Murree Brewery of Pakistan

[Awesome]

If they make any decent ale or IPA they'll have a market in India too. *#$! United brewery has saturated Indian market with their Kingfisher Lagers... and they'll buy out any other Indian manufacturer. Not that it is a bad beer, but some variety would be nice.

BTW, isn't alcohol banned out there in Pakistan ?

I've heard the Murree brand has some demand within India in the oldies club who remember it from their younger days.

 

[notorious_eagle]

If they make any decent ale or IPA they'll have a market in India too. *#$! United brewery has saturated Indian market with their Kingfisher Lagers... and they'll buy out any other Indian manufacturer. Not that it is a bad beer, but some variety would be nice.

BTW, isn't alcohol banned out there in Pakistan ?

It is banned for muslims but nonmuslims are allowed to buy it, they have to get a card from the government. But its pretty much usless, every now and than the customs seizes a container(full of liqour) and showcases it to the media but it does not stops the inflow of alcohal. As long as their is a demand, the supply is going to be there. Alcohal is big business in Pakistan, i am talking about some serious $$$$ here. This company bringing in $40 million in revenues is nothing, people who are smuggling foriegn liquor in are making some serious $$$.

 

[wtf]

I've heard the Murree brand has some demand within India in the oldies club who remember it from their younger days.

Might be true, though I've never gotten my hands on it.

But I am not surprised. Murree has a difficult way to go before it gets to Indian tables. First there is the border trade being really tiny. Then there is the even bigger issue of alcohol distribution which is extremely concentrated in India (very few distributors, powerful lobbies). I'll check in Daman & Diu or Rajastan the next time I am around -if it is anywhere it is bound to be there.
That said, I have not found Murree in the US yet either. No Pakistani restaurant sells beer here and the London based Cobra and New Jersey based arm of Kingfisher has the Indian restaurant market covered.

 

[pak-marine]

Might be true, though I've never gotten my hands on it.

But I am not surprised. Murree has a difficult way to go before it gets to Indian tables. First there is the border trade being really tiny. Then there is the even bigger issue of alcohol distribution which is extremely concentrated in India (very few distributors, powerful lobbies). I'll check in Daman & Diu or Rajastan the next time I am around -if it is anywhere it is bound to be there.
That said, I have not found Murree in the US yet either. No Pakistani restaurant sells beer here and the London based Cobra and New Jersey based arm of Kingfisher has the Indian restaurant market covered.

Be carefull with Indian beer though .... 86 people died in Gujrat !

 

[wtf]

Be carefull with Indian beer though .... 86 people died in Gujrat !

Alcohol is banned in Gujarat.(Gandhi's birth place , Gandhi being anti-alcohol etc).

Which is why the current mess. Many buy home brew Hooch and then some of it gets spiked with methanol resulting in deaths. These deaths were due to Hooch. Other source of alcohol in Gujarat is from Daman and Diu which is nearby and prohibition free. The same mess happened in Tamilnadu and Kerala when they tried to ban cheap alcohol - people started killing themselves drinking spurious stuff.

In most parts of India, liquour is pretty good quality and easily available. Though, it is not socially very acceptable and often only men drink it. Also you wouldn't want your dad catching you with a beer bottle.

 

[Durran3]

Zardari tried his best during Bibi goverment to buy Murree Brewery by hook or crook

LOL.. i had a major chuckle there with that being said.. i need to get into the Alcohol Business!!! my bank account is rather empty.

 

[jeypore]

LOL.. i had a major chuckle there with that being said.. i need to get into the Alcohol Business!!! my bank account is rather empty.

It's not great as it's made out to be, but it does create large amount of Cash though!! If the business is successful ofcourse.

 

[wtf]

It's not great as it's made out to be, but it does create large amount of Cash though!! If the business is successful ofcourse.

The trick to alcohol business, I think is distribution and marketing. That's the only reason I can think of for people paying $100 for a bottle of Vodka which is 1) basically diluted ethanol and 2) Always drunk in a cocktail so that taste is not felt.

