Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are widely used. Most beer is flavored with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative,
though other flavorings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included. The first modern brewery in India was set up in Kasauli, in the Himalaya mountains, near Shimla, in the late 1820s by the Englishman Edward Dyer. Dyer's brewery produced Asia's first beer, called Lion. The brewery was soon shifted to nearby Solan (close to the British summer capital Shimla), as there was an abundant supply of fresh spring water there. The Kasauli brewery site was converted to a distillery which Mohan Meakin Ltd. Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla, Murree, Rawalpindi and Mandalay.
