Summer, IPL, and elections drive up beer sales in Bengaluru

As the temperature stays up in Bengaluru, beer sales are scaling up as well. Amidst the sweltering heat in the city, many restobars reported 25-50% increase in beer sales when compared to the previous years, overtaking all the other spirits this summer.

Mukesh Tolani, owner of Toit Brewpub in Indiranagar, said that he noticed a jump in beer sales when spirits were not doing so well in the last two months. “Sales of beer have risen way beyond our expectations. We have now seen a 40-50% increase in our sales since February. We have attracted good crowds even on weekdays.”

Seasonal flavours like mango and pineapple have emerged as popular choices for beer lovers. Naveen D’Costa, general manager of ShakesBierre Brewpub in Brigade Road, reported a rapid increase in beer sales, with 20,000 litres sold this year, compared to 8,500 litres sold last April. “Since we are a microbrewery and freshly craft our own beer, we have a wide variety of seasonal flavours that are popular among our customers,” he said.

Along with summer, the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) was also attributed as one of the reasons for increased sales with many restobars offering special discounts on days of RCB matches. Chethan Hegde, Bengaluru Chapter head, National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), said, “This year, there has been an overall increase of 20% in the sale of beer due to the soaring temperature and IPL matches. Many consumers of spirits have also moved to beer this time around.”

While most microbreweries have refrained from increasing their prices due to the fear of losing out on customers, some have used the increased demand to their advantage. The manager at a popular restobar in Koramangala said that the establishment raises its prices during March every year to take advantage of the warm temperatures that drive people to pubs and restaurants.

While the day of Lok Sabha elections and a few days around it were declared as dry days, in the days leading to the polling, sale of alcohol increased in general, according to those in the industry. Karunakar Hegde, pub owner and vice-president of the Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association, said, “It is quite natural for sales to go upwards during these months due to the heat. However, the election season has also added another 10-15% increase in beer sales.” He added, “However, the supply of beer was curtailed due to the election season, leading to a shortage in beer stock.”