For years, India’s craft beer movement borrowed heavily from European brewing traditions with wheat beers, Belgian ales and German lagers dominating taprooms across the country. Now, breweries are increasingly turning to something far more local: millets, indigenous grains and traditional forest ingredients. From ragi-infused beers in Bengaluru to jowar lagers in Delhi and mahua-based brews across western India, craft breweries are increasingly drawing inspiration from indigenous grains, regional flavours and India’s expanding millet revival.
The shift comes at a time when millets are witnessing a major revival across India following the UN-backed International Year of Millets in 2023, an initiative strongly championed by India. Among India’s major craft beer hubs, Bengaluru has become the leading centre for experimentation with indigenous grain-based beers.
Toit Brewpub brews a ragi-based beer called ‘Namma Beeru’, made using locally sourced Karnataka finger millet. The brewery also serves a Bohemian-style millet lager called ‘Banger Lager’, which has now become a regular offering not only in Bengaluru but also at its outlets in Mumbai and Pune. Meanwhile, Arbor Brewing Company has introduced the ‘Mahua Dubbel’, an 8% Belgian-style strong ale brewed using mahua flowers. The beer blends the rich malty profile of a traditional Dubbel with the earthy and slightly fermented notes associated with mahua. Other Bengaluru breweries, including The Biere Club and Byg Brewski, have also experimented with ragi ales and regional grain-based brews.
In Delhi’s growing craft beer market, Fort City Brewing has developed a jowar lager that replaces nearly 40% of barley with sorghum. Brewers say the use of jowar not only creates a distinct flavour profile but also lowers gluten content compared to conventional barley-heavy beers. Experts believe sorghum-based brewing could become commercially significant because the grain is cheaper, drought-resistant and more environmentally sustainable than imported barley malt.
Pune And Mumbai Join The Millet Beer Trend: The movement is also spreading across western India. Breweries in Pune have experimented with bajra-based craft beers, while millet lagers and ragi beers are increasingly appearing on seasonal tap menus in Mumbai and Pune brewpubs. Industry insiders say many of these beers are currently released as limited seasonal batches or rotating taps rather than permanent menu items, meaning availability often changes from brewery to brewery.
Why Brewers Are Turning To Millets? The shift towards millets is being driven by a mix of flavour experimentation, sustainability and changing consumer preferences. Craft brewers say younger drinkers, especially Gen Z consumers, are increasingly drawn towards hyperlocal ingredients and products with a stronger cultural identity. Millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra are also easier to source domestically and support local farming communities, unlike imported barley malt used in many commercial beers. Chairman of Indian Chamber of Commerce, Shivkumar Eashwaran, recently said that breweries should increasingly source grains, fruits and agricultural produce from Indian farmers to strengthen local supply chains and rural livelihoods, as reported by The Times Of India.
Are Millet Beers Healthier Than Traditional Beer? Experts caution that millet beer is still alcoholic and should not be considered a health drink. However, compared to standard wheat or barley beers, some nutritional differences do exist. One of the biggest advantages is lower gluten content. According to Ashok Kumar Are, Principal Scientist (Sorghum) at Indian Council of Agricultural Research, jowar is naturally gluten-free and suitable for producing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Millets Research are also studying the feasibility of large-scale sorghum beer production. Officials there have noted that sorghum-based brewing could reduce costs significantly because imported malts can cost between Rs 80 and Rs 120 per kilogram, while sorghum is available at roughly Rs 20 to Rs 40 per kilogram.
Ragi, meanwhile, is widely recognised for its high calcium content. Nutritionist Dt Trishala Goswami said millets represent “a return to what Indian agriculture and Indian bodies were designed for”, adding that modern science is now validating what traditional Indian diets had long understood. A peer-reviewed 2025 study on fermented millet beverages also found that millet fermentation can improve nutrient absorption, aid digestion and introduce probiotic benefits due to the fermentation process.
Still, brewers admit the flavour profile remains very different from mainstream wheat beers. Great State Aleworks, among the early pioneers of millet beer in India, described its first millet brew as lighter in body and flavour with mild carbonation, noting that while the brewing process works well, the taste may not appeal to every beer drinker.
The growing popularity of millet beer reflects a larger cultural and agricultural shift underway in India. For decades, millets were often dismissed as “poor people’s grains” and gradually replaced by polished rice and refined wheat in urban Indian households. However, the government-backed millet mission and India’s successful campaign for the UN’s International Year of Millets helped bring these traditional grains back into mainstream conversations around health, sustainability and food security.
Craft breweries are now tapping into that momentum, positioning millet beer as a more local, experimental and environmentally conscious alternative within India’s rapidly evolving alcohol market.
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