With the mercury rising significantly this summer, beer consumption in Bengaluru has also shot up phenomenally.
This March, Bengalureans have guzzled 2.18 lakh litres of beer more than what it was in March 2015.
The beer sales in the city for March 2016 was 10.5 lakh carton boxes (82 lakh litres). The sales might increase in the days to come, say Excise Department officials.
This year, the summer has approached the city much earlier than usual. As the City started experiencing heat wave in February itself, the sale of beer too soared in the same month. In February, 7.28 lakh carton boxes beer was sold which was 1.9 lakh carton boxes more compared to January’s sale.
The officials in the Excise department said that the beer sales would go further up in the next two-three months. The statistics since 2007 suggest that the sale of beer would go up in the summer while no such change is witnessed in sale of hard liquor. In few years, the hard liquor sale has come down also.
People who consume liquor believe that hard liquor in summer would further increase temperature of the body whereas beer helps to keep the body cool. Because of this reason many prefer beer in summer even though they consume hard liquor.
Santhosh Kumar told Deccan Herald that he consume hard liquor only during the rainy and winter seasons and go for beer in summer.
Temporary relax
Doctors say that it is wrong notion that alcohol keeps the body cool and beer is no exception. Dr Ravibhimappa, a physician, told Deccan Herald, “Drinking beer in summer will not keep the body cool, people consume it because it gives them a some sort of temporary relax while having chilled beer in summer heat.”