Winemaking/beer brewing itself is fairly simple business and likely to get commoditized unless you have some magical ingredient or exceptionally good flavour.

But of course, being the only brewer in Pakistan, I am guessing that Murree's problems are very different.

 

[pak-marine]

Alcohol is banned in Gujarat.(Gandhi's birth place , Gandhi being anti-alcohol etc).

Which is why the current mess. Many buy home brew Hooch and then some of it gets spiked with methanol resulting in deaths. These deaths were due to Hooch. Other source of alcohol in Gujarat is from Daman and Diu which is nearby and prohibition free. The same mess happened in Tamilnadu and Kerala when they tried to ban cheap alcohol - people started killing themselves drinking spurious stuff.

In most parts of India, liquour is pretty good quality and easily available. Though, it is not socially very acceptable and often only men drink it. Also you wouldn't want your dad catching you with a beer bottle.

I have got that covered .. thanks for the advice though ... Same happned in pak some years back but not so many casualties though ... India is potential big market for kingfisher or some one else if they can come up with cheap alc or some thing at least not poisioness for the masses .... its a sad loss 86 people dead just like that !

 

[jeypore]

The trick to alcohol business, I think is distribution and marketing. That's the only reason I can think of for people paying $100 for a bottle of Vodka which is 1) basically diluted ethanol and 2) Always drunk in a cocktail so that taste is not felt.

Winemaking/beer brewing itself is fairly simple business and likely to get commoditized unless you have some magical ingredient or exceptionally good flavour.

But of course, being the only brewer in Pakistan, I am guessing that Murree's problems are very different.

That is just the half of the battle, the main battle is placement and pricing, that is the key to alcohol business.

Also talking about vodka being expensive, there are certain expensive vodkas bottled in inexpensive bottles, and sold under a different name.

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Indian activists of the right-wing Hindu party Shiv Sena shout slogans as they burn an American flag during a protest in Amritsar on July 1, 2009. Protests have erupted against American company Indica India Pale Ale (IPA) for displaying an image of Hindu Lord Ganesh on beer bottles, provoking demands for its removal and an apology. – AFP


Photo from Getty Images - News, photos, topics, and quotes

 

[wtf]

India is potential big market for kingfisher or some one else if they can come up with cheap alc or some thing at least not poisioness for the masses ....

Kingfisher is already the worlds biggest beer company and they sell almost all of it in India. That's why I want some Murree in India -if nothing else, for the variety.

 

[EyelessInGaza]

..............

BTW, isn't alcohol banned out there in Pakistan ?

Kahaan maikhaane ka darawaza Ghalib aur kahaan waiz,
Par itana jaante hain kal woh jaata tha ke hum nikale

Indian activists of the right-wing Hindu party Shiv Sena shout slogans as they burn an American flag during a protest in Amritsar on July 1, 2009. Protests have erupted against American company Indica India Pale Ale (IPA) for displaying an image of Hindu Lord Ganesh on beer bottles, provoking demands for its removal and an apology. – AFP


Photo from Getty Images - News, photos, topics, and quotes

And these guys look hammered, probably on Indica India Pale. They ought to know their/ our religious texts:

We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods
Rig Veda

 

[wtf]

We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods
Rig Veda

Soma is something else altogether different. It might not be alcoholic, could/could not be narcotic or it could just be something that increases metabolism and is used for wars etc. (some extreme version of nicotine like substance) .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_identity_of_Soma-Haoma

Now, If I could find that plant (which Avestans call Hoama), I'd be a billionaire.

Are there any Pakistani's on the forum who might have heard of this plant in the local language ? It supposedly came from Mountains (Hindu Kush, Kashmir) so maybe the plant is still known in the local languages ? Urdu speakers need not apply It's a reedy thin green stemmed plant (certainly not Marijuana/Opium) , and is called either Hoama/Soma ? If you find it, please report that to Murree breweries or to me

 

[EyelessInGaza]

^^ I know there is debate but I prefer to think of it this way; anyone who has " drunk the Soma" and "become immortal" was probably three sheets to the wind.