Murree Brewery

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Murree Brewery is the maker of Pakistan's premier beer brand, Murree Beer. Murree Brewery also exports to the Middle East and many European countries, where it is available in Indian and Pakistani restaurants.

The brewery has two manufacturing units located in Rawalpindi and Hattar (NWFP).

[edit] History

The Murree Brewery, owned by the Bhandara Family, was established in 1860 to meet the beer requirements of British personnel under the British Raj at Ghora Gali near the resort place of Murree. In the 1880s the company established further breweries in Rawalpindi and Quetta and a distillery was also established in Rawalpindi. Due to scarcity of water in Murree in the 1920s, brewing was mostly transferred to Rawalpindi but malting continued at Ghora Gali until the 1940s, when this property was sold. This brewery, built in the Gothic style of architecture, was burnt during the partition riots of 1947/48, while the brewery in Quetta got destroyed in the 1935 Balochistan earthquake.

In the 1960s oak casks were imported from North America, Australia and Spain and the underground cellars now hold over half a million litres of Malt Whisky for varying periods of maturation up to 12 years. Murree brewery produces a generally excellent world class Single malt whisky. New beer canning and modern bottle filling facility were installed in the 1990s, imported from Germany.

[edit] Recent growth

In 1977 the Murree Brewery suffered a significant setback when General Zia-ul-Haq, as part of his Islamisation policy, imposed prohibition in Pakistan, requiring anyone wishing to consume alcohol to present credentials demonstrating that they were non-Muslim. The small Christian, Hindu and Parsi communities were not large enough to support the enterprise, and production had to be scaled back.

However, gradual relaxation of the prohibition laws has allowed Murree to introduce variations of Murree beer, vodka, gin and whisky. Today, all Murree products are readily available in legal liquor shops that operate openly in Karachi in places like Zamzama and Defence. It is also available in the interior of Sindh. Although the consumption of alcohol in public is still nominally banned, it is becoming increasingly available in clubs and high-class restaurants. Murree Beer is now also being exported to Europe and the Middle East and is available in various Pakistani and Indian restaurants.

Murree's biggest competitor is the Quetta Distillery, and its products have to increasingly vie with smuggled brands from the West.