HIM-; \VKKIKS 



First Indian 



: '. . ?-. . 



MALT 

 LIQUORS 

 Produ- - 



the fermented sap of the tar palm. Knar .I'.rdanu* i I i_'s A.O.) peaks of the tree 

 that ^'ives all the year i..m,.i a \\hiti- li.jU'.r, pleasant t< drink, <> i* 



called tart. Sidi Ali Rcis refers to (!.< \\in-- nliMim-d 



tree. On the other hand, Mandt'lslo (Travel*, in ()l.-ai Mutcovy, 



I I ; also Hobton-Jobton (ed. < 'r< . that 



the captain ..I thff-hip iii \\liirh In* journeyed to Sunn hud \rclli-nt ^MMI! Mock. 



-h III-.T, Kn-in-li \\mr-t. dink, and th.it tln-v po-pan-d inm, r 

 piuu-li d"il> /inn.' u ). ()\ iiiL-t.'ii (\'<>y. to Surtiit. l< ;'J5) says 



Mi-ink 1-1 iii.nl.- in India " ; mid i r. >| \\ inos and English Beer," tli 



jive, v\ !. " \i-i pun-huscd .in. I drank with pleasure." Tavernier (Tr>i 

 liiTt; (f.l. Hall), ii.. MS) tolls us that tin- I'r.-.Milent gave him u lar^'. ( -,, 



..-I i i IT " to takt< with him to Batavia, ?i h'-n- none <, .uUl be had. Birdwood 



(E.l.C. I'"*' Letter Book (Jntr.nliirti..n). xxi.) deHcrilo- n 

 \l.- in use in the 17th rrntury. It consisted of a bruised cock (the older 

 i-t (-r) with :> U>. <>t' raisins, mace, cloves, etc., two quarts of sack and ten gallons 

 .i a I.-, tin- whole being left to ripen as with other ales. Punch was another 

 tl Indian preparation, and " milk punch " has survived to the present day 

 the last of a long list of Anglo-Indian preparations a sort of home-brewed or 

 concocted liquor. [For further particulars see the articles on-Qplum, pp. 845-61, 

 Tobacco, p. 790, and Spirits, pp. 1043-8.] 



Indian Breweries. Within recent years " Country Beer " has come 

 to mean beer brewed in India after the European system. The first 

 Kuropean brewery in India was started in 1825 by a Mr. Henry Bohle at 

 Meerut and Mussourie, but in time the business was taken over by Mr. 

 John Mackinnon. It was not, however, until 1870 that the enterprise 

 became successful. In the meantime, between 1850 and 1860, several 

 breweries were started on hill stations. The official statistics of the 

 larger establishments show that in 1880 there were seventeen breweries in 

 India producing 1,974,578 gallons of beer made after the European system ; 

 in 1890, 22 breweries producing 5,192,572 gallons ; in 1900, 26 breweries 

 producing 4,947,841 gallons ; and in 1904 there were 27 breweries pro- 

 ducing 6,219,761 gallons, of which the Commissariat Department purchased 

 2,839,177 gallons, or a little under half the production. These figures 

 abundantly demonstrate the rapidity with which brewing had de- 

 veloped, and its present position. The breweries and shares of production Production. 

 in 1904-5 are as follows : Panjab, 8 breweries and 2,233,955 gallons ; 

 United Provinces, 6, and 1,451,796 gallons ; Madras, 4, and 416,852 gallons ; 

 Mysore, 3, and 700,281 gallons ; Bombay, 1, and 558,767 gallons ; Balu- 

 chistan (Quetta), 1, and 338,580 gallons ; Burma (Mandalay), 1, and 

 306,396 gallons ; Central Provinces (Jabbalpur), 1, and 130,194 gallons ; 

 Bengal (Sonada), 1, and 82,940 gallons. 



Consumption of country-brewed (English) beer and ale by the Natives consumption. 

 of India is not important, though in some provinces it is more extensive 

 than in others. In Madras these beverages are fairly popular, especially 

 in the hill districts, and in the Panjab mention is made in the Excise 

 Reports of the demand being on the increase. 



External Trade Returns. The rise and fall in the popularity of Trade. 

 imported ale, beer and porter may be said to mark the steady progress 

 of European opinion against the use of strong drinks, and of large 

 quantities of liquors of any kind in tropical countries. The first 

 importation of beer from London recorded in modern commerce may Early import*. 

 be said to have been consigned from Hodgson's brewery in 1816. This 

 was ultimately known as "Hodgson's Pale Ale." By 1825 the beers made 

 by Bass, Allsopp, Ind and Smith, etc., had found their way to India. 

 It is within the recollection of those still living that a guest was supplied 

 with a basket of four or six bottles of beer and was supposed somehow 



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