UB launches locally brewed Heineken

United Breweries today launched locally brewed and bottled global beer brand Heineken from its brewery at Taloja near here.

The Dutch beer was brought to the domestic market a year ago by United Breweries and the imported super-premium lager beer was available only in select markets till now.

India is the 48th country where Heineken is locally brewed. The process will be monitored by the Heineken brew masters to maintain quality, the company said.

"Since the past one year we have been test-marketing Heineken, but from now the premium beer will be brewed and bottled from our brewery at Taloja," UB Group Vice-President (Sales & Marketing) Samar Singh Shekhawat told PTI over phone.

Heineken and UB Group inked an agreement in 2008 and started selling the imported beer in India a year ago.

Initially launched in Mumbai and Pune, the locally brewed Heineken will be available in about 15 cities in the next two years.

The total beer market in the country is 230 million cases, of which 80% is strong beer and the rest is mild super-premium category.

"We are aiming to capture 5 per cent of the total 20% mild super-premium category in the 15 cities where Heineken will be available in the next two years," Shekhawat said.

Heineken, among the top five best-selling beers in the world, is available in over 170 countries.