Mohan Meakin Brewery
Encyclopedia
Mohan Meakin is a large group of companies started with Asia's first brewery
incorporated in 1855 (but established much earlier) by Edward Dyer at Kasauli
in the Himalayan Mountains in India
under the name Dyer Breweries.
to set up the first brewery
in India (later incorporated as Dyer Breweries in 1855) at Kasauli
in the Himalayan Mountains. The Kasauli brewery
launched India's and indeed Asia
's first beer, Lion, which was in great demand by the thirsty British administrators and troops stationed in the sweltering heat of India. Lion was much appreciated as a beer, and one famous poster featured a satisfied British Tommy declaring, "as good as back home!".
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 operate. Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla, Murree
(Murree Brewery
), Rawalpindi
, Mandalay
, Quetta
and acquired interests in the Ootacamund
Brewery (South India).
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, Kirkee and Nuwara Eliya (Ceylon). After the First World War, the Meakin and Dyer breweries merged and 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, N.N. Mohan raised funds and travelled to London where he acquired a majority stake in Dyer Meakin Breweries. He took over management of the company in 1949 and built new breweries at Lucknow
, Ghaziabad and Khopoli
(near Mumbai). The company name was changed to Mohan Meakin Breweries in 1967 (the word "Breweries" was dropped in the eighties as the company diversified into other industries).
On the death of N.N. Mohan in 1969, his eldest son Colonel V.R. Mohan took over as Managing Director. He introduced a number of new products that are brand leaders today but died in 1973, soon after taking the helm. In the 1970s the manufacturing activities of the company were diversified into other fields including breakfast cereals, fruit juices and mineral water under the leadership of Brigadier(Dr.)Kapil Mohan V.S.M link title (Col. V.R. Mohan's brother). Subsequently the word brewery was dropped from the company name in 1982 to remove the impression that the company was engaged only in beer making. New breweries were built during the seventies and eighties at Chandigarh
, Madras, Nepal and Kakinada
near Hyderabad.
Today, Mohan Meakin's principal brands are Old Monk Rum and Golden Eagle Beer. Its other products include Diplomat Deluxe, Colonel's Special, Black Knight, Meakin 10,000, Summer Hall and Solan No 1 whiskies
, London Dry and Big Ben gins, and Kaplanski vodka. Asia’s original beer, Lion, is still sold in northern India.
Lion earns a place in history as Asia's first beer brand. Lion's popularity with the British during the heyday of the Empire led to the start-up of other Lion beers around the world, in New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere. Lion remains the number one brand in neighbouring Sri Lanka where Mohan Meakin had introduced it in the 1880s through their Ceylon brewery.
Australian is another popular 5% abv lager distributed by International Breweries (P) Ltd. The 8% abv version is called Australian MAX. Australian MAX has recently won the title of the "World's Best Strong Lager" at the World Beer Awards. Australian MAX beat the best strong beers from Germany, England, USA, Belgium, Denmark and from all over the world. This is the highest honour ever awarded to a beer brewed in India.
, blended and aged for 7 years (though there is also more expensive, 12 year old version). It is dark, with an alcohol
content of 42.8%. It is produced by Mohan Meakin, based in Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
.
It is available in all parts of India.
Old Monk is also the third largest selling Rum in the world. Old Monk has been the biggest Indian Made Foreign Liquor
(IMFL) brand for many years.
It is sold in four size variants 180 ml (quarter), 350 ml (half), 750 ml (full), and a 1 liter bottle.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
incorporated in 1855 (but established much earlier) by Edward Dyer at Kasauli
Kasauli
Kasauli is a cantonment and town, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station, from Shimla, from Chandigarh, and from Panchkula, and lies at a height of .-Demographics:According to the...
in the Himalayan Mountains in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
under the name Dyer Breweries.
History
In the late 1820s, Edward Dyer moved from EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to set up the first brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in India (later incorporated as Dyer Breweries in 1855) at Kasauli
Kasauli
Kasauli is a cantonment and town, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station, from Shimla, from Chandigarh, and from Panchkula, and lies at a height of .-Demographics:According to the...
in the Himalayan Mountains. The Kasauli brewery
Kasauli Brewery
Kasauli is a small cantonment town in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established in 1842 by the British colonial rulers as a hill station...
launched India's and indeed Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
's first beer, Lion, which was in great demand by the thirsty British administrators and troops stationed in the sweltering heat of India. Lion was much appreciated as a beer, and one famous poster featured a satisfied British Tommy declaring, "as good as back home!".
The brewery was soon shifted to nearby Solan
Solan
Solan is a town and a municipal council in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located south of state capital Shimla. The place is named after the Hindu goddess Shoolini devi. Solan was the capital of erstwhile princely state, Bhagat...
(close to the British summer capital Shimla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
), as there was an abundant supply of fresh springwater there. The Kasauli brewery site was converted to a distillery, which Mohan Meakin Ltd. still operate. Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla, Murree
Murree
Murree city is a popular hill station and a summer resort, especially for the residents of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and for the cities of the province of Punjab, Pakistan...
(Murree Brewery
Murree Brewery
Murree Brewery is the maker of Pakistan's beer brand, Murree Beer. Its products are only legally available in Pakistan owing to a prohibition on the exportation of alcohol from Pakistan. The brewery has two manufacturing units located in Rawalpindi and Hattar .- History :The Murree Brewery Company...
), Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
, Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
and acquired interests in the Ootacamund
Ootacamund
Ootacamund , is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills...
Brewery (South India).
Another entrepreneur, H G Meakin, moved to India and bought the old Shimla and Solan Breweries from Edward Dyer and added more at Ranikhet
Ranikhet
Ranikhet is a hill station and cantonment town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment & Naga Regiment and is maintained by the Indian Army....
, Dalhousie
Dalhousie, India
Dalhousie is a hill station and popular tourist spot in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India.- Weather :Dalhousie experiences winter-like cold climate throughout the year. Heavy rain with thunder showers are experienced during the period from June to September...
, Chakrata
Chakrata
Chakrata or Chakrauta is a cantonment town in Dehradun district in the state of Uttarakhand, India.It is situated between the Tons and Yamuna rivers, at an elevation of 7000–7250 feet, 92 km from state capital, Dehradun, it was originally a cantonment of British Indian Army...
, Darjeeling, Kirkee and Nuwara Eliya (Ceylon). After the First World War, the Meakin and Dyer breweries merged and 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
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
Following independence, N.N. Mohan raised funds and travelled to London where he acquired a majority stake in Dyer Meakin Breweries. He took over management of the company in 1949 and built new breweries at Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Ghaziabad and Khopoli
Khopoli
Khopoli is an industrial town in the Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. Patalganga River which is the tailrace channel of Tata Hydroelectric Power station flows through Khopoli....
(near Mumbai). The company name was changed to Mohan Meakin Breweries in 1967 (the word "Breweries" was dropped in the eighties as the company diversified into other industries).
On the death of N.N. Mohan in 1969, his eldest son Colonel V.R. Mohan took over as Managing Director. He introduced a number of new products that are brand leaders today but died in 1973, soon after taking the helm. In the 1970s the manufacturing activities of the company were diversified into other fields including breakfast cereals, fruit juices and mineral water under the leadership of Brigadier(Dr.)Kapil Mohan V.S.M link title (Col. V.R. Mohan's brother). Subsequently the word brewery was dropped from the company name in 1982 to remove the impression that the company was engaged only in beer making. New breweries were built during the seventies and eighties at Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
, Madras, Nepal and Kakinada
Kakinada
Kakinada is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located east of the state capital, Hyderabad. It is also the headquarters of East Godavari district. It is nicknamed "Fertilizer City" , "Pensioner's Paradise" and "Second Madras"...
near Hyderabad.
Today, Mohan Meakin's principal brands are Old Monk Rum and Golden Eagle Beer. Its other products include Diplomat Deluxe, Colonel's Special, Black Knight, Meakin 10,000, Summer Hall and Solan No 1 whiskies
Indian whisky
Indian whisky is a distilled alcoholic beverage that is labelled as "whisky" in India. Much Indian whisky is based on spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses...
, London Dry and Big Ben gins, and Kaplanski vodka. Asia’s original beer, Lion, is still sold in northern India.
Beer
Lion Beer is the main brand first sold by Dyer Breweries in the 1840s. Lion was originally an IPA (India Pale Ale - which makes it the oldest IPA brand still in existence) but the beer style was changed in the 1960s to a lager. Lion remained the number one beer in India for over a century from the 1840s until the 1960s. After this another Mohan Meakin brand, "Golden Eagle", took the number one spot until the 1980s, when Kingfisher became number one. By 2001, Lion sales had declined substantially and Lion was only available to the Indian Army through the CSD (Canteen Services Department). Mohan Meakin then entrusted the marketing of their original beer to International Breweries Pvt. Ltd. The brand has since been relaunched in the north Indian market. With a new label design and marketing campaign, Lion has established itself once more in the civilian market and is now expanding into markets across India.Lion earns a place in history as Asia's first beer brand. Lion's popularity with the British during the heyday of the Empire led to the start-up of other Lion beers around the world, in New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere. Lion remains the number one brand in neighbouring Sri Lanka where Mohan Meakin had introduced it in the 1880s through their Ceylon brewery.
Australian is another popular 5% abv lager distributed by International Breweries (P) Ltd. The 8% abv version is called Australian MAX. Australian MAX has recently won the title of the "World's Best Strong Lager" at the World Beer Awards. Australian MAX beat the best strong beers from Germany, England, USA, Belgium, Denmark and from all over the world. This is the highest honour ever awarded to a beer brewed in India.
Rum
Old Monk is a vatted Indian RumRum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, blended and aged for 7 years (though there is also more expensive, 12 year old version). It is dark, with an alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
content of 42.8%. It is produced by Mohan Meakin, based in Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
It is available in all parts of India.
Old Monk is also the third largest selling Rum in the world. Old Monk has been the biggest Indian Made Foreign Liquor
Indian Made Foreign Liquor
Indian Made Foreign Liquor, often abbreviated IMFL, is a term used to denote western-style hard liquors such as whisky, rum, vodka, etc., which are manufactured in India...
(IMFL) brand for many years.
It is sold in four size variants 180 ml (quarter), 350 ml (half), 750 ml (full), and a 1 liter bottle.