bira 91 review (2026) — did craft beer actually change india?

tldr: bira 91 genuinely changed indian beer culture. the white ale (rs 150-250, 4.7% ABV) is one of the best widely available beers in india, smooth and actually flavorful. the blonde lager is a solid alternative to commercial lagers. but here’s the irony: bira’s bestsellers are now the strong and boom variants, which are just regular commercial beers with craft branding. the craft originals are excellent. the mass-market expansions are average. rating: 8/10.

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this bira 91 review is about more than just a beer brand. it’s about whether a single company actually changed how india drinks beer. because that’s what bira 91 set out to do, and by most measures, it succeeded. before bira launched in 2015, the indian beer market was dominated by bland commercial lagers. kingfisher, tuborg, haywards, carlsberg. all virtually interchangeable mild lagers and strong beers brewed for maximum inoffensiveness. the concept of “different styles of beer” barely existed in the mainstream indian market.

bira 91 changed that. a wheat ale in a colorful can that actually tasted like something. it was the first time most indian beer drinkers had experienced a beer with actual character, available at a regular bar or liquor shop instead of a specialty craft brewery. bira didn’t invent craft beer in india, but it brought craft beer to the people who would never walk into a craft brewery. and that matters.

but it’s 2026 now. bira has been around for over a decade. the brand has scaled massively, expanded its variant lineup, and made the inevitable move into the strong beer segment that drives most of india’s beer sales. the question is: does bira still deliver on the craft promise, or has it become another corporate beer brand with better marketing?

this review covers every variant, honest taste notes, pricing, and where bira fits in the indian beer market today.

this review is part of liquor india, where i review every major alcohol brand available in india. no sponsors, no affiliate links.

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bira 91 at a glance

detail	info
brand	bira 91
type	wheat ale, lager, IPA, strong beer
ABV	4.7-8% depending on variant
maker	B9 beverages
origin	new delhi, india (2015)
price (330ml can)	rs 80-180
variants	white, blonde, IPA, strong, light, boom
best for	flavor-conscious drinkers, social settings, food pairing
rating	8/10

bira 91 was founded by ankur jain and launched with two variants: white (wheat ale) and blonde (lager). the name “91” comes from india’s country calling code. the brand was venture-capital funded from the start, which gave it the marketing muscle to compete with established players. that VC backing is both bira’s strength (rapid scaling, modern branding, nationwide distribution) and its vulnerability (pressure to grow means moving into mass-market segments that dilute the craft identity).

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bira 91 white: the one that changed everything

bira 91 white is a wheat ale at 4.7% ABV, and it is the beer that changed indian drinking culture. i’m not being dramatic. before bira white, the vast majority of indian beer drinkers had never tasted a wheat ale. they didn’t know beer could be cloudy, slightly sweet, and citrusy instead of clear, bland, and bitter.

pour bira white into a glass and the difference from any kingfisher or budweiser is immediately obvious. it’s hazy, pale gold with a creamy white head that actually lingers. the nose is orange peel, coriander, and wheat. it smells like beer with intention, like someone actually thought about what flavors to put in there. this is a witbier-style ale, similar in concept to hoegaarden or blue moon but brewed for the indian palate.

the taste is smooth, slightly sweet, with a light citrus edge and a soft, almost creamy mouthfeel. the wheat gives it body without heaviness. there’s minimal bitterness, making it incredibly approachable. the finish is clean with a lingering citrus note. it’s refreshing, it’s flavorful, and it’s genuinely enjoyable.

bira white is my preferred craft-style option when i’m at a bar or picking up beer for an evening. it’s consistently good, the flavor profile is distinct enough to feel like you’re drinking something with character, and it’s accessible enough that people who “don’t like beer” often enjoy it. i’ve introduced multiple friends to bira white who now order it regularly. the conversion rate on this beer is high.

here’s the thing that makes bira white actually impressive: it maintained its quality through massive scaling. a lot of craft-adjacent brands lose their character when they go from small batches to industrial production. bira white tastes the same today as it did when i first tried it years ago. that consistency at scale is a genuine achievement.

