India's show of strength

Some of the world's biggest brewers are piling into the Indian market, exploiting the country's fast-growing taste for high-alcohol beer.

Carlsberg, SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev and United Breweries are targeting a market dominated by whisky, a September Reuters report says. In India, 83 per cent of all beer sold last year was high alcohol - 5 to 8 per cent alcohol, it says.

Drinkers there want to get drunk, and they want products with a macho image.

This contrasts with Australia where, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on September 18, total alcohol consumption declined in 2011-12 for the second consecutive year. Beer consumption hit a 66-year low, and our tastes moved from low- and full-strength beer to mid-strength.

Full-strength beer accounts for about 77 per cent of the total but would comprise beers mainly between 3.5 per cent and 5 per cent alcohol.

Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Scottish Pale Ale
330ml, $4.99

Innis and Gunn offers a distinctive twist on the traditional Scottish ale style. It offers sweet maltiness with an underlying caramel flavour. The twist comes in a zingy hops character and a tweak of tannin, perhaps oak-derived. The aftertaste, however, is malty and quite sweet, setting it apart from most beer styles.

West Coast International Pale Ale
330ml, $4.41

West Coast Pale Ale, from Westport, New Zealand, combines English pale and crystal malts with an American ale yeast and two New Zealand hops - Nelson Sauvin and NZ Cascade. Hops added at various stages, including the bright beer tank, give pungent flavours and bitterness to the beer's fruity, opulent maltiness.

Chris Shanahan