India beer industry update, October 2026

The short version

Several big beer states changed how they tax or license beer. Two of them opened microbreweries to more cities. Cans were short for most of 2025 and a gas shortage in 2026 pushed up the price of glass. Through all of it, beer volumes grew and the premium end grew faster. None of this is settled, so treat every figure below as a dated snapshot and check the current notification before you act. Our state-by-state rules guide is the place to start.

Maharashtra: spirits up, beer spared

In June 2025 the Maharashtra cabinet raised duty on Indian-made foreign liquor from three times to four and a half times the declared manufacturing cost. Beer and wine were left out. Shares in listed beer and wine makers rose on the news (Business Standard, 11 June 2025). The effect is a wider price gap between a peg and a pint at the bar. Our Maharashtra guide sets out the current beer rates and licence routes.

Karnataka: falling sales, then a new tax model

Karnataka raised additional excise on beer several times in 2024 and 2025. In December 2025 the excise minister told the Legislative Council that beer sales to the end of September 2025 were down 19.55% on the year before, 195.27 lakh boxes, which was 47.46 lakh fewer than a year earlier. He blamed cold, wet weather; brewers blamed tax (Deccan Herald, 9 December 2025).

From 11 May 2026 the state switched to duty based on alcohol in the beverage rather than bulk litres. Early reports said mild beers around 5% could become 20 to 25% cheaper (NewsX, 19 May 2026). For a brewer, ABV is now a pricing decision. Our Karnataka guide covers what we could confirm.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana widen the map

In July 2025 Telangana's cabinet amended its 2015 microbrewery rules to allow microbreweries in every municipal corporation, not only Greater Hyderabad, which then had 18. The 1,000 litres a day cap and on-premises sale stayed (Deccan Chronicle, 28 July 2025).

In January 2026 Andhra Pradesh extended microbreweries beyond municipal corporation limits to sites within 5 km of one, to notified tourist areas and to three-star and higher hotels (Occasional Drinker, 13 January 2026). The detail sits in our Andhra Pradesh and Telangana guides. More cities can now host a brewpub. Whether a second-tier city has the drinkers to fill one is a separate question.

Cans ran short, then glass got dearer

Aluminium beverage cans came under mandatory BIS certification in 2025. Domestic can makers were already at capacity and uncertified imports were blocked. The Brewers Association of India estimated a shortfall of more than 120 million 500 ml cans a year (Alcircle). On 15 January 2026 the government issued a revised quality control order that phases compliance in: large units from October 2026, small units from January 2027 and micro units from April 2027 (The Week, 25 January 2026).

Then the West Asia war hit. In March 2026 the association said glass bottle prices had risen about 20% in three weeks and paper cartons had nearly doubled, putting brewers' costs up 12 to 15% (Business Today, 24 March 2026). Prices are set by each state, so brewers had to ask state by state for increases.

Premium grows faster than the category

The clearest dated numbers come from United Breweries' results for April to June 2026. The company put beer category growth at 13% for the quarter, its own sell-in volume at 9% and premium volume at 7%, with Heineken Silver up 28%. It also said premium volumes turned margin-accretive for the first time and that structural policy shifts in key states would affect pricing, access and profitability through the year (UBL investor presentation, 5 August 2026).

We have not found an independent, dated count of craft volumes we would stand behind. Market-research forecasts for Indian craft beer vary widely, so we leave them out.

What it means for a founder

Model your price list on the duty structure in your state today rather than last year's. Rerun it if ABV-based duty spreads to other states. Build packaging plans with a second supplier, because cans and glass both ran short within a year. Read every new opening of the map, such as a new city where microbreweries are allowed, as a licence question first and a market question second.

Common questions

Did Maharashtra raise beer duty in 2025?

No. The June 2025 increase applied to Indian-made foreign liquor and country liquor. Beer and wine were left out.

What is Karnataka's alcohol-in-beverage duty?

From 11 May 2026 Karnataka taxes beer and spirits by the alcohol they contain rather than by bulk volume. Check the current notification for rates, as they are set and revised by the state.

Can I open a microbrewery outside Hyderabad now?

Telangana's July 2025 amendment allows microbreweries in all municipal corporations. Applications open in notified rounds, so confirm the current round and conditions with the excise department.

Why were beer cans hard to find in India?

Mandatory BIS certification for aluminium cans in 2025 met a domestic industry already at capacity while uncertified imports were blocked. A revised order in January 2026 phased compliance in from October 2026.