Cheers to beer lovers! Delhi govt allows micro-breweries

Here's some good news for beer lovers in the national capital -- the Delhi government has allowed micro breweries for the first time in the city.

The Delhi Cabinet has approved a proposal of the excise department to allow micro-brew pubs.

At present, people wanting to taste freshly-brewed beer have to travel to Gurgaon and Faridabad in Haryana where such breweries exist in large numbers.

"The Delhi Cabinet recently approved a new excise policy for 2017-18, under which micro breweries will be allowed in the national capital," a senior government official told PTI.

Hotels, malls and other entities will soon be able to offer freshly-brewed beer to their customers.

The official also said that three applications are currently pending with the excise department for opening micro breweries in Delhi.

"As the Cabinet has approved the department's proposal, a decision on these applications will be taken at the earliest," the official added.

Micro breweries produce a small amount of lager and are usually set up in pubs that cater to niche customers. Haryana was one of the first states to have allowed micro-brew pubs.

Micro breweries originated in Germany and have gained popularity globally in the past decades including in the US, Japan, Canada, Belgium and the UK, where the term was first coined in the 1970s.