Steve Dass, founder of Desi street snacking business Curry Smugglers, has decided to return to his other foodie interest, craft beer.
The South Asian-inspired challenger brand is launching a 4.2% ABV basmati rice Lager, inspired by India’s brewing heritage, and an alcohol-free Mango Mirchi Lager, which combines Alphonso mangoes with habanero chillis.
Dass, who previously worked with an organic Belgian brewery before becoming a leading voice within the early UK alcohol-free craft beer movement, saw an opportunity to bring his brewing roots together with what he and his wife Ruby have been building at Curry Smugglers.
“For decades, ‘goes well with curry’ seems to have been the entire lazy conversation around Indian beer,” he said. “And, frankly, most beer goes well with curry.
“There’s a much richer story to tell. Beer was being brewed in India before IPA became the headline, and rice forms part of that history. Desi Lager takes inspiration from that past, but isn’t trying to recreate an old beer. It’s about asking what a modern Desi beer can be today.”
