Executive Summary The beer and brewery industry is one of the most established consumer markets in the UK.

It consists of two clear sectors: lager, which is a bottom-fermented, light coloured carbonated beer; and dark beer, which is top-fermented and commonly known as ale. Dark beer is usually of a darker colour, and is not carbonated like lager. It is far more varied than lager in its available flavours. Lager has a significant share of the market in value terms; 71.5% at retail selling prices (rsp). In terms of volume, there is more parity in production, with the market split 56.8% to lager and 43.2% to dark beer. The lager sector is largely made up of multinational companies that own a wide variety of leading UK brands. These companies often have a global reach and can introduce their brands to emerging markets to encourage growth. They can also afford to launch new brands on a wide scale relatively quickly, and this had resulted in several new brands emerging over the past decade, as well as the introduction of sub-brands such as Becks Vier. In comparison, the dark beer market is largely made up of small breweries that have variable market shares depending on the region of the UK. The standard dark beer market, which includes products such as Guinness and John Smiths, is the only market where large multinational companies have a considerable interest. Despite this, there is potential for these companies to move into the premium dark beer market in the future if smaller breweries continue to succeed, a possibility demonstrated by the purchase of Sharps Brewery by Molson Coors in 2011 for 20m. In recent years, the total beer market has reduced in volume

terms due to an array of negative press surrounding health fears. Binge drinking has been at the forefront of concern in the media, particularly due to the anti-social behaviour it is related to. Despite consumption levels being lower than in previous years, consumers are choosing to purchase more premium lagers which retail at higher prices and consume less of them. This can help to explain why the value of the overall market continues to rise despite volume levels dropping. Both on-trade beer consumed in the premises it is purchased on and off-trade beer consumed away from the place it was purchases have witnessed troubles in recent years. The on-trade distribution channels are struggling due to regular pub closures, with approximately two pubs being closing every day. The off-trade is problematic for the industry because of falling prices caused by stiff supermarket competition, which reduces the profit margins for all businesses involved in the manufacture and sale of beer. Looking to the future, the beer industry appears set to maintain a stable position, however growth is likely to remain low, at steady rates for the next 5 years. Key Note predicts year-on-year growth in value terms to continue, while production levels will most likely fall despite the increase in niche markets and small independent breweries. The peak of growth for the market is set for 2013, with an increase of 1.9%, followed by smaller growth levels for the next 2 years.

Indian Beer
The Indian Beer Industry is growing at a yearly rate of 7% to 9%. Among the various beer brands in the Indian market, some of the most popular brands that are doing extremely well are Kingfisher, Haywards 5000, Haywards 2000 premium, Hi-Five, and Sandpiper. United Breweries and SABMiller are the major players in the Indian beer industry till now and India is also likely to see the setting up of a number of beer markets by some top international players like AnheuserBusch, Carlsberg and InBev very soon.

A Brief Note on Indian Beer IndustryA robust growth of around 7% to 9% per year has been witnessed by the Indian Beer Industry for the past ten years. In the recent period, the growth rate in the beer industry in India has been significantly high. During the financial year 2005-2006, 100m volumes were passed from this industry. The consumption of beer in India continued to increase with the growing income levels. There was a tough competition in the Indian beer industry between the United Breweries Group ruled by Vijay Mallya and Shaw Wallace ruled by Manu Chabbria in the earlier days. This picture of the beer industry in India changed with the entry of SABMiller in the country. This international beer manufacturer captured the Indian beer market by acquiring the small scale brewery firms in the Southern part of India in the initial stages and then hit the market by acquiring Shaw Wallace's beer portfolio which accounted for a turn over of USD 132 million in the year 2003. Soon after SABMiller introduced a renowned brand named as Haywards 5000 along with the already existent brand of its own.

Top Ten Beer Brands in India-

Kingfisher Haywards 5000 Sandpiper Foster's Beer Carling Black Label Maharaja Premium Lager Royal Challenge San Miguel Lager Hi-Five Strohs

Forecast of Beer Market in IndiaThe beer market in India is expected to achieve n yearly growth rate of 17.2 % by 2011. Due to a significant growth in the standard of living in India, the consumption rate has also grown immensely since past few decades. In the coming two to three years, the sales of beer are expected to witness a robust growth deeming the high disposable incomes at present. The existing players in the beer market in India such as United Breweries and SABMiller are expanding their markets and new players like Anheuser-Busch, Carlsberg and InBev have already made their entry in the Indian market.