Pakistan’s biggest brewery is evolving from its 165-year-old liquor legacy

In Pakistan, Rawalpindi The largest and oldest manufacturer of alcoholic beverages in Pakistan, Murree Brewery, is surrounded by a strong odor of yeastiness and malt.

In a nation where alcohol is illegal for everyone but non-Muslims, who number about 9 million out of 241 million, the company stands out. In the 1970s, the Islamic republic of Pakistan outlawed alcohol for Muslims.

Because of its heritage, the lack of competition, and its tiny, affluent, and largely elite customer base, Murree Brewery has good financials despite the prohibition.

But through red tape and high taxes, the government has considerable control over the marketing and sale of alcoholic beverages. As a result, brewery chairman Isphanyar Bandhara is compelled to increase the company’s presence in Pakistan’s non-alcoholic drink market, which is larger but less profitable and more crowded.

The third generation of Bandhara’s family to operate the 165-year-old business, which was established by the British, stated, “Even I tell my staff of about 2,200 that we cannot sit on our laurels by selling alcohol.” We must depend on and concentrate more on the non-alcoholic side of the business because it is a restricted one. Instead of being a booze baron, I believe that’s where I would like to show off and claim credit.

Energy drinks, juices, and malted beverages are already produced by the brewery, although their popularity is lower than that of goods from major global companies. However, Bandhara wants to capitalize on the nation’s youth bulge, and this segment of the business is experiencing double-digit growth. People under 30 make up about 64% of the population.

The government of Pakistan sets the alcohol prices, sales locations, and clientele of the brewery. It deducted $35 million in taxes from the brewery’s earnings last year. The business is unable to advertise its alcoholic beverages or grow that segment of its operations within Pakistan. You can’t shop online.

Despite the high demand for beer and liquor in nations with a majority of Muslims, the brewery is allowed to export its beer to nations outside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of 57 nations, according to Bandhara.

In the meantime, billions of dollars’ worth of sodas and juices being sold year to more Pakistanis. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are the market leaders, however there are numerous domestic brands.

According to Bandhara, global corporations are doing very well in Pakistan. The market is lucrative. It may cost less (for non-alcoholic beverages), but it’s safer.

The malted drink range from Murree Brewery is packaged quite similarly to its beery equivalents. The flavor is unique, sweet, and somewhat yeasty, but it’s not unpleasant.

In Pakistan, alcohol is a specialized product. Even purchasing necessities like cough medicine and preparing ingredients like red wine vinegar can be challenging due to their extremely low alcohol content.

Hotels with five stars Decant alcohol into a more understated container, such as a teapot, or sneak a beverages list into the in-room meal menu. Some restaurants, which are typically high-end, let patrons bring their own bottles, but they must sit apart from other patrons or hide the pour from onlookers. Major Pakistani cities frequently have a bar with no windows and little joy.

Foreigners and non-Muslim nationals can purchase a limited quantity of alcohol by obtaining a liquor permit. With well-stocked cupboards and perhaps entire rooms devoted to liquor, diplomats and the elite are a plentiful supply of alcohol.

Additionally, there are wine shops, but they are only found in a few areas and are operated by non-Muslims. For secrecy, several wineries deliver to clients who are waiting in their cars. There is also the option of home delivery.

According to Faisal, a thirty-year-old Muslim Pakistani drinker from the Sindh area, purchasing beer is not costly. Because he is breaching the law, he simply provided his first name. The price of a local beer is 500 rupees ($1.76), but if you don’t want it cold, you can save 50 rupees.

In Pakistan, beer is less expensive than coffee, he continued, but you only need one cup of coffee while you need a large amount of beer.

Although the Federal Shariat Court said in a 2009 decision that the punishment was un-Islamic, non-sanctioned alcohol consumption in Pakistan is punishable by 80 whippings.

In Islam, alcohol is prohibited, or haram. Scholars and religious leaders usually cite a text in the Quran that refers to intoxicants as the work of Satan and advises believers to abstain from them, despite the fact that they are a sin rather than a crime. They also mention the effects of drinking and quotes from the Prophet Muhammad.

On a recent day, however, cartons of alcohol were piled on pallets at the Murree Brewery. The beer was on its way to the Pearl Continental Hotel, a government-approved store in Lahore, an eastern metropolis. The whiskey was headed for Sindh, which is home to Parsis and Hindus, among other religious minorities.

One of the brewery’s top tasters is Bandhara, who is Parsi. The company’s alcoholic beverages are only available for non-Muslims to taste.

According to Bandhara, we cannot just make someone consume a subpar beverage; instead, it must be of high quality. I am confident in my beer quality if my customers are the German Embassy, the Chinese Embassy, and several European embassies.

The intoxicating substance ethanol is produced in hundreds of distilleries in Pakistan and is primarily exported. Another source of alcoholic beverages is home breweries. However, over the years, scores of individuals have perished as a result of homemade liquor that contained toxic methanol.

The Chinese-owned Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which started producing beer in southwestern Balochistan in 2021, primarily for the hundreds of Chinese employees there, is Murree Brewery’s main rival for alcohol.

There was no Hui representative accessible to comment.

Bandhara was surprised that Hui was given a license in conservative Balochistan. He stated that he desired a level playing field but was not scared of competition.

His family’s goal was to open a brewery in Punjab, the most populated province in Pakistan, decades ago. According to Bandhara, because the family was in a Muslim nation, authorities advised them to keep their heads down.

“Why was the license granted to the Chinese brewery if the Islamic lecture is for me?” he inquired. Being a booze company, we are the most easily criticized and attacked.