In India, traditional beer has been prepared from rice or millet for thousands of years. In the 18th century, the British introduced European beer to India. Beer is not as popular as stronger alcoholic beverages like desi daru and Indian-made foreign liquor, such as Indian whiskey. The most popular beers in India are strong beers. Beer-like sura has been produced in India since the Vedic era (c. 1500–1200 BCE, Rig Veda), rice beer has been produced by the native tribes since ancient times, European beer imports to India from England started in 1716, introduced by the British raj. Lion beer produced continuously since the 1820s is Asia's first beer brand and the first Indian brewed European style beer. History Traditional beer The Vedas mention a beer-like drink called sura. It was the favourite of the god Indra. Sura is also mentioned in the Ramayana. Megasthenes has recorded usage of rice beer in India. Kautilya has also mentioned two intoxicating beverages made from rice called Medaka and Prasanna. Rice beer or handia has been traditionally prepared by various indigenous tribes of India, in which Ruellia suffruticosa is sometimes added for flavor. Rice beer also has ceremonial use among the Asur people. Millet beer is also prepared by some tribes. According to biologist J. B. S. Haldane, local beer helped in keeping diseases like beri beri checked in these tribes. Recently, government and social workers have been trying to curb alcohol usage among these tribes. Elephant herds have been known to attack villages to drink this rice beer for which they have acquired a taste. European beer European-style beer was introduced in India by the British. By 1716, pale ale and Burton ale were being imported to India from England. To protect the beer from spoiling during the long journey, it had to have high alcohol content and hops were added to it. This led to the invention of India pale ale in about 1787 by Bow Brewery. In 1830, Edward Abraham Dyer, father of Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, travelled to India and set up India's first brewery, the Kasauli Brewery. It produced the beer brand Lion, which is still available. In 1835, the beer production at Kasauli brewery was moved to Solan Brewery at Solan in a swap when Kasauli Brewery started producing India's first single malt whisky, the Solan No. 1. In 1885, it was