Ale's well

The initial calls to the UK were for purely selfish reasons — heavy metal band Iron Maiden had launched a beer in May 2013 called Trooper, named for its 1983 hit single, and Rohan Bhalla, Ram Vaidyanathan and Ridya Thakur wanted to pop a couple of caps themselves. But as they reached out to Robinson to get some of the British brewery’s biggest export, the three ISB friends saw a business opportunity — why not bring Trooper and other craft beer to India? The result: Yeast India Co, which for the past four months has been importing and distributing Trooper and Old Tom in Mumbai.

The menu will expand soon to include Germany’s St. Erhard, the US’ Dogfish Head, Russia’s River and the British Adnams brews. Tieups with select eateries where Trooper will be sold at over ₹400 a pint will bring the founders margins of 5-10%, but that’s not tempting them to quit their day jobs just yet. That will happen a little later, with plans for opening a restaurant or retail outlet once the portfolio expands sufficiently. While heavy metal nights played a role in the launch of Trooper, now Yeast India is promoting the pale ale mainly through tasting sessions and, of course, through social media. “These days people are willing to spend more to try premium category beer and the beer culture, hopefully, has taken off,” says Bhalla optimistically.