Contract brewing in India for international brands

How the arrangement works

The brand owner supplies the recipe, the name and the market plan. The host brewery supplies the plant, the people and the licences it holds. The host brews and packs. The brand sells, subject to the state rules where the product is made and where it is sold.

Because alcohol is a state subject, each state treats contract production in its own way. A state may allow it with conditions on the licences each party holds, or restrict it. Rules change. Ask a licensing adviser or lawyer in the host's state before you sign anything.

Choosing the host

Look first at technical fit. Does the host have the right brewhouse size, fermentation capacity, cold storage and packaging format for your beer? A lager needs cold conditioning space and strict temperature control. A hoppy beer needs good oxygen control. A packaging line that cannot run your can or bottle size is a deal breaker.

Look next at quality systems. A good host has a laboratory, measures its process, keeps batch records and shows how it handles a failed batch. Ask to see a record for the host's own beer.

Look at capacity honestly. Hosts tend to have quiet and busy seasons. Ask when they could fit your volume and what happens if they need the tanks for their own beer.

Moving the recipe

A recipe will not behave identically on a new plant. Water, equipment and yeast handling all differ. Plan trial batches, compare each to a reference sample and agree a written specification with tolerances. Our guide on moving a recipe to a new plant sets out the method.

Malt, hops and yeast may come from abroad or from local suppliers. Imported ingredients involve customs duty and import registration, which add cost and time. Decide early who buys what.

Money and risk

Ask the host for a price per hectolitre or per unit that covers brewing, packaging and wastage. Be clear about what raw materials cost on top. Agree minimum volumes. A host that turns away other business to hold capacity for you will want a commitment. Our guide on the economics of contract brewing for the host shows what the host is working out on the other side of the table.

Model your own cash flow, including stock held, payment terms and the time before you sell. The guide on cash flow for a new brewery shows the method.

Quality control from a distance

You cannot taste every batch at the brewery, so build a routine. Keep a reference sample of each batch. Ask the host to share gravity, ABV, bitterness, colour and microbiological results. Taste samples on arrival at your end. Make sure someone you trust visits regularly.

Cold chain and shelf life matter in a hot country. Check that the packaged beer is held at a sensible temperature, shipped quickly and dated clearly.

How we help

We help international brands find and assess host breweries in India, plan trial batches, write the technical specification and set up the quality routine. Rahul Baliyan leads on brewing and plant assessment. The work runs remotely by video call and shared data, with site visits by arrangement.

We are not a licensing agency or a law firm. We work with your advisers. We do not name hosts, promise outcomes or guarantee that a host will accept your volume.

Questions to ask a host brewery

Ask which beers they brew now and which styles they have never made. A host that has never brewed a lager may struggle to match yours. Ask how they control fermentation temperature and how long beer rests before packing.

Ask about water treatment, yeast handling and packaging. Ask how they record a batch from malt intake to dispatch. Ask what they do when a batch fails.

Ask who owns the licences for the brewery and for the contract arrangement. Ask how they have worked with other brands and whether you may speak to them. A confident host will say yes.

Finally, ask for a trial batch at your cost before any long commitment. Brew it, taste it against your reference and measure it. The trial tells you more than any brochure. It also shows how the host's team behaves when something goes wrong.

Common questions

Can any Indian brewery brew under contract?

Not automatically. The host needs the right equipment and licences. The state must allow the arrangement.

Who owns the recipe?

The agreement should say. Most brand owners keep the recipe and require confidentiality from the host.

How do I keep quality consistent?

Write a specification, keep reference samples, share lab results and visit often. Re-taste at the receiving end.