Chandramohan Nallur never tires of telling the story. A story of celebrating his cultural identity in a foreign land. As Director, Business Relations, at the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Warsaw, Poland, Nallur’s task was sourcing clients for Indian businesses. One such client was a Nigerian businessman, Yusuf Jimoh, who ordered five tonnes of rice flakes. Fate loves surprising twists. The order came four days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Because of the volatile movement of the exchange rate, Jimoh wanted to back out of the deal. Unable to find another customer, Nallur had a revelation—why not buy the rice flakes himself? But what does one do with five tonnes of rice flakes? Like many of the nerds looking for answers, the 38-year-old Nallur turned to Google. Presto! Making beer was the solution.
Unsure of embarking on an unfamiliar task all by himself, Nallur, a teetotaller, asked his product designer friend Sargheve Sukumaran, who had moved to Warsaw from Palakkad in Kerala, whether he wanted to join the venture. The duo visited different breweries in Warsaw to learn the process and finally crafted their beer in February, 2022. “But there was no ‘Wow’ factor in the beer,” says Nallur. Naturally, there were no repeat orders. In fact, some customers even complained the beer was too bitter. Others said it was flat.
They didn’t give up. Instead of using the usual malt or wheat to aid the fermentation process, they were using rice flakes. They had several hits and misses before arriving at the perfect balance of rice flakes and malt. “It reduced the beer’s bitterness and added a bit of sweetness. The beer became super light,” says Nallur, who had initially used Polish hops, which are the driving source of bitterness, aroma, and flavour in all beers. After doing some research, he discovered that the best hops come from Czechoslovakia while the best malt comes from Bavaria in Germany. So, he imported both.
Now that he had the perfect recipe, he needed a name. “What better name than ‘Malayali’?” chuckles Nallur, who grew up in Palakkad, Kerala. He earned his BCom degree from the Government Arts and Science College in Meenchanda, Kozhikode in 2007, before moving to Barcelona for further studies. It was a crazy idea naming the beer Malayali, but it clicked with the Indian expat community. As for the label, the duo took the help of a design firm in Kochi to find out what Malayalis relate to. One was Kathakali and the other was the Mollywood superstar Mohanlal. They launched the beer on November 13, 2022, using both Mohanlal and Kathakali images on the bottles—the logo featured a man wearing the headgear of a Kathakali artiste wearing Aviators and a moustache as sported by actor Mohanlal’s character in the cult film, Spadikam. But there was a small problem. “The design gave the impression it was a craft beer and not a mass market brew,” declares Nallur. He knew the design had to connect to the buyer for the beer to catch on. Two months ago, they began using the alphabet ‘Ma’ (Mother) in Malayalam as the logo.
Soon Indian restaurants in Warsaw were queuing up for Malayali. Arun Barot, owner of the Mr. India restaurant, says, “Malayali is super light. It doesn’t make you feel heavy. With other Indian brands, especially when drunk with typical Indian food, it causes burping, which is not the case with Malayali. My customers couldn’t be happier.”
Now Malayali is outselling Kingfisher, three to one in Warsaw, says Nallur. In 2023, he sold around 36,000 bottles from July to December. In the first quarter of 2024, the number was over 1.6 lakh bottles. Nallur and Sukumaran are not alone in taking up a spirited career. Perhaps Kerala’s love for the tipple is a high overseas. The last eight-odd years have seen Malayalis in different parts of the world launch new liquor brands—Kalikut 1498 beer in Poland, Maharani gin in Ireland, Mandakini Malabar Vaatte in Canada, Komban beer in the UK. But how did a teetotaller get into the alcohol business? “Destiny, I guess. When I was a 22-year-old living in Barcelona, I worked part-time in a pub. I ha dno idea about alcohol, but, nonetheless, fell in love with the trade,” smiles Nallur.
Malayali is the only Indian beer which is sold outside of Indian restaurants in Poland. “We are a hybrid beer. We sell in Mexican and Italian bars, too,” says Nallur. He has plans to woo the diaspora market in the UK, US and UAE. But his heart is set on making a mark in his home country. “I am looking for investors from India. In 2025, I want to enter the Indian market,” he says. There seems to be no bar on ‘Malayalis’ saying grin and beer it anywhere they go.
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