My first exposure to Kingfisher was in a London curry house. It was the very first Indian beer I had ever tried and like most other Britons, I was completely enamoured by the manner it beautifully complemented every single curry from Vindaloo to Phal to Balti to Madras.

When I first drank Kingfisher, I got absolutely wasted. I don’t remember much about that particular evening bar the very fact that I totally enjoyed my Indian meal and my new brew a lot, though my stomach contents later ended up on the pavement an hour or two later as I made a desperate attempt to stagger home.

As with almost all beers, Kingfisher does taste much better on draft than other conventional forms and a couple of pints of it usually puts me into some sort of intoxicated shamanic state in which I can eternally drink while at the same time indulging in my absolute passion for Asian curries. The beer truly is synonymous with the curry machines.

Since its introduction to the UK in the early 1989s, Kingfisher’s popularity has managed to grow in nearly equal proportions to the sheer success of Indian cuisine. The best-selling Indian lager in Great Britain, Kingfisher can virtually be found in all South Asian restaurants as well as loads of supermarkets and thousands of shops with bottles and draft both readily available at reasonable prices.

Kingfisher is owned by the United Breweries Group, based in Bangalore, India. The company proudly claims to be the second largest brewer in the world and the largest in India of course. At present, it is made in 20 breweries across the globe and sold in over 50 countries. It truly is a global product.

For more information, visit www.kingfisherworld.com/