Brewing Heritage

IN THE PAST few years, the Indian liquor scene has been brimming over with exciting new developments. The country has witnessed a homegrown craft gin revolution that ran almost parallel to an exciting craft rum movement, and made way for Indian whiskeys and single malts. Indian tipplers have embraced this desification of the Indian liquor milieu with spry cheer.

Among these new developments is the commercialisation of indigenous liquor as premium “heritage brews” and mass manufacturing of these tra­dition-bound alcoholic beverages that have historically been produced in the homes of various indigenous commu­nities. Aided by their respective state government’s heritage liquor policies, Goa’s brew, the GI-tagged cashew feni, and Madhya Pradesh’s mahua, the traditional drink of the region’s adivasi communities, have received a lot of attention. There are several brands of these indigenous tipples in retail spaces today. But it’s perhaps time to now train the spotlight on Northeast India.

Rice-growing cultures around Asia produce a variety of rice-based alcoholic beverages—from the tart and refresh­ing rou can of Vietnam, the Balinese brem, the rice wine celebrities like the Japanese nihonshu, more popular as the sake, to China’s Shaoxing wine. It is believed that the practice of brewing rice-based liquor has roots in China from where it travelled across Asia, all the way to Japan.

But rice-based alcoholic beverages have a long and vibrant history in the Indian subcontinent too. Grain-based alcoholic drinks called sura find mention since the earliest Vedic texts. Rice-based alcoholic beverages are also made across the country. There’s lugdi from the Himachal, and handia, made in Odisha and parts of West Bengal. Kerala is known for its palm toddy. In his book An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions, James McHugh writes about a drink of fermented rice that was made in homes in Kerala primarily for domes­tic consumption till a few decades ago.

But nowhere else in the coun­try can one find such a wealth of rice-based alcoholic drinks as in the Northeast. For most of the commu­nities of Northeast India rice farming is a way of life. The region is home to diverse rice ecosystems, and a rich variety of rice cultivars, some of which

are apt to produce rice wines and beer. It is also a biodiversity hotspot, home to a plethora of rare herbs and plants that are used to make rice-based liquor.

Every community has its own unique variety of rice-based alcoholic drinks. These indigenous brews, historically prepared by the womenfolk, are veritable cultural touchstones, and are tied to the identities of these diverse communities.

IN NAGALAND, FOR instance, the Angami Nagas brew zutho, prepared with a starter powder called piazu, is made of sprouted rice. The rice grains that are first soaked and allowed to germinate, sun dried and ground into a powder, are used to inoculate cooked rice which is then fermented in wooden or earth pots. It is finally filtered. A similar brew prepared by the Ao tribe is called litchhumsa. In Meghalaya, on the other hand, the Pnar tribe of the Jaintia hills, makes kiad with local red rice. Among the Mising tribe of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, on the other hand, the Apong or Apo is the preferred tipple. Similarly, the Dimasa tribe of Assam prepares a fermented rice-based alcoholic drink, judima, which is synonymous with the community. When a Dimasa child is born, a drop of judima is dabbed on the lips of the newborn in a special ceremony designed to ward off bad luck. The drink’s cultural and ritualistic signif­icance can hardly be exaggerated. Judima even received a GI Tag in 2021.

Today judima is bottled and sold through cooperatives like Judima Tradi­tional Brewers’ Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd (JTBICS). “Traditionally, it is the women of the community that pre­pare judima. Continuing the tradition, our judima is prepared by local Dimasa women, according to standards set forth by our cooperative. Only the batches that meet these standards are bottled,” says Sarbojit Thaosen, a member and stakeholder of the JTBICS.

Judima is prepared by cooking a precise mix of maiju or sticky rice, non-sticky everyday rice, and Bairing, a unique variety of rice especially cultivat­ed to prepare it. The cooked rice is mixed with pounded starter cake made with rice and the bark of acacia pennata, locally called thembra, along with other wild herbs, and allowed to ferment in bamboo or earthen containers, typically covered with a blanket to keep it warm. “During summers the fermentation process usually takes about 24 hours but longer during winters,” says Thaosen. Once the judima is fermented to a precise degree it is filtered and the liquid collected and stored. Thaosen says that judima is usually prepared with ritual purity and in highly sterilised settings. Its prepara­tion—particularly during festivities and special occasions—is also peppered by rituals akin to religious rites.

In 2016, the Assam government also introduced its Heritage Liquor policy aimed at promoting and preserving local brews as heritage liquor. In a small village called Demou in the Sivasagar district of Assam, Deep Jyoti Dowari immedi­ately got to work on the commercial production of a boozy rice brew called Luk Lao. The next year he applied for a liquor license. “It took a while to receive the license but I was the first licensee,” he claims. Over the next couple of years Dowari along with his wife Popy set up their production unit in their village, where they employed local Ahom and Kalita people to prepare Luk Lao the traditional way. Bottles and caps were brought from manufacturers in distant Firozabad, and the labels came from Chennai. The eponymous brand was finally launched in 2022.

