Alcoholic Beverages explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Part 4 of the Alcoholic Beverages Regulations, 2018 defines beer and its classes by alcohol content, its types by yeast (lager, ale, wheat beer, stout and porter), draught beer, craft beer, nitro craft beer and flavoured beer, and adds requirements on clarity, packing and microbial quality.
The text is read as amended up to 19 November 2025 (FSSAI Compendium Version V dated 04.12.2025). FSSAI compendia are reference consolidations and the Gazette text prevails. Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. A brewery or pub-brewery needs the right licence for its scale; see central FSSAI licence support.
Beer is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from barley malt or other malted grains, sometimes with adjuncts, and with hops or hop extracts. By alcohol content it is regular or mild, strong, or a beer at 0.0 abv. Beer must meet Part 1 and Table-3 and must be clear (except wheat beer), bottled or canned and pasteurized or filter sterilized (draught beer excepted), and clear of coliforms and pathogens.
Regulation 4.1: what beer is and its classes
Beer is "a fermented alcoholic beverage made from barley malt or other malted grains, sometimes with added adjuncts like wheat, maize, corn, rice or other cereal crops, and with hops or hop extracts to impart a bitter taste and flavour". Hops are defined in Part 1 (regulation 1.2.7).
By ethyl alcohol content the classes are:
| Class | Printed abv range |
|---|---|
| (i) Regular or Mild | more than 0.5 per cent up to 5.0 per cent |
| (ii) Strong | more than 5.0 per cent up to 8.0 per cent |
| (iii) Beer with no alcohol (inserted by amendment) | abv 0.0; for other parameters it shall comply with the limits for regular beer |
Class (iii) is a beer at 0.0 abv. This links with the definition in Part 1, where the 0.5 per cent floor of an alcoholic beverage is stated to be zero for beer sold on that basis. Our article on Part 1 explains this.
Types by yeast (4.1.1 and 4.1.2)
- Lager (4.1.1) is prepared using bottom fermenting yeast and matured at low temperature; it may be light to dark. Pilsner is a type of lager which is light in colour with a medium hop flavour.
- Ale (4.1.2) is prepared using top fermenting yeast, usually lighter in colour, from pale malt, with a medium body.
- Wheat beer (4.1.2.1) is brewed with a large proportion of wheat and may also contain a significant proportion of malted barley; it is usually top-fermented and sometimes hazy or cloudy with a touch of spicy notes.
- Stout and porter (4.1.2.2) are dark beers made using roasted malts or roasted barley, typically brewed with slow fermenting yeast.
Regulation 4.2: draught, craft, nitro craft and flavoured beer
Draught beer is "a beer of all types i.e., lager, ale, stout and porter or wheat, and may or may not be pasteurized. It is served from a cask or keg."
Craft beer (4.2(1)) is "made in a micro-brewery/ pub-brewery, and may be aromatized with suitable food ingredients. It may or may not be filtered and pasteurized, and may be sold in casks, kegs, bottles, or cans." Nitro craft beer (4.2(1)(i)) is craft beer having the mixture of CO2 and N2 gas; the compendium marks it with compliance from 1 July 2026 under a Direction dated 27 November 2025, a date that has passed as at 3 October 2026.
Flavoured beer (4.2(2)) is beer containing flavours as per the Food Products Standards and Food Additives Regulations, 2011, and such beer must meet all the other requirements of beer under these Regulations. On flavour permissions, see our sister article on food additives general conditions.
Regulation 4.3: additional requirements
In addition to Part 1 and Table-3, beer shall also conform to the following.
- It shall be clear (except wheat beer) with characteristic colour, taste, bouquet and form of its type. It shall be bottled or canned, and pasteurized or filter sterilized, except draught beer which may or may not be pasteurized or filter sterilized.
- It shall be clear of coliforms and other pathogenic microorganisms.
So the clarity and sterilisation conditions turn on the format. A canned lager must be pasteurized or filter sterilized. A draught lager served from a keg may or may not be. A wheat beer may be hazy and still meet the clarity condition.
An invented example: Deccan Brew Works runs a pub-brewery and sells unfiltered craft wheat beer in kegs and in cans. Its keg beer falls under draught beer, and the exception to pasteurization applies. Its canned product must be pasteurized or filter sterilized under 4.3(i) because it is canned. The wheat beer's haze is no defect because wheat beer is carved out of the clarity condition.
Where the numbers sit
The compositional limits for beer are in Table-3, which we cover in Tables 1 to 4 and Annexure-1. The text of Part 4 itself prints only the abv classes. Labelling is in Part 5; see labelling of alcoholic beverages and the preceding Part on wine. The overview alcoholic beverages under FSSAI places Part 4 in context.
Need help with a brewery licence?
Breweries, pub-breweries and importers of beer face a mix of product standards and licence questions. Our central FSSAI licence service can help you decide which licence fits your set-up and which categories your range falls under.
Key takeaways
- Beer is made from barley malt or other malted grains, with hops or hop extracts.
- Regular or mild: more than 0.5 up to 5.0 per cent abv; strong: more than 5.0 up to 8.0 per cent; a beer at abv 0.0 follows regular beer limits otherwise.
- Draught beer need not be pasteurized; craft beer is made in a micro-brewery or pub-brewery.
- All beer must be clear of coliforms and pathogens; clarity is required except for wheat beer.
Read next
- Part 3: wine standards
- Part 5: labelling of alcoholic beverages
- Tables 1–4 and Annexure-1
- Alcoholic beverages regulation under FSSAI
Disclaimer: Based on the FSSAI regulations named above as consolidated in FSSAI's compendium versions or as published in the Gazette, with the later notifications the article names (consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026). Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.