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bira 91 blonde: the underrated lager

bira blonde is a 4.5% ABV lager that often gets overlooked because white gets all the attention. that’s a shame, because blonde is a very good commercial lager. it’s cleaner and crisper than kingfisher premium, with a slightly more pronounced hop character and a drier finish. if white is the exciting one, blonde is the reliable one.

compared to kingfisher or budweiser, bira blonde has more going on. there’s actual hop aroma (mild, floral), a cleaner malt profile, and a finish that doesn’t leave you with that slightly sweet, slightly corny aftertaste that most indian lagers have. it’s still a simple lager. it’s not going to compete with european pilsners. but within the indian market, it’s a notch above the standard commercial offerings.

the issue with blonde is the same issue with all of bira’s craft-origin variants: price. a 330ml bira blonde costs roughly what a 650ml kingfisher premium costs. you’re getting half the volume for the same money. the taste is better, but is it twice-as-good? probably not. blonde makes sense at bars where you’re buying by the glass anyway. at liquor shops, the value calculation is harder to justify.

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bira 91 IPA: decent for india, average globally

bira 91 IPA is one of the few widely available IPAs in indian retail. at around 6.5% ABV, it has moderate hop bitterness, citrus and pine notes, and a fuller body than the white or blonde. it’s bira’s most “craft” offering in the traditional sense.

my honest take: bira IPA is fine. if you’ve never had an IPA before, this is a reasonable introduction. it has enough hop character to give you an idea of what the style is about. the bitterness is present but not aggressive, the citrus notes are pleasant, and it finishes cleaner than i expected.

but if you’ve had good IPAs, whether from indian craft breweries in bangalore or pune, or imported american IPAs, bira’s version feels watered down. the hop punch isn’t there. the complexity isn’t there. the bold, resinous, grapefruit-forward character that defines great IPAs is absent. bira IPA is an IPA for people who think they might like IPAs. it’s not an IPA for people who already know they love them.

still, availability matters. you can buy bira IPA at a regular liquor shop. you can’t buy a toit or white rhino IPA at a regular liquor shop. for accessibility alone, bira IPA fills a gap in the market.

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bira 91 strong and boom: where craft meets commerce

here’s where bira’s story gets complicated. bira strong (around 7-8% ABV) and bira boom (a strong lager) are the brand’s entries into the mass-market strong beer segment. this is the segment where kingfisher strong, haywards 5000, and knock-out compete. it’s also the segment that accounts for the majority of beer sales in india.

from a business perspective, this move makes complete sense. you can’t build a national beer brand in india without a strong beer in your portfolio. the math doesn’t work. the margins on craft-priced low-ABV beer can’t sustain the distribution network needed to compete with UB and AB InBev.

from a taste perspective, bira strong and boom are… regular strong beers. they taste like what they are: commercial strong beers with slightly better packaging. there’s nothing craft about them. the malt is heavier, there’s that familiar strong beer sweetness, and the alcohol is noticeable. they’re not worse than kingfisher strong, but they’re not meaningfully better either.

this is the bira 91 paradox. the brand that told india “beer can be better” now makes its money selling beer that’s basically the same as everything else. the white ale changed the conversation. boom strong pays the bills. i don’t blame bira for it, the market demands it. but it does dilute the brand’s original promise.

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bira 91 light: the calorie play

bira light is a low-calorie option at around 4% ABV with reduced carbs. it’s targeted at health-conscious drinkers who want to drink beer without the full caloric impact. the taste is very light, almost diluted, with minimal malt character and a thin body.

i’ve had bira light once and found it underwhelming. it tastes like someone took bira blonde and added water. the low-calorie positioning makes sense on paper, but in practice, if you’re that concerned about calories, you’re probably better off having one bira white and actually enjoying it instead of having two bira lights and feeling like you missed out.