The same year, Jorhat-based entrepreneur Akash Jyoti Gogoi, launched his brand of a traditional rice wine from Assam called Xaj. Xaj or Xaj Pani is also a time-honoured tipple of Assam’s Ahom community. The launch was the culmination of almost a decade of work—exploring and experimenting with Xaj and ways to commercially produce what is essentially a handcrafted liquor and a cultural artefact. And Gogoi was determined to shine the spotlight on his community’s heritage through its cherished tipple.

A similar desire to take his communi­ty’s unique tradition and heritage to the world, encouraged Keenan K Marak to bottle up bitchi, the indigenous rice beer of Meghalaya’s Garo community. Marak had only completed his BSC in Botany and Zoology, from St Joseph’s College, Bengaluru, when the pandemic struck and he was compelled to re­turn home to Meghalaya. At the time he worked at the Civil Hospital in his hometown as a data entry operator. He started to explore the nuances of making the sweet, smoky bitchi. “Staying away from home, I often feared becoming disconnected from my roots and traditions. My interest in bitchi stemmed from my need to reconnect with my heritage,” says the 25-year-old.

For the Garo community, their traditional fermented rice liquor chubitchi or simply bitchi is not merely an intoxicating drink—it is a cultural heirloom. The secrets of the bitchi are passed down through generations of the Garo people, like a precise lore.

For several months Marak travelled around the state, visiting numerous villages, meeting traditional brewers, learning all about the tradition of making bitchi and different varieties. Marak saved all his earnings at the hospital and invested it in launching his brand of bitchi—7 United spirits.

“Xaj is prepared with a local variety of sticky rice called Bora Saul which is inoculated with fermented cakes or starter cakes,” says Uttam Chetia, who is part of his Gogoi’s enterprise. The starter cakes—called xajor pitha—are prepared by mixing pounded rice with a plethora of foraged herbs. Besides, the herbs used in these starter cakes are known for their medicinal properties and are believed to impart curative virtues to the drink. This is true for other rice wines of the region as well.

To prepare Xaj, the rice is first cooked and allowed to cool. The starter cakes are ground into a powder and then mixed with the rice, which is then allowed to ferment for three-five days. Once fermented to the required degree, water is added to the fermented mixture which is then filtered. The result is a sweet, smoky drink with herbal undertones. However, at Gogoi’s winery, the rice and starter mixture first go through pre-fermen­tation for seven-eight days. It is then transferred to larger fermentation tanks and allowed to ferment for 24-28 days, depending on ambient temperature, humidity etc. Finally, the extract is stored in 304 storage containers and allowed to mature for four months, before being bottled and distributed.

But commercialising and bottling ‘heritage’ and ‘identity’ is not simple. Commercial production and sale of indigenous alcohol raises several con­cerns especially regarding those who are the original custodians of the knowledge system. But Chetia, Marak and others feel that commercialising indigenous liquor can be beneficial for their communities.

“On our field visits we found that this age-old knowledge around prepar­ing Xaj is mostly confined to the older generations and faces the danger of dying if not preserved,” claims Chetia. At Xaj’s production units only members of the community are employed in the production process, as is required by the government’s policy. “Large scale manufacturing of Xaj also means a demand for raw materials like the wild herbs need to be foraged from the wilderness. This means employment and financial gain for those who forage and supply these herbs,” he adds. Xaj too buys their starter cakes from specific families and supports them financially to continue their practice. At 7 United Spirits 30 per cent of the production is outsourced to traditional Garo brewers. “In this way we are able to financially support these brewers and encourage them to preserve their cherished tradi­tions and exclusive knowledge,” he adds.

Marak’s plant has a capacity of producing 18,000 litres a month. He has established his distribution network in Meghalaya and is in the process of procuring a licence in Assam. “I want to establish the brand in the Northeast before expanding to other parts of the country,” he says.

Gogoi, on the other hand, produces 300 cases (8 litres each) of Xaj a month. A few months ago, his enterprise intro­duced a sparkling version of the brew, XAJ Ultra Lite. Currently, Xaj is available in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, but Gogoi is working on taking the brand to retail spaces in Bengaluru, Goa, West Bengal and Meghalaya. In Assam, Gogoi also offers tours of his winery to tourists, mostly foreigners, to give them a better understanding of the knowledge system and traditions that underpin the practice of preparing this indigenous heritage liquor, and the elaborate process involved. “Our visitors, especially the Westerners, are particularly interested in the aspect of cultural preservation that Xaj entails,” says Chetia. “The idea is not simply to sell liquor, but to showcase a rich heritage and tell its story,” he says.

Assamcommercialisationcultural storyHeritage Brewinglocal drinksMeghalayaNorth East Indiarice wines