getting a beer

@#14 I agree about K. Try Himalaya (Blue). The last part is now dropped in their marketing..

Make a choice from whatever is available. Haywards Black is not produced anymore!

You did the right thing;Invariably in most places in India( but certainly not all), shopkeepers are made to believe that it's their right to charge over the maximum retail price for beer. These guys are shameless and will not blink their eye when one goes to purchase again!

I thought beer would be a no no in Varanasi, but it's nice to know it's there.
I only drank a little of the the stuff whilst in Orchha, think I paid about 190 Rupees per bottle (from the budget hotel), don't know it this would be considered good value?

Yetti was good but I am told its also gone..

I managed to have a bottle or two everynight and I was at all the stops you mentioned in your first post. Prices sure varied quite a bit from 70 rupees a bottle in Udaipur to 150 rupees a bottle in Agra for the large kingfisher light bottles.

I stayed at Ganpati guest hose in Varanassi at the Assi Ghat and it was served in a teapot.One evening while waiting in the lobby to use the shared bathroom police officers came in(5 of them) and abruptly went upstairs to the rooftop restaurant.The owner looked quite concerned and was following right behind.

I asked the guy behind the desk who books the train tickets for guests what was happening and he said they were looking for alcahol as it is not allowed.Glad I wasn't sipping beer from a teapot that night

ask any younger shop owner (under 40) and most rickshaw drivers, and they will bring you to a sharab dhukan (alcohol store). I made friends with a shop owner in assi during my first trip there and would often enjoy a beer with him on the street after business hours. Its a good way to meet some people familiar with the area and to enjoy a night in varanasi when most places are closed by 10. here is a good rule of thumb in varanasi. a bottle of royal stag (a 1/5th) should cost about 400 rupees (from my experience) a big bottle of king fisher should cost around 85, and imported bottles will be much more pricey. no real bars in varanasi besides those in hotels and kashi guest house. hope that helps!

You get everything everywhere, just for asking. My hometown is Varanasi and my in-laws come from Jaipur. My two bits...

If you are particular about beer, keep in mind that there are huge electricity problems across India. You may get beer, but nor chilled, or at best cold, unlike the metros. The smaller towns are just not equipped for it.

Enquire about the rules and regulations in the states you are visiting. Uttarkhand will not have any wine/liquor shop. Gujarat has only licenced ones (They do accept a letter from the hotel if you want to have one). Tamil Nadu is mostly spurious as only one distillery is allowed to market stuff... etc etc etc

Check for timings of wine shops. Every state is different. Even Delhi closes by 8. Hotels having restaurants with bar attached are always the best bet.

I generally carry a few miniatures of various types - assortment of rum, whiskey, vodka - easy to carry, handle and in case beer not available, there is an alternative choice...

@ Pandey :- When you become beer drinker(from the time you start purchasing beer instead of miniatures) then you comment bhaiya!

Also maybe Haridwar 90% and Rishikesh 70% liquor free (also the 4 Dhams) but retail shops are there in the other areas.

In Chennai retail is done by State Government so one can be 90% percent sure that adulteration does not happen!

In Tamil Nadu a bad thing taking place currently in retail of beers is the sales of their own manufactured(totally unrecognised) brands at 20% higher prices than old recognised brands. This they are able to achieve by not stocking the old brands. The beer drinker then falls into their monopoly trap.

And what are the chances of getting a glass of wine, or am I already hallucinating from alcohol withdrawal?

You will get Indian wine (which I dont really mind since im not really a wine drinker!) and from what people say, its not half bad. However wine will be less common as compared to say the staple brandy, whisky, vodka and beer!

Drink beer.

As wine drinkers we've found Indian wine difficult to come by and awfully expensive for what you get. Two Buck Chuck is what you get (at best);but you may have to shell out $15 a bottle.

We had a Merlot from Nashik while in Darjeeling. About 15AUD and quite drinkable.

I also saw this in Gangtok.

I agree with the comments re Kingfisher, too sweet for my taste.

Ask for chilled beer, not cold beer and you may do better.

Also, we got ripped off in Varanasi, 200 rupees for 600ml can of Kingfisher. At least it was "chilled".