Murree Brewery (Pvt) Limited

The Murree Brewery was established in 1860 to meet the beer requirements of British personnel (mainly army), and incorporated a year later at Ghora Galli, located in the Pir Punjal range of the Western Himalayas at an elevation of 6000' above sea level, near the hill resort town of Murree.
Murree Beer proved to be very popular among the British troopers who were largely barracked in the 'Galis' of these hills. Between 1885 & 1890, the Company established breweries in both Rawalpindi & Quetta and acquired an interest in the Oticumand (South India) & Norailiya (Ceylon) breweries. A distillery was also established in the above period in Rawalpindi next to the brewery.
The Murree Brewery at Ghora Galli was therefore among the first modern beer breweries established in Asia. The virtues of beer brewed from barley malt hops as a light alcoholic beverage were not lost on the local population, who quickly became avid consumers.
By the turn of the 20th century, the name "Murree" was famous for its beer in keg and bottle in the bars, beer halls and army messes of British India. Murree Beer was first awarded a medal for product excellence at the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876, followed by numerous awards over the past 140 years.
However, in 1935 a massive earthquake totally demolished the Quetta brewery as well as substantial part of Quetta town, killing thousands of people which included a substantial number of our employees.
At Ghora Galli (Murree), the scarcity of water became a pressing problem.
By the 1920s, brewing was mostly transferred to the Rawalpindi brewery but malting continued at Ghora Galli till the 1940s, when this property was sold. This historic brewery was constructed in Gothic style architecture but was burned down during the partition riots of 1947/48.
The Rawalpindi brewery is blessed with deep aquifers of good water, a prerequisite for producing quality beverages. A railway siding was extended to the premises in the 19th century to facilitate its operations, which is now lies derelict.
There were two English families that were closely connected with the founding of the original brewery. Edward Dyer was the first General Manager of the company, and he was also the founder of Dyer Meaken breweries in Simla hills. Edward Whymper, another noteworthy member of the family, was the first person to climb Matterhorn Mountain in 1865.
Park Lodge was a handsome residential properly that was purchased by the company from Mrs. H. Whymper in 1888. It was the principal residence and head office of the company till 1959, at which point it was taken over by the Government of Pakistan to house the office of the President of Pakistan.
It remains an office of the Head of State of Pakistan from 1960 till the present day Under the present prohibition law, only non-Muslims and foreigners are permitted to consume alcohol. Notwithstanding the consequent reduction in demand, the Company decided as a matter of policy to concentrate on product excellence.
The decision was taken then to modernise the plants. A Ziemann (German) brew house was installed in 1967, along with 'Saladin' Box Maltings in 1971. Also in the late sixties, the decision was made to embark on an ambitious long-term program to mature Malt Whiskies.
Over the past four decades white oak casks and vats have been procured from areas as distant as North America, Australia and Spain. Another wave of modernisation was undertaken in the 1990s, and a new beer canning and modern bottle filling facility from Holstein and Kappert (Germany) was installed.
In addition, two units of alcohol rectification columns for producing extra neutral grade of potable alcohol from molasses were procured from France and Italy respectively to give our Vodkas and Gins an unparalleled qualitative edge.
Also in this period, beer fermentation capacities were enhanced; it is pertinent to point out that our basic beer fermentation system installed in the 1930s was at that point in time, at the cutting edge of this technology.
Known then as the Nathan system, it incorporated fermentation and the laagering of beer in a single double-jacketed vessel. Variations of this system are now in extensive use world-wide, and are an industry standard.
Our underground cellars now hold over half a million liters of Malt Whisky for varying periods of maturation for up to 12 years under controlled temperature conditions.
MURREE BREWERY PRODUCTS LIST:
-- Bigg Apple
-- Lemon Malt
-- Malt 79
-- Cindy
-- Original Lemonade
Tops Food and Beverages was a division of the Company was established in 1969. It processes fruits and markets fruit juices and allied food products. Two manufacturing units are located in Rawalpindi and Hattar (NWFP) respectively. A Tetra Pak packaging facility was added in 2001. The Hattar plant was installed in 1992.
-- Fruit Juices (Mango, Orange,Lychee etc).
-- Fruit squashes (Mango,Orange,lemon & Diet)
-- Jams & Marmalade (Apple & Strawberry Jam, Orange Marmalade)
-- Vinegar (Malted & Plain)
-- Tomato Ketchups in various sizes, flavours & containers
-- Malt Extract
Murree Glass, the glass container division of the Company that was established in 1974, manufactures glass containers of all types for the Company and other food and beverage consumers. It is also located in Hattar (NWFP)