Indus Birra Beverages craft beers are uniquely brewed in Nepal and Bhutan using the pure, glacier waters of the Himalayas
The secret to great-tasting beer is very simple according to Amber Jaiswal, Managing Director of Tensbarg Group in India. “The USP of our brand is that we use Himalayan glacier water in our manufacturing,” he says. “No other Brewery does that.”
In the same way that water affects the quality of whisky, it is essential for beer, too, explains Amber. “The water we use from Bhutan or Nepal happens to be the best for the brewing process. It is perfectly balanced with a pH value of seven.”
Amber also believes that the water used for Tensbarg variants is more sustainable than water from other sources, particularly as it is close to the final destination of the beer – namely, India. The beer is made according to traditional German brewing methods, and it has a crisp, refreshing taste and is full of aroma with a slight hoppy flavour. Produced in small batches, the craft beer is available in many states in India, and the company is about to export worldwide.
Indus Birra Beverages is part of the India-based Tensbarg Group, which imports its manufactured beer from Nepal and Bhutan. Market research in India has shown that consumers prefer a sweeter taste, so Tensbarg does not have the same bitterness as some European beers. Amber says the quality of beer has historically suffered in India because of huge commercial production in big batches. Also, most imported beers are produced far away and have complicated supply chains. They are shipped from overseas but the border with Nepal and Bhutan is close, “so we can transport our beers on trucks”.
Tensbarg Group started with 20,000 cases, but it has already taken more than 35 per cent market share in some states, especially in the Indian capital, Delhi. The beer consumer in India knows that they want a good beer that is value for money. “We aim to be the best available in India and the world today,” says Amber. “We are becoming a role model in sustainable luxury for consumers.”
The emphasis on luxury at an affordable price, and providing the beer drinker with what they really want, has made Tensbarg Group’s beer a success. As craft beers grow in popularity in India, as they have in many other nations, the market has become crammed full of novelty products such as chocolate or strawberry beers. “The consumer ends up confused with so much choice,” says Amber, “but the real beer drinker wants real beer made of hops and malt.”
Now that Tensbarg “is selling well” the company is looking to diversify with alkaline mineral water, using natural glacier water from the Himalayas in the Indian region of Ladakh. Snow will be extracted from the mountains, melted and then bottled in Ladakh as the purest form of water. Tensbarg, as a sustainable luxury brand, intends to serve nature in its best form to the entire world. “We are about to launch glacier water from Ladakh in India to the UK and worldwide, from the untouched glaciers which also possesses medical values,” says Amber.
Amber notes that Tensbarg beer could make the perfect accompaniment to Indian food, but while India’s beer drinkers are looking to cool down in hot temperatures, the British beer fan has a different agenda. “If people are still drinking beer even in cold weather, you know they are real beer drinkers.”
www.tensbarggroup.com
www.tensbargglaciers.com