RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) 鈥� A pungent fug of malt and yeastiness hangs over Murree Brewery, 鈥檚 biggest and oldest producer of alcoholic drinks.
The company is an outlier in a country where alcohol is outlawed for everyone except non-Muslims, who make up some 9 million people out of 241 million. Pakistan, an Islamic republic, banned booze for Muslims in the 1970s.
Murree Brewery has strong financials despite the prohibition, thanks to its history, scant competition and a small, thirsty and predominantly elite consumer base.
But the government exerts significant control over the sale and marketing of alcoholic beverages through red tape and high taxes, pushing brewery chairman Isphanyar Bandhara to expand the company's footprint in Pakistan's non-alcoholic drinks industry, which, although bigger, is more crowded and less lucrative.
鈥淓ven I tell my staff of about 2,200 that we cannot sit on our laurels by selling alcohol,鈥� said Bandhara, the third generation of his family to run the 165-year-old business that was founded by the British. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a restricted market, so we have to rely and focus more on the non-alcoholic side. That鈥檚 where I think I would like to flex my muscles and take credit, rather than being a liquor baron.鈥�
The brewery already manufactures energy drinks, juices and malted beverages, but they are not as well known as products from big international brands. However, this part of the business is registering double-digit growth, and Bandhara wants to cash in on the country's youth bulge. Around 64% of the population is under 30.
The state has a lot of say
Pakistan鈥檚 government determines the brewery鈥檚 alcohol prices, points of sale and customer base. Last year it took $35 million from the brewery's revenue in taxes. The company cannot advertise its alcoholic beverages or expand that part of the business inside Pakistan. Online shopping is unavailable.
The brewery is permitted to export beer to countries outside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member bloc, even though there is a 鈥渂ig demand for liquor and beer鈥� in Muslim-majority countries, Bandhara said.
Meanwhile, more Pakistanis drink far more sodas and juices, with billions of dollars in sales every year. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola dominate, but there are also homegrown brands.
鈥淭he multinationals are thriving in Pakistan,鈥� Bandhara said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a rewarding market. There might be less money (in non-alcoholic drinks), but it鈥檚 more secure.鈥�
Murree Brewery's malted drinks line is packaged in a way that strongly resembles its beery counterparts. The taste, while not unpleasant, is distinctive, sweet and slightly yeasty.
How to drink in Pakistan
Alcohol is a niche item in Pakistan. Even cooking ingredients like red wine vinegar, and buying essentials like cough medicine, is hard because of their alcohol content, however minuscule.
Five-star hotels slip a drinks list into the in-room dining menu or decant alcohol into a more discreet vessel, like a teapot. Some restaurants, usually upscale, allow diners to bring a bottle but seat them away from others or shield the pour from prying eyes. There is often a windowless, joyless bar in major Pakistani cities.
Non-Muslims 鈥� nationals and foreigners 鈥� can get a liquor permit allowing them to buy limited amounts of alcohol. Diplomats and the elite are a rich source of booze, with well-stocked cabinets and sometimes entire rooms dedicated to drinks.
There are also wine shops, but only in some provinces and run by non-Muslims. Some wine shops deliver to customers waiting in their cars, for discretion. Home delivery is also available.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not expensive to buy beer,鈥� said Faisal, a Pakistani Muslim drinker who is in his 30s and lives in the province of Sindh. He only gave his first name because he is breaking the law. 鈥淎 local beer will cost 500 rupees ($1.76), but you can save 50 rupees if you don鈥檛 want it chilled."
He added: 鈥淏eer is cheaper than coffee in Pakistan, but you only need one coffee whereas you need a lot of beer."
Minorities and the booze market
Non-sanctioned alcohol drinking in Pakistan is punishable by 80 lashes of a whip, although the Federal Shariat Court deemed the penalty un-Islamic in a 2009 ruling.
is considered haram, or forbidden, in . Although a sin and not a crime, scholars and religious authorities typically point to a verse in the Quran that calls intoxicants 鈥渢he work of Satan鈥� and tells believers to avoid them. They also cite sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and the effects of alcohol.
Nonetheless, stacked on pallets at Murree Brewery on a recent day were boxes of booze. The beer was heading to government-authorized retailer Pearl Continental Hotel in the eastern city of Lahore. The whiskey was going to Sindh, home to religious minorities including Hindus and Parsis.
Bandhara, who is Parsi, is one of the brewery鈥檚 leading tasters. Only non-Muslims can sample the company鈥檚 alcoholic products.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 just force someone to drink an inferior drink, so it has to be quality,鈥� Bandhara said. 鈥淚f the German Embassy, the Chinese Embassy and a lot of European embassies are my customers for beer, I鈥檓 comfortable on my quality.鈥�
Competition from the Chinese
Hundreds of Pakistani distilleries produce the intoxicating agent ethanol, which is mostly exported. Home brewers are another source of alcoholic beverages. But homemade liquor containing poisonous methanol has proved fatal, and dozens of people have died over the years.
Murree Brewery鈥檚 closest competition for alcohol is the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which began making beer in southwestern Balochistan in 2021, largely for the thousands of Chinese workers there.
Nobody from Hui was available to comment.
The granting of a licence to Hui in conservative Balochistan took Bandhara aback. He said he was unafraid of competition but wanted a level playing field.
Decades ago, his family wanted to set up a brewery in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province. Bandhara said authorities told the family to keep their heads down because they were in a Muslim country.
鈥淚f the Islamic lecture is for me, why was the license given to the Chinese brewery?" he asked. "We are a liquor company, and we are the easiest to throw stones at and to criticize.鈥�
Riazat Butt, The Associated Press
