As the lockdown ticks away, thousands of litres of fresh beer at the NCR’s microbreweries is going down the drain. Lalit Ahlawat of Striker and Soi 7 has drained 5,000 litres from his Cyber-Hub outlet, Inderjeet Singh Banga, promoter of Prankster, another 3,000 litres. Between them, the NCR’s 50-odd microbreweries are staring at a loss of over 1 lakh litres.

Unlike bottled beer, fresh beer has a short shelf life. Ishan Grover, a brewery consultant, says the costs of keeping beer fresh add up quickly as the plant has to be maintained at a specific temperature and monitored daily.

When the lockdown was announced four weeks ago, most breweries were filled to capacity and have been maintaining their stock since. However, it’s beginning to look like a lost cause, brewers say. With social distancing and fear of the virus, the chances of customers coming back after the lockdown look dim. And the owners’ big hope — permission to home deliver beer— hasn’t materialised.

Grover says they expected the state government to permit home delivery of fresh beer in ‘growlers’—ceramic or glass jugs—as is the case abroad. “Everyone talks about home delivery for restaurants but brewery owners are staring at a huge loss. Even the excise department is only talking about opening liquor shops that have products with a longer shelf life.”

Brewers seek relief on taxes to tide over crisis

While brewery consultant Ishan Grover still hopes to save some of his fresh brew, Lalit Ahlawat of Striker and Soi says he dumped his because of the additional electricity and manpower costs. “We had a choice between losing our beer or losing money to keep it. We drained it out on the fourth day of the lockdown.”

The brewers stand to lose not only the cost of production but also the licence fee and duty they have paid in advance. Banga, who heads the Gurugram chapter of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), has written to the state excise department to defer the renewal of licences due in April. He says a microbrewery licence costs lakhs per month.

“Our operations are totally shut, but if the duties, licence fee and taxes can be deferred for six months, we might be able to support our staff with salaries,” said Banga, stressing the need for support from the authorities. “Even after the lockdown, we would request the state governments to charge us quarterly fees rather than an annual payment, as most outlets will take a long time to recover.”