Lager than life

David Home and Habeeb Kamaal holding five 'Little Devils'.



An assortment of five different imported malts is used to generate this unique strong lager. With alcohol strength exceeding 5 per cent but not 8 per cent, this has rightfully won awards in all beer tastings of the world. Onilda Fernandes chats up with David Home, the Australian chairman of the TVB group International.

Following an extensive stint with several business’ including oil rigs, prawn boat fishing, construction, major cattle property, importation of clothing, and the likes, what got you attracted to the beer world?
After several mishaps with my previous companies, somewhere in 1991, I established the TVB Hospitality Marketing Company, signing major contracts over the last 18 years, in more than 15 countries and over 5 continents. Here, apart from creating software, I started an Upselling Training Division that focus’s on Hotel Front Desk, Reservation and Food & Beverage training techniques.
When the Craft Beer industry in Australia boomed, I took the plunge and decided to venture into this line.

A saving grace then?
Most definitely! There’s an expansive market out there. Following the success of Craft Breweries and Specialty Craft Beer and Ales in the USA, Canada, Germany and Australia, we are glad to introduce these new beverages to India.

With quite a few breweries already positioned here, how do you plan to stick out?
At the outset, we are India’s first official regional craft beer brewer. So there really cant be two of us. Then there’s the undisputed fact, that India is 30 years behind the rest of the world when it comes to the beer market. How many superior lagers, ales and stouts would you actually find here? There are about 50! This is our goal-expanding the minds of beer consumers.

What are you offering us?
Firstly, all natural ingredients. No added sugar, no artificial colours and nothing except the flavour of yeast, hops, malt and pure fresh water.
Secondly, due to the increased percentage of specialty malt and hop ingredients used by our Brew masters, one will experience a fuller, more complex aroma in Little Devils beers compared to the typical light mass market lager style of beers. The aroma should remind you citrus, flowers, herbs, caramel, cocoa and fresh baked cookies.
Finally, nothing is left to chance, as we monitor the brewing process, to ensure every small batch delivers the same character and freshness missed in mass-market beers.
More importantly, the people who created the original recipes 30 years ago, are the same who carefully blend all the ingredients today.

Beer is a more all round beverage wine, encompassing a wider range of flavours to any dining experience. Elaborate.
Beginning with Little Devils wheat beer, its versatility allows it to go with many foods. Low bitterness with light fruity flavours, it is the perfect beer to go with all vegetarian meals, seafood and side dishes of various Indian yogurts.
Then there’s the Golden Ale, which accentuates North Indian meals like Tandoori Chicken or sweat-marinated kheema.
Likewise, Indian Pale Ale is a perfect match for real spicy, oily and aromatic cuisine in India.

What’s a lager?
Lager is one of the two types of beer, the other being, ale. Introduced in about the 20th century, it became popular due to its mild effect on the palette. It is bottom fermented.

And ale?
It is brewed from malted barley using a top-fermenting brewers' yeast. This yeast ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the beer. Ales go well with strong food.

When did you decide to launch in India?
About 18 months ago, after conducting a survey and several tests. We are now fully marketed in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Maharshtra and now, Goa.

Where is your brewery based?
In Uttar Pradesh. Though we are currently building one in Himachal Pradesh as well. All our raw materials are imported though.

Any setbacks so far?
Not really. That’s probably because; we are not competing with the mass-market beers. Ours is a premium product and we are catering mainly to the beer connoisseurs. Many are surprised of the different tastes available, drinking, as they have been, the same liquid for the past 30 years.

What next?
I want to expand this product further, to the other states in India. Also, I have plans to start up Beer Pong in some of the clubs that I have tied up with. This is basically like table cricket played on an 8 feet long table, each player intent on landing the ball in one of the 10 cups of beer on the other end. When the ball lands, the defending team must consume all of the beer inside that cup.
Hopefully, like all the other countries in the world, this will open up a National tournament or championship.