If you order a pint of beer in an Indian restaurant in Britain, chances are you would be served an Indian beer.

Several Indian brands have made inroads into the British market, so much so that industry analysts say that "beers from the Indian subcontinent are now firm favourites with British drinkers".

The success of pioneer brands such as Kingfisher is persuading other brewers to try their luck.

Kingfisher was the first on the scene and, since then Cobra, Lal Toofan, Shere Khan, AdiAdi and Bangla have emerged.

Others are in the pipeline and although the focus has inevitably been on Indian restaurants, brand owners are now exploring off-trade opportunities.

The Kingfisher version sold in the UK is brewed under licence in Faversham, Kent.

Cobra has been the undisputed success story of Indian-style lager in the past few years.

Led by prominent entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria, Cobra is made under licence by Charles Wells. Due to smart marketing it has achieved success with a formulation that is less gassy than its competitors.

It argues that Cobra beer is a better match for Indian food.

Indian beer market in high spirits