brewers in the United States, today announced the release of “Chutney Sour”, a collab beer that brings together vibrant flavors of Indian street food and the legendary craft brewing heritage of Colorado.

Brewed with Tamarind – a puckering sour fruit used in Indian chutneys and curries – the beer is based on the classic Dubbel, a Belgian-style ale perfected by the New Belgium Brewery.

The beer was simultaneously released in the companies’ respective taprooms – Bengaluru & Delhi-NCR, in India for Bira 91, and Fort Collins, Colorado for New Belgium Brewery. The release was timed to coincide with the Indian Spring festival of Holi – a joyful celebration of color, flavors and renewal.

Holi has crossed over into the mainstream and several cities across the world have a variety of celebrations including music festivals, outdoor block parties, color runs and culinary events.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ankur Jain, Founder and CEO, Bira 91, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with New Belgium Brewing. Colorado is at the center of beer innovation in the world, and New Belgium is the most well-respected beer company in the United States. Our Limited Release beers are brewed with a two-word MO for our brewers – Go Crazy! Right from the word Go, our respective brewers started jamming and vibing, and came up with this crazy, but in hindsight, such an obvious idea – making a Belgian Sour Ale with Tamarind –a “Chutney Sour”. The result is a brilliant surprise, and I am sure consumers who get their hands on this Limited Release will love it!”

“India is known for its exciting culinary flavors, and we’re excited to partner with Bira 91 on a beer that brings these flavors to life for our Fort Collins craft enthusiasts,” said New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie. “Collaborations like this allow us to play with new and unexpected flavor combinations and invest in our best-in-class beer innovation.”

The beers will be brewed only once and will be sold in the taprooms till stocks last.

Bira 91 x New Belgium Chutney Sour

Tasting Notes: Our chutney-inspired beer is an intense flavor bomb, blended from two parts – a rich, malty and spicy Belgian Ale, with the addition of tamarind, giving this beer a tangy-sour flavor. The aroma is filled with notes of toast, fig, raisin, and dark fruit, complemented by a pleasant tartness from the tamarind.
Style: Belgian Ale brewed with Tamarind
Ingredients: Specialty Malts, Tamarind, Saaz Hops, Belgian Yeast
Color: Copper Amber
ABV: 7%

About B9 Beverages

A refreshingly modern beer brand, imagined in India, Bira 91 aspires to bring flavorful beers to the new world. As one of the fastest-growing brands in the world, Bira 91 has built a diverse portfolio of award-winning beers, one for every occasion, and aims to drive a global shift in beer towards more color and flavor. Bira 91 is now enjoyed in over 1000 towns and cities spread across 25 countries and brews its beers across six manufacturing units in India. In 2023, B9 Beverages entered the Beyond Beer category and launched Hill Station Ciders – its portfolio of alcoholic ciders and Grizly Seltzers – its line of hard seltzers inspired by cocktails. Bira 91 operates four taprooms in Bengaluru and Delhi NCR, where it releases one new experimental beer every week, paired with its curry-shop menu. It has also recently acquired The Beer Café, India’s leading Alco-Beverage chain to strengthen its play in pubs and taprooms and build India’s first large-scale direct-to-consumer platform focused on beer and innovation. Bira 91 also offers branded merchandise across categories such as glassware, barware, apparel, and gifts, to make every day a lot more playful.

Established in 2015, Bira 91 is driven by a dynamic team of over 1600 passionate beer lovers and is backed by leading investors from across the world – including Japan’s leading beer company, Kirin Holdings, Japan’s largest bank, MUFG Bank, Tiger Pacific Capital from New York, Sofina of Belgium, and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India).

About New Belgium

New Belgium Brewing was founded in 1991 in Fort Collins, Colo., by Kim Jordan, a social worker, who built her company the only way a social worker would: People first. Over the past three decades, New Belgium has turned that ethos into a unique Human-Powered Business model through practices that were and still are rare in the business world: fully paid healthcare premiums for coworkers who need the support, living wage compensation, open-book management, renewable energy sourcing, a free onsite medical clinic and physician, a deep commitment to philanthropy and advocacy, and much more.

