After Gurgaon had a spurt of brew-pubs that make and sell freshly-brewed beer, Delhi will also have a few of them soon. The excise policy cleared by the Cabinet last week has now paved way for brew-pubs. The move in Delhi was prompted by a request from DIAL to set up a brew pub at the airport. Prompted by the request, Excise officials had paid a visit to the Gurgoan facility at Ambience Mall and Galaxy hotel.

“We noticed that the Haryana government’s excise collection had a considerable jump due to brew pubs. Therefore, we also decided to introduce the policy in Delhi. DIAL had approached us with a proposal to open a brew pub at the airport restaurant,” said Finance Minister A K Walia. The license will be given for Rs 25 lakh.

Although the Cabinet has cleared the decks for brew-pubs in Delhi, the Capital’s master plan does not allow manufacture of liquor within the city’s premises. DIAL has also approached the DDA to amend the master plan to allow brew pubs.

Brew-pubs originated in Germany and went on to become globally popular in the last four decades. Micro brew-pubs serve fresh and non-pasteurised beer, unlike the bottled ones that contain preservatives.

First, malt, usually barley, is crushed and removed to a vessel with hot water, where it is mashed for around two hours. It is then transferred to a large tank to boil with hops - the female cone of the hop plant— and other ingredients. The entire matter ferments for one-three weeks, following which fresh beer is filtered, and then it is ready to be served.

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