Himalayan Rice Beer

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Tim Hobbs

Jahr is the name given in Darjeeling to a rice beer/wine common to the Himalayan regions. Pronounced “jar,” it is known by many different names throughout the countries in that area. In Tibet it is called chaang, in Nagaland it is called zhutho, and in Manipur it is called tingba. This fermented, uncarbonated beverage, generally referred to as “rice beer” or “rice wine,” has many names according to locality, and every village makes its own recipe—it even varies between households—but all have a few commonalities.

Production of jahr spans the Himalayan regions from Tibet and Nepal to the Northeastern regions of India, including Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Assam, and Darjeeling (northern West Bengal). This article focuses on the village traditions and the bootleg production of rice beer in India’s capital city, Delhi, by Northereastern Indians living there. It is illegal to produce and sell in Delhi, but homebrewers are a crafty bunch.

Access the full article in the March/April 2025 Zymurgy magazine.

This article features the following:

• HOMEBREW RECIPE: Sangita Ka Jahr (Sangita’s Rice Beer)
• Overview of brewing process
• Working with rice
• Hamei yeast cakes
• Flavor additives
• History and new traditions