New Belgium expanded to Asheville, N.C., in 2016 and Daleville, Va.,in 2023, and in 2021 acquired Bell’s Brewery, based in Kalamazoo, Mich. The business’ people-centric model has led New Belgium to become the most popular and fastest-growing American craft brewer today. New Belgium is famous for Fat Tire Ale and Voodoo Ranger IPA (America’s #1 IPA brand), along with year-round favorites like Dominga Mimosa Sour, La Folie Sour Brown Ale, an award-winning wood-aged sour program, and the addition of Bell’s iconic brands including Two Hearted IPA and Oberon Ale.

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Rupee Beer Now Available Online in 45 States

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BOSTON, Massachusetts— Named Best Beer for World Food, Rupee is an Indian inspired-brand crafted by a world-renowned master beer brewer & Indian chef.

Rupee focuses on the way their beers are brewed, and how consumers of the beer feel when pairing beer and global flavors. Rupee’s award-winning recipes have been featured in numerous global media outlets, and are available at select chains such as Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Total Wine, Wegmans and numerous Indian and international restaurants.

With a retail presence in 14 sates across the east coast already established, Rupee is excited to announce all three of their award winning beers are now available for direct to consumer delivery across 45 states.

You can now get Rupee directly delivered to your door across 45 states including: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MT, ME, MO, MI, NE, NC, ND, NH, NM, NY, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA (not all zip codes eligible)

“We are excited to now provide an even larger footprint of how consumers experience Rupee across more states with our new DTC site via our website” -Van & Sumit Sharma

About Rupee Beer

Brothers Van & Sumit Sharma, sons of Indian restaurateurs in the business internationally for over 50 years, found themselves continually frustrated they could not find any Indian beer in Maine – the least diverse state in America where their family immigrated to from the United Kingdom & Germany in the early 90’s.

They decided to not only create their own beer, but set out to game change the food & beverage industry in a bold and diverse way. The Sharma brothers strategically partnered with global craft brewing legend Alan Pugsley, 40+ year master beer brewer, lover of Indian food as a British expat, and creator of over 100+ global beer brands, to create Rupee Beer and re-write everything society understands about craft beer as it relates to spicy world cuisine.

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Rupee Beer Premiers New India Pale Ale Ahead of India’s Largest Holiday

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BOSTON, Massachusetts— Putting the ‘I’ back into IPA, Rupee Beer premiers its highly anticipated new India Pale Ale ahead of India’s largest holiday.

There is a common misconception about India Pale Ales better known as an IPAs. Perhaps because ‘India’ is in the name. Surprisingly the IPA wasn’t invented in India, but rather England. With an explosion of IPAs across the craft beer community, why do IPAs mention India, when in reality the bulk of beers consumed in India are more American style pale lagers?

The IPAs of today trace their origin to 19th century British India. Known as the British Raj, the British ruled India for almost 90 years starting in 1858 when the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown of Queen Victoria. During this colonial era in history, English ales were sent to India for the British Indian army and the British citizens living in India to enjoy. During the long six-month voyage by sea, beer would often spoil, thus the the addition of extra hops was added acting as a natural preservative.

With almost every craft brewery these days having a flagship IPA, this style of beer took off with immense popularity across America the last decade. IPAs are hugely flavorful and tend to have higher ABV which may add to their allure. From a juicy New England IPA to bitter west coast IPAs, there is a range of aromas, tasting notes and endless versatility with this style of beer.

As a result of the deep impacts the British Empire had around the world, its time in India surely made crossroads in the world of beer today. As a result of the long voyages to India, the taste of its beers became more hoppy & bitter, much like the popular IPAs of today.

Rupee’s world-renowned master beer brewer from England, cited as one of the most influential players in craft beer having launched over 100+ global beer brands has crafted a British-Indian style IPA with a subtle hop character & smooth finish. Rupee is putting the India back into India Pale Ale with its new IPA Diwali release.

About Rupee Beer

Named Best Beer for World Food and featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed, The Boston Globe and numerous other global publications, Rupee is on a mission to create easy to drink beers which dismantle the traditional beer drinking experience. Rupee focuses on the way their beers are brewed, and how consumers of the beer feel when pairing beer and global flavors. Rupee’s award winning recipe is brewed with rice, maize, malted barley, and three types of unique hops allowing it to feel super smooth, light and have lower levels of gas and fizz.

Fifth generation entrepreneurs and sons of Indian restaurateurs, Van & Sumit Sharma found themselves continually frustrated they could never find Indian beer in Maine – the least diverse state in America where their family immigrated to from the U.K. in the early 90’s. They decided to not only create their own beer, but set out to game change the food & beverage industry in a bold and diverse way.

