E-Malt.com News article: India: Kaltenberg beer to be launched in Goa

Corking open a new 'super-premium' category in India's beer market, a German brand has launched its lager in Goa. Kaltenberg beer, owned by German firm Konig Ludwig International, will be manufactured by CMJ Breweries Private Ltd at their plant in Meghalaya, and will retail in Goa at 75 for a pint. Until now, the super-premium category only included imported beers, and holds a tiny market share of around 5 lakh (1 lakh = 100 000) cases a year, The Times of India reported on April 24.

Konig Ludwig International is owned by Bavarian royal Prince Luitpold von Bayern, great grandson of the last king of Bavaria. Kaltenberg is claimed to be one of the oldest beers in the world, courtesy of the royal family that started the first brewery in 1260.

"Goa is the Mecca of beer, and the best state to launch this new super-premium category of beer, called so because all the ingredients are imported from Germany. Even though the beer is indigenously manufactured, the end product will be identical to the beverage manufactured in Germany as the brewing process is the same, as well as the recipe and climatic conditions," claimed Rohit Jain, chairman, CMJ Breweries.

Kaltenburg Royal Lager will be priced higher than all domestic beers, but around 50% lower than imported beers. Jain stated that the beer contains superior quality hops and the six-row barley grown in Bavaria, which costs three times as much as the two-row barley grown in India and used in domestic beers. "The only indigenous ingredient used is the water, which is sourced from the mountain springs of Meghalaya, known as the Scotland of the East for its pure water. It took us three years to equip our brewery to comply with the stringent Royal Bavarian brewing standards.

The Prince himself made several visits to our brewery to ensure that we were adhering to German purity laws," he added. The company aims to capture a 5% market share in the super premium category in the next 3 years.


25 April, 2014