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bira 91 price in india (2026)

bira 91 pricing is higher than commercial lagers across the board. here’s what you can expect.

bira 91 price by variant and format

variant	330ml can	500ml can/pint
bira white	rs 100-150	rs 170-250
bira blonde	rs 90-140	rs 160-230
bira IPA	rs 110-160	rs 180-260
bira strong	rs 80-120	rs 140-200
bira boom	rs 70-110	rs 120-180
bira light	rs 90-130	rs 150-220

state variation: goa is cheapest (rs 15-25 less per can), maharashtra and karnataka are on the higher end. delhi sits in the middle.

bar pricing: bira at bars typically costs rs 250-450 per pint, depending on the city and venue. at bars, the price premium over kingfisher narrows since both get significant markups.

value comparison: a 330ml bira white at rs 130 gives you roughly the same liquid as half a 650ml kingfisher at rs 65 equivalent. but the kingfisher costs rs 120-150 for the full bottle. you’re paying roughly double per ml for bira. the taste is better, the question is whether it’s double-the-price better.

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the bira 91 impact: what it actually changed

bira 91’s impact on the indian beer market goes beyond just selling wheat ales. here’s what the brand genuinely changed.

beer vocabulary. before bira, most indian drinkers didn’t know the difference between an ale and a lager, between wheat beer and pilsner. bira introduced these concepts to the mainstream. people started asking “what style is this?” instead of just “is it strong or mild?” that vocabulary shift is permanent and significant.

packaging and branding. bira’s colorful monkey-logo cans looked nothing like the traditional green bottles and conservative branding of kingfisher and carlsberg. bira proved that indian beer could be young, fun, and design-forward. every new beer brand launched after bira has taken cues from its branding approach.

competitor response. kingfisher launched ultra witbier. budweiser introduced new variants. carlsberg expanded its range. the entire market was forced to acknowledge that drinkers wanted more options. bira didn’t just create a brand. it expanded the category.

craft brewery awareness. bira’s success made people curious about craft beer generally. craft breweries in bangalore, pune, mumbai, and gurgaon saw increased footfall from drinkers who started with bira and wanted to explore further. bira was the gateway.

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is bira 91 still craft? the identity question

this is the debate that follows bira everywhere, and it’s worth addressing honestly.

bira 91 started as a craft beer brand. small batches, distinct styles, premium positioning. today, bira produces at massive commercial scale across multiple breweries. its bestselling products are mass-market strong beers. its distribution rivals that of established commercial brands.

is that still craft? strictly speaking, no. craft beer, by most definitions, implies small-batch, independently produced, and flavor-focused. bira is none of those things anymore. it’s a venture-capital backed, commercially scaled beer company.

but here’s the more useful question: does it matter? if bira white still tastes good, still offers more flavor than kingfisher, and still gives mainstream drinkers access to better beer, the label “craft” is less important than the actual drinking experience. bira white IS a better beer than kingfisher premium. that was true when bira was “craft” and it’s true now that it’s commercial. the taste hasn’t changed. only the scale has.

i’d rather have bira, a technically-not-craft brand making good beer at scale, than a purist definition of craft that limits good beer to expensive taprooms in three cities.

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verdict: bira 91 review

rating: 8/10

bira 91 earns an 8 out of 10, and almost all of that score comes from the white ale and blonde lager. these two variants are genuinely good beers that outclass most of what’s available in the indian market. the IPA is decent. the strong and boom variants are average commercial beers that happen to have bira’s branding. the light is forgettable.

buy bira 91 if: you want better-tasting beer and are willing to pay a premium for it. the white ale is the must-try. if you’ve only ever had kingfisher and budweiser, bira white will show you what beer can actually taste like.

skip bira 91 if: you’re strictly budget-conscious and want maximum beer for minimum money. kingfisher and tuborg give you more volume for less cost. also skip if you’re buying bira strong or boom expecting the same quality as white, you’ll be disappointed.

if you like bira 91, also try: craft breweries in your city for beers that push the envelope further. check my best beer brands in india for a complete breakdown of every option worth considering, or best beer under rs 500 for premium picks.

bira 91 proved that india was ready for better beer. the white ale is a landmark product. the brand’s expansion into mass-market territory was inevitable and doesn’t diminish what the original variants achieved. just know what you’re buying: bira white and blonde are the real deal. everything else in the lineup is a business decision.

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bira 91 review: frequently asked questions

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drink responsibly. must be of legal drinking age in your state.