Change is the New Norm

With the changing beer landscape in India, companies are working hard to keep their consumers excited at all times.Therefore, new releases in India’s beer market need to make for the right production and marketing mantra. These releases are required to give consumers an opportunity to try something that is either seasonal or has the use of an innovative ingredient or has a trending global style. One such brewery that has been riding this wave is Geist Brewing Co Bengaluru which has steadfastly introduced new brands and flavours to keep its customers coming back for more. As its CEO, Narayan Manepally states, this will remain the trigger for the growth of the beer industry in India.

A sense of adventure is what drives the beer drinkers today. And this explains why the trends keep shifting. This is what can be surmised from the opinion of Narayan Manepally, CEO, Geist Brewing Co., who says that as of now there is a noticeable trend worldwide in favour of craft lagers, perceived as more easily drinkable than heavily hopped beers. This shift represents a move towards more balanced and approachable craft beer styles. Additionally, craft lagers offer a different experience in terms of taste, aroma, appearance, and the stories they tell.

This distinction is crucial in distinguishing craft lagers from more conventional lagers available in the market. Meanwhile, wheat beer continues to remain popular, which is why Geist Brewing, when it was launched in 2017, deliberately selected a range of three wheat beers based on the fact that they offer easy-drinking styles as wheat bases are familiar to the Indian palate given our dietary preferences. These brands include the Geist Witty Wit (Belgian-style witbier), Geist Weiss Guy (South German-style wheat beer) and Geist Uncle Dunkel (dark wheat beer).

A First-mover Advantage

Geist Brewing Co. is South India’s first ‘distribution craft brewery’. The difference between a distribution craft brewery versus a microbrewery is that a microbrewery is typically not allowed to distribute beyond its premise, whereas a distribution craft brewery, which typically has an industrial brewery license, is allowed to keg, can, bottle, distribute within the country and even outside. There are of course exceptions to the rule, where in some states in India, microbreweries can distribute beyond their premises.

Situated in Bengaluru on Old Madras Road, Geist Brewing started brewing fresh craft beer in 2017 that is made available in two formats: in kegs (B2B supply to food and beverage partners) and in 500 ml (to retail outlets in crowlers). Totally, it has 450+ partners across three cities who sell Geist craft beer. The company also holds a factory outlet licence, which allows it to sell beer for takeaway in 2 litre growlers and 500 ml crowlers. OMR, its first beer garden, is located next to its distribution brewery.

Evolving Tastes

While wheat beers continue to be the preferred choice when it comes to someone’s initial craft beer drinking journey, Narayan says that there has been a steady uptake in the Indian consumer’s sense of adventure when it comes to trying different styles like white IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, smoked lagers and other craft lagers. “After whetting their appetite initially on wheat beers, customers tend to get more experimental with their preferences,” he says. Changing preferences can also be a pain- point and therefore Geist Brewing approaches this through a strong craft beer portfolio management strategy.

Since 2017, it has brewed a total of 43 different craft beers and six of these form the company’s core portfolio available year-round. “The core portfolio gives consumers a sense of stability and familiarity – these are tried and tested styles that have built a fan following over the years, both from a style perspective (witbier, hefeweizen, IPA, etc.) as well as a Geist Brewing Co.’s brand perspective,” Narayan states. On days when a consumer is looking for a reliable product that is made by a brand that focuses on technical consistency and high-quality ingredients, they can simply pick from one of these and simplify their decision-making.

Through the year, Geist Brewing also introduces a select range of limited-release varieties available only until stocks last. These releases give consumers an opportunity to try something that the company is excited to introduce to them for a reason: either something seasonal, or because of the use of a particular ingredient or a trending global style. Again, possessing a reputation for producing consistent, technically- correct, fresh and delicious craft beer plays an important role here since it gives consumers the confidence to experiment with a new style or fall back on a favourite from a brand like Geist. Recently, it introduced Geist Repeat on tap, a top-fermented premium lager that draws inspiration from the traditional German Kölsch.

Subscribe to read more