'I Wanted Indians to Have Access to World-Class Beer': Narayan Manepally, The Bengaluru Techie Who Started Brewing In His Garage

In 2024, Geist Brewing Co. was the first Indian brewery to win at the European Beer Star. They returned home with a silver. In 2025, they have gone one step further to win a gold. For an Indian brewery, to win in a category historically dominated by German breweries, is nothing less than winning the Nobel Prize of Beer in Europe.

The win was a "full-circle moment" for Head Brewer Vidya Kubher, who was trained in Munich. Narayan Manepally, CEO of Geist had always dreamt of putting Bengaluru on the global beer map, Hence for him, it felt extremely surreal to a win gold in Germany, the birthplace of the Bavarian-style beer. In an interview with FPJ, Narayan and Vidya speak about the win, what drew them to crafting beers and what's the most challenging part of the job.

Congratulations on your win. What does this recognition mean to a brewery from India? How does it feel to put the country on the global beer map?
Narayan: It's a wonderful recognition for a brewery that's been obsessed with producing world-class, true-to-style craft beer. The fact that we have beaten the Germans in a category they created and have dominated for centuries is a huge testament to India's arrival on the global beer map.

The European Beer Star Awards are judged purely on technical merit — one gold, one silver, one bronze per category — so it's a 100 per cent merit-based, blind process. To us, this feels like the "Nobel Prize of beer in Europe." It’s an honour, not just for Geist Brewing Co., but for the country.

Vidya: It's an affirmation that we are as good as the best breweries around the world. It gives us confidence that the path we have taken is the right one. It feels very special to be the first Indian brewery to win gold in this category, and even more so because we won silver last year (in another category) and gold this year, adding real credibility to our brand.

Can you elaborate about your winning beer?
Vidya: The Geist Uncle Dunkel won Gold in the South-German Style Hefeweizen Dunkel category at the European Beer Star Awards in 2025. It is a dark wheat beer, a style that is very popular in Germany. It has a rich malt base and great flavours that come from the fermentation itself. Our customers love it because even though it is dark, but still light and flavourful to drink.

What is your bestseller in crafted beers?
Narayan: Our bestseller is our Geist Witty Wit — a Belgian Witbier. Across India, around 60–65 per cent of craft beer sales come from wheat beers, typically between a Belgian Wit and a German Hefeweizen — and our Belgian Witbier consistently leads the pack.

Which are the Indian ingredients that you have used in your craft beers?
Vidya: We have used Indian wheat, rice, oats, coriander, black salt, spices, cucumber and local fruits such as jamun.

What's your most favourite ingredient to work with when it comes to beer?
Vidya: Yeast, because it does all the hard work. It is the ingredient that truly makes the beer, creating not just alcohol, but also the aroma and flavour profiles.

Narayan: Yeast is exciting because it is temperamental and challenging to work with — understanding it and coaxing it to perform just right is one of the most rewarding parts of brewing.

Do you always brew beer with wheat and rice? Or have you tried millets as well? Which ones?
Narayan: We primarily brew with barley and wheat, and have also used rice and popped rice. We haven't yet brewed with millets at this brewery, but it's something we plan to explore in the future.

Have you ever married malt with coffee beans? How did it turn out?
Vidya: Yes, we have tried it a couple of times on a small scale, and it turned out really well. We would definitely like to experiment more with it since we all love coffee.

An ingredient in your dream list
Vidya: That is a secret — I will only reveal it once I have brewed with it.

Narayan: For us, every ingredient is a dream ingredient. The beauty of craft beer is that it invites experimentation — you never know what magic might come from trying something new.

Why do you think craft beers lend themselves to experimentation?
Narayan: The entire premise of craft is experimentation. We work in small batches, which allows us to try new things more often and create beers that are relevant to the community. Craft is about variety, provenance, and creativity — using local ingredients and knowledge to make something wonderful. The smaller scale gives us the freedom to innovate in ways that macro breweries simply can’t.

How long does it take for these beers to ferment and the flavours to reflect?
Vidya: Ales typically take about 14–15 days to ferment at 19–21°C, while lagers take about 20–25 days at cooler temperatures of 10–12°C.

How long have you been in the beer business?
Narayan: We have been in the beer business for almost 20 years now. Geist Brewing Co. was registered in February 2006, so next year marks two decades since we began this journey.

What drew you to crafting beers? What is the most interesting thing about it? The most challenging? The worst?
Vidya: What drew me in was the beverage itself — the variety of styles and the science behind brewing. The most interesting part is the freedom to create. The biggest challenge is maintaining consistent quality, especially when you set high benchmarks for yourself.

The worst part? When your brewery is located far from the city — it affects work-life balance and team morale.

Narayan: I got into building a craft beer business because I wanted Indians to have access to world-class beer and real choice. The most interesting thing is the reaction of our customers — the love, pride, and respect they show for an Indian brewery producing beer of global quality. The biggest challenge is operating in a highly regulated industry, where red tape makes innovation difficult. Consistency is another challenge — every ingredient, from barley to hops, changes with nature each year, and yet our beers must taste the same.