Dry spell for beer lovers this summer

Thinking of quenching your summer thirst with some ice cold beer? Better brace yourself for some disappointment as a number of wine shops and bars in the city are gracing their doorsteps with ‘no stock’ signs. The reason? Dealers, who supply beverage brands to them are unable to provide them with enough stock. With wine shops mushrooming in every nook and corner of the twin cities including the suburbs, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of liquor, leading to a shortage of beer, say shop owners. The situation is such that wherever one orders a beer, the standard reply is that only ‘lager’ beer is available and stocks of strong and very strong brands are temporarily not available. “With the onset of summer, we expected an increased demand for liquor, especially chilled beer, but the supply is way below our expectations. Dealers have failed to supply beer brands complaining of no stock,” said S Shanker Goud, manager of a famous bar and restaurant located at Kompally. But for pubs and lounges in the city, shortage of beer does not seem to be a cause of concern with most of them inviting customers for chilled beer. “As the demand for various beer brands remains huge, we have made every effort to keep the beer flowing, especially keeping in view the sunny days ahead,” said Sandeep Mehta, chief executive officer (CEO) of Bottles and Chimney, Begumpet. But the situation remains dry for the around 500 wine shops and 100 bars and restaurants in the twin cities.“Every wine shop stocks at least 200 bottles of different brands of beer during the hot month of March. But, this year, most shops have a ‘no stock’ sign. Since the demand is still high, we are providing only Kingfisher. There were reports that a staggering number of 48,000 bottles per day are generally sold in March but the situation is disappointing this time around,” said D Venkateswara Rao, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Wine Dealer Association. Accusing the AP Beverage Corporation of reluctance in taking orders for more stocks, a delegation of managements of wine shops, bars and restaurants led by the AP Wine Dealer Association had met the Minister for Excise and Prohibition, Mopidevi Venkataramana, a few days ago. “The minister has promised to supply all brands of beer to meet the increasing demand. He said that at least 10 lakh cases of beers will be stocked for the convenience of customers and wine dealers,” Venkateswara Rao added. 

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com