“Being Indian, born in London and having grown up in the states, we knew in our journey as a beer brand that the time was going to come to give the public what they had been asking for being an Indian beer company. For almost two two years, the number one question we get at craft beer festivals across America has been “where is your IPA?” Ahead of the largest holiday in India, Diwali, we are very excited to premier Rupee’s highly anticipated India Pale Ale brewed to the original style of an English ale”.

Rupee Beer became the first Indian inspired brand to be sold at select national retailers such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Total Wine, as well as top international restaurants, liquor stores. It also was recently sold at Fenway Park as the first Indian brand sold at Major League Professional Sports.

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Rupee Beer Launches Mango Wheat Ale on World Mango Day

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BOSTON, Massachusetts – It’s peak summertime and after the immense success of Rupee’s award winning lager named Best Beer For World Food nearly two years ago, brothers Van & Sumit Sharma enlisted the strategic insight of global craft brewing legend and creator of iconic Pumpkinhead, one of the most successful seasonal beers to ever hit the market to brew their next highly anticipated sku.

“The beer industry, South Asian community, and restaurant & food world have been asking us for months if we have any new beers coming out, and after much thought, research and development, we are excited to launch our signature Mango Wheat Ale ahead of World Mango Day on July 22nd”

Mangos are the national fruit of India and considered sacred symbols of proprietary and good luck. In fact, India is the largest consumer and supplier of mangos in the world. Taking the ‘King of Fruits’ the team wanted to brew an easy to drink summer ale which is smooth with hints of tropical aroma and mango flavor.

The history of the mango dates back to 4000 BC on the Indian Subcontinent where over 1000 varieties of the fruit exist. One of these varieties, the Chaunsa mango was given its name by the revolutionary leader, Sultan Sher Shah Suri, creator of the modern day Indian Rupee which was the inspiration of the brand’s first lager sku. In 1539, Sultan Sher Shah Suri defeated the second Moghal Emperor, Humayun, in the Battle of Chaunsa. In his extreme happiness, he commemorated the victory by naming his favorite variety of mango, the Chaunsa.

After relocating back to America after years living in London & Australia, the brothers having grown up in the Indian restaurant trade their entire lives wanted to shake up an industry which they truly felt lacked representation, and which also continued to make sub-par beer not designed to pair with the spicy and flavorful foods they grew up on.

Rupee Beer is available at national retailers such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Total Wine, as well as top international restaurants within the Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern and Mexican category.

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Rupee Beer Heads South, Expands into North Carolina

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BOSTON, Massachusetts— Rupee Beer is on a mission to bring Indian craft beer to the world and announces its expansion into the south, starting with North Carolina, with more southern states lined up in coming weeks.

Rupee Beer is specially brewed to pair with Indian, spicy and world cuisine by world renowned master beer brewer and Indian chef. It is the first Indian-inspired beer to bridge the gap between world cuisine and craft brewing, with placement at select Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco & Total Wine locations.

Rupee is growing the presence of its multi award winning lager at 4.75% ABV fast, with availability across 12+ states.

Brothers Van & Sumit Sharma, sons of Indian restaurateurs in the business internationally for over 45 years, found themselves continually frustrated they could not find any Indian beer in Maine – the least diverse state in America where their family immigrated to from the United Kingdom & Germany in the early 90’s.

They decided to not only create their own beer, but set out to game change the food & beverage industry in a bold and diverse way. The Sharma brothers strategically partnered with global craft brewing legend Alan Pugsley, 40+ year master beer brewer, lover of Indian food as a British expat, and creator of over 80+ global beer brands, to create Rupee Beer and re-write everything society understands about craft lager as it relates to spicy world cuisine.

“We are a mission driven organization who want to promote Indian culture via beer and rethink the way we pair alcohol with world flavors. Our continued expansion into new markets not only showcases demand but also highlights Rupee is aiming to elevate the voice for more representation within the American craft beer arena”

Brewed with pristine quality in mind and premium rice, maize, malt, and three types of hops, Rupee Beer dismantles the traditional lager experience by lowering levels of carbonation to allow for a more comfortable and enjoyable dining experience.

For Brewing fun facts, trivia, movies and more, Click Here.