Modern brewing began for India in the early days of the British Empire — the mid-1700s. The demand for beer in the hot Indian climate by the British administrators and the troops was so great that it led to the creation of a completely new style of beer by George Hodgson in his London brewery — India Pale Ale also known as IPA. IPA is a strong, highly hopped ale designed to survive the five month ocean voyage to India without spoiling. India Pale Ale was shipped with every voyage for over a century and became very popular in Britain and North America. A 16th century brewer A 21st century brewer This article concerns the production of alcoholic beverages. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Okey, Frist of all. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the late 1820s Edward Dyer moved from England to set up the first brewery in India at Kasauli (later incorporated as Dyer Breweries in 1855) in the Himalaya mountains, near Shimla, producing Asia's first beer called Lion. The brewery was soon shifted to nearby Solan (close to the British summer capital Shimla), as there was an abundant supply of fresh springwater there. The Kasauli brewery site was converted to a distillery which Mohan Meakin Ltd. still operates. Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla, Murree, Rawalpindi and Mandalay. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Kasauli is a small town in Himachal Pradesh, India. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Shimla (Hindi: शिमला, Urdu: شملہ), the summer capital of the erstwhile British Raj in India, is a city and a municipal corporation in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. ... Lion Beer is a brand name of beer brewed in India. ... Shimla (Hindi: शिमला, Urdu: شملہ), the summer capital of the erstwhile British Raj in India, is a city and a municipal corporation in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. ... now. ... Rawalpindi (Urdu: راولپنڈی) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Islamabad, the current capital of Pakistan, in the province of Punjab. ... Mandalay (Burmese: ) is the second largest city in Myanmar (formerly Burma) with a population of 927,000 (2005 census), agglomeration 2,5 million. ...

Another entrepreneur, H G Meakin, moved to India and bought the old Shimla and Solan Breweries from Edward Dyer and added more at Ranikhet, Dalhousie, Chakrata, Darjeeling and Kirkee. In 1937, when Burma was separated from India, the company was restructured with its Indian assets as Dyer Meakin Breweries, a public company on the London Stock Exchange. Following independence, in 1949 N.N. Mohan took over management of the company and the name was changed to Mohan Meakin Ltd. The company continues to produce beer across India to this day and Lion is still available in northern India. The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building Paternoster Square. ...

Today however, no brewer in India makes India Pale Ale. All Indian beers are either lagers (5 % alcohol — such as Australian lager) or strong lagers (8 % alcohol - such as the popular MAX super strong beer). International Breweries Pvt. Ltd. have recently announced an intention to work with Mohan Meakin to produce and launch an India Pale Ale called Indian IPA from India's first brewery at Solan. Kingfisher, Kings and Belo are popular Indian beer brands. Lager is a well attenuated beer brewed in cool conditions using a slow-acting brewers yeast, known as a bottom-fermenting yeast, and then stored (or lagered) for a period in cool conditions to clear away particles and certain flavour compounds to produce a clean taste. ...

In various parts of north-eastern India, traditional rice beer is quite popular. Several festivals feature this nutritious, quite intoxicating, drink as part of the celebrations. The rice is fermented in vats that are sometimes buried underground. It is quite popular, and not only with humans. Elephants are known to attack villages, with the primary agenda of raiding these vats and creating havoc after getting intoxicated.