The Indian alcohol consumer market has always seen a shift in the choices of consumers due to various factors like Western influence, trends, and even health. But this time, the shift is not because of any of the above-mentioned reasons; instead, it is because of the changes in liquor laws across various Indian states. According to the excise data, consumers are rapidly shifting to beer from hard spirits because of the changes in taxation, retail expansion, and price rationalisation.
Due to regulations on liquor across Indian states like Assam, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, consumers are embracing beer over other spirits. The beer sales have witnessed a surge between 14% to 109% ever since there have been policy changes because of factors that are associated with the changes in taxation.
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States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal have seen various changes in their liquor laws in 2025. For example, taxes on IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) were increased by 50% in July, while the prices of beer remained unchanged. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh doubled the number of beer outlets by relaxing the licensing rules, which in turn increased beer sales by 14%.
The excise on beer remained unchanged in West Bengal, while the excise on hard spirits was increased by 2% to 4%. Meghalaya and Assam, both states, aligned excise duties with 40% to 60% on spirits and 20% to 30% on beer. These changes in these states led to an increase in the sale of beer because it was relatively cheap.
While the sale of beer increased, the overall IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) segment witnessed a slow single-digit growth. According to the latest data, the sale of IMFL dropped by 18%. In September and October.
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According to the latest update, about 60% of drinkers in Maharashtra now prefer premium lagers in clubs or pubs. The youth in Meghalaya and workers in Assam prefer wheat beer because of its milder effects, which led the volumes to rise by 15%. Uttar Pradesh witnessed beer preferred over spirits in weddings in a 2:1 ratio. West Bengal’s pujo crowd too preferred beer over hard spirits.
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The demographics between 25 to 35 years of age prefer low-calorie beer because of health-conscious reasons and to avoid a terrible hangover the next day. Many countries across the globe, in order to promote responsible and light drinking, apply comparatively less tax on beer as compared to hard spirits.
With people moving towards beer from hard spirits and Gen Z moving towards low ABV and low-calorie drinks, we can anticipate a trend toward more responsible drinking habits in the future in India.
