Dakshina Kannada: Tipplers steer clear of chilled beer in Covid times

MANGALURU: The Covid-induced caution to avoid common ailments and visits to doctors has had an unlikely casualty — chilled beer, which has been the preferred tipple in the humid weather of Dakshina Kannada.
Data from the excise department shows that sales of beer between April and September this year fell by 55%, compared to the same period in 2019. While 93,610 cases of beer were sold in that period last year, this year, the figure stands at 50,828.
Excise officials pointed out that chilled beer has been a favourite among drinkers, across ages, given the sultry weather. “Now, they fear catching a cold by drinking beer, which may then lead to headache, runny nose and sore throat, many of which are symptoms of the Covid-19 infection and could cause unnecessary anxiety. This has resulted in sales of beer declining. The other reason is the lack of visitors to the district, owing to the lockdown and pandemic,” an excise department official said.
Ashwin Rai, proprietor of Spindrift, a microbrewery in Mangaluru, said customers were switching to other options. “Some of our regular customers admitted to us that they were avoiding cold beer as a precaution. They have all taken to hard liquor. Sales of beer at my microbrewery are steady but not too encouraging. The sales may decline further since many of our competitors are slated to open their restaurants in the next week,” Rai told TOI.
Vadi Shenoy, owner of Tandoor Bar and Restaurant, said that patrons were reluctant to drink cold water, leave alone chilled beer. “They prefer everything to be served warm. Earlier, beer in two kegs was sold daily but I am struggling to empty one keg in two days now,” Shenoy said.
Raviraj S, an interior decorator and beer drinker, said that he was not sipping his favourite drink just to be safe from Covid-19.