The Seven Sisters of India unite as 7 United, the first-ever hand-crafted canned carbonated rice beer that pays tribute to the unique rice beer of the northeast. Canned and made by the locals of Garo Hills, this beer is northeast in every sip. Keenan K Marak launched the canned rice beer at music festivals and local pop-ups at Meghalaya in 2022 and is currently looking at making it available in Guwahati, Assam.
Keenan K Marak
Founder of 7 United, 25-year-old Keenan from Tura (West Garo Hills), is still working to improvise the product. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Keenan returned to his hometown — from Bengaluru where he was studying— and decided to help his mother experiment with making fruit wine; a common practice In Meghalaya where all local fruits are made into small batches of fruit wine.
Keenan recalls, “Since we make fruit wine at home, my mother and I decided to experiment with newer fruits like pineapple and a few local berries. Then my friend suggested we try something with Bichi, a popular local rice beer. Apart from its unique taste, it is also a traditional country liquor.”
Bichi is made from an indigenous white sticky rice variety from the region. It is made in special earthenware pots called diktom. A crucial step in making bichi is smoking the pots; they are smoked for days until the outer surface of the pots turns black with soot; this lends a smoky flavour to the beer.
“When I started making rice beer following the method we used when making fruit wine, everything got spoiled. I kept trying with different combinations to make the wine but could not figure out the code. Once the lockdown was eased, I visited the village where everyone makes this drink at home. I visited them regularly and learnt the process but it also came with a lot of dos and don’ts; especially as I wanted to put rice beer in a can. Some of the dos and don’ts were superstitions, and as a B.Sc student, I reasoned out and went ahead with my plan.”
The traditional pots in which the rice beer is made
Since carbonated rice beer could not be brewed in large quantities at home, Keenan decided to use the beer the locals made. “Outsourcing the rice beer from the people who have been making it for generations rules out any possible mistake in the process; additionally it also supplements their income. I used to work part-time in Bengaluru and used my savings of ₹2 lakhs as the initial investment,” he adds.
Before he proceeded with his dream of canning the rice beer, Keenan had to thoroughly research pasteurising, benzoic acid, etc. Keenan explains, “I chose benzoic acid because the PH of the drink had to be acidic. The quantity of benzoic acid used had to be minimal so that it didn’t alter the taste.”
Meanwhile, he also faced problems with the canning machine. The cans were leaking and at times, they burst. To solve such problems, Keenan turned to YouTube, and then reconfigured the machine and was set to show off 7 United.
7 United is a white can with the number 7 written in black, and some artwork representing northeast India. The alcohol content in 7 United is under 11%. Even though the response to 7 United has been great, Keenan says, “We still have a long way to go. Initially, we took pre-orders and now, we are available at all major events.”
Published - September 25, 2024 01:05 pm IST
