HYDERABAD: Telangana may be the youngest state in the country, but it has taken no time to dislodge other southern states and crown itself as the number one beer guzzler south of the Vindhyas. Chilled beer has become the most sought-after drink in Hyderabad. What’s even better is that its sales have surpassed Mumbai and Bengaluru. A record 261.51 lakh cases of beer were sold between April and October this year and it’s expected that the sales would touch 400 lakh cases by March, 2018.

A single case of beer contains 12 bottles and each bottle, in turn, contains 650 ml or 24 bottles of 330 ml. Hyderabad city reported consumption of 201 lakh cases in last seven months, which is the highest consumption recorded. After Hyderabad district, Ranga Reddy, Warangal, Karimnagar and Nalgonda are close behind. In the same period, Mumbai reported a sale of 190 lakh cases of beer and Bengaluru 133 lakh cases. While all other states have recorded a dip in beer sale and a rise in sale of hard liquor, Hyderabad has opted for beer over hard liquor. The city has reported a healthy 26.83% growth rate.

The share of Hyderabad in the total beer sales across Telangana is evident from the fact that of 972 bars in the state, 645 are located in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits. “The trend in Hyderabad is evident with a spike in the number of pubs across the city from 16 to 59 in the last three years.

More than 40 varieties are being offered to beer lovers in the city,” said an excise official. With a change in mindset and social acceptance for beer consumption, a large number of pubs, breweries, microbreweries and bars have opened across the city. As per official record, in last two years, 10 microbreweries opened in the city. Exclusive breweries are serving draught beer to guzzlers. Trying to cash in on rising demand , the state has raised the license fee for breweries from this fiscal.