Stroh has signed collaborations with two brewing companies, Mount Shivalik Industries, Delhi, and Empee Distilleries & Breweries in Chennai to produce Stroh's Premium and Super Strong beers in bottles, a company official said. Stroh currently has a licensing agreement with Rajasthan Breweries Ltd (RBL) under which RBL packages and markets the Stroh brands in aluminium cans in India.

While the bottled beer will be introduced by Empee and Mount Shivalik next year, both brands will continue to be brewed at RBL. Mount Shivalik will represent Stroh's brands in northern, eastern and western India, and Empee will represent them in southern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Stroh International vice-president Jovan Jovanovski said, "Under the packaging expertise of Mount Shivalik andEmpee, we will be able to reach an even broader customer audience."

"People appreciate having a choice of packaging. There are varied usage occasions for glass bottles and for aluminium cans and Indian consumers can now make the choice," he added. Stroh's beer, first introduced in the US in 1850, was originally packaged in glass bottles and was first sold in cans in the fifties. Introduced in India in 1994, the brands are brewed according to traditional Stroh recipes, using American hops that are imported into India.

Stroh officials noted that the Indian beer market, estimated at 63.9 million dozen cases per year, is growing at 12 to 15 per cent annually. The approximate per capita consumption of beer in India is 0.5 litres per year. By comparison, the approximate per capita consumption of beer in the US is approximately 118 litres per year.

The family-owned Stroh Brewery Company, set up by Bemhard Stroh, a German immigrant, produces more than 20 brands at its seven domestic production facilities andexports its brand to more than 70 countries.