warmstorage
03-07-2003, 12:39 PM
i recently returned from two weeks in Thailand, where even in the temperate and comparatively pleasant February weather, the intense humidity and heat make beer more than just a pleasure: it's a damn necessity.
fortunately, Thais take their beer pretty seriously, and the national favorite, Singha, is something to be proud of, as is the national liquor of choice, a rice whisky called Maekong, which i also review below. in general, Thailand is an exceptionally friendly place, even in touristy areas, and they'll indulge you if possible in whatever you want to quaff. that said, i highly encourage keeping your money local (at least nationally) by supporting these authentic Thai products.
all beers discussed below beers are lagers; an ale, especially a heavy one, is just not a priority product in the incredible heat. fortunately, Singha has a lot of flavor and body compared to the standard American lager, and all the better Euro and Canadian lagers.
check out: http://www.piatom.com/beeren.html :
a pretty solid summary is provided of the last decade+ in the Thai beer market, which has been just as active, in its own way, as the American micro-macro-revolution. i mostly agree with the authors' position on the beers, and completely agree that it's not worth comparing the non-in-country-brewed offerings from Japan and Singapore (especially since they are really mostly available only in 7-11 and the rare supermarket.)
the beers:
1. Singha
beautiful: a slightly spicy, noticably hoppy, and impressively full lager, the Thai 'national beer' is brewed by Bangkok's Boon Rawd Brewery, and is the beer against which all other Thai beer must be judged (similar in stature to, say, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for APA.s). it rolls in at a solid 6.0% ABV, and is best had in a 22 oz. bottle, ice cold from the omnipresent rolling-door cold cases seen at every roadside stand and restaurant in Thailand. at an average (at restaurants and food stalls) of 75 baht for a 22 oz. bomber, or about $1.75 USD, it's the best overall buy for your money, and can be has as cheap as 45 baht (just about $1.00/USD!) at the 7-11's that have populated every city of any size. don't worry: everyone has a bottle opener, and generally offer it if you're buying a beer at a time, since it's expected you'll want to drink it soon, and cold.
(these cold cases also house pop, water, and something i didn't know was a Thai original until this trip: Red Bull. ick. instead of the nasty little silvery cans one sees in the states, nasty little brown glass bottles that Red Bull comes in litter too many roadsides and gutters.)
2. Beer Chang
pronounced in Am.English as "Chong" or "Chawng", not 'Chang' with a long 'a', this Singha clone is produced by brewing giant Carlsberg, and designed to compete head-to-head. through heavy spending and significant undercutting of price, Chang has gained a significant market share, and is often the only beer sold at roadside stands and noodle/soup stalls. it's almost always 20 baht (about $0.50 USD) cheaper than Singha, and so is more accessible to the average Thai at around 55-60 baht (~$1.50 USD) than the much tastier Singha. at 6.4% ABV, it's a similarly heavy brew, but with noticably less taste, a thinner grain bill, and generally less character, hop and otherwise, than its aspiration. it's best drunk ice cold, and preferably sitting at a tiny outdoor stall to calm the spicy, wonderful made-to-order soups and noodle dishes. (the best of them focus on one or two dishes.)
3. Leo
like Singha, it is also made by Boon Rawd Brewery, but is a sad younger brother. it's thin, light, goes down without any noise, and generally not very satisfying. it's cheap, though: i saw 22 oz. bombers for as little as 28 baht at 7-11, which is, oh, about $0.70 USD. even if it seems like a fun change on a restaurant menu, don't bother: it's only really good when you need a fourth or fifth beer to cool down, and don't want to spring for Singha or Chang.
4. & 5. Heineken & Carlsberg
It's sad, but these European giants' huge spending and aggressive sign-making has established both beers for younger, more well-off Thais who drink beer as status, often shunning their parents' drink of choice in the sultry evenings and nights, Maekong whisky (see below). Both beers are as bland and boring as they are around the world, and at a ridiculous premium price: usually around 120-150 baht ($3.00 - $3.75 USD) for a 22 oz. bottle, and i've seen Heinie for as much as 250 baht for a 12 oz. draft. Now, at roughly $6 USD, or about 5.30 EUR, this might not seem that exorbitant to the American or European pubcrawler, but bear in mind this buys a two nights in decent room in a guesthouse in a regular city like Trat or Sri Racha, and even a night in a less fancy fan-cooled bungalow on a tropical island paradise beach in Koh Chang.
6., other: Maekong whisky
not beer by any means, this wonderful whisky is slightly sweet, easy to drink, fermented from rice, and is basically the national drink of choice for most Thais who are able to indulge. at about 80 baht ($2.00 USD) for a 375ml flask (35% ABV, 70 proof) in a normal restaurant or food stall, and rarely more than 110 baht (about $2.75 USD), it's a comparatively cheap way to drink like a Thai, impress your waiter, and likely make local friends without speaking a lick of Thai beyond 'hello' (phonetically, rougly "ko pung kwap" for males, and "ko pung kaa" for females) and 'thank you' (roughly, "sawadii kwap" m. / "sawadii kaa" f.)
if you just smile and say Maekong, the waiter or stall operator might be a little surprised, but they'll know exactly what you want. it is generally drunk over ice, mixed with either soda water ("so-dah") or Pepsi/Coca-Cola (guess at the pronunciation), and these sides have to be asked for, but they'll assume you want something to cut it. especially with pop as the mixer, this stuff is shockingly easy to drink, so be careful, especially in bars, where the bartender/waiter will often refill your drink when it gets below half, provide a fresh bottle at a similar rate, and since it's so cheap for most westerners given incredible exchange rates (circa February 2003), the next morning you'll wonder what the hell hit you.
for Maekong in a store/liquor stand, look for the ubiquitous orange-ish/yellow labels with beautiful red and black Thai script, avaliable most often in 375ml flasks, and also 750ml bottles. they have paper safety/authenticity labels that stick over the top, but don't worry if they have dried up and come off easily, as long as the twist-off metal cap is sealed until you remove it.
upon leaving Thailand, i had to seek out the surprisingly rare 200ml bottles of Maekong at a little stand designed mostly for travellers and drunks at the train station parallel to Bangkok Int'l Airport: these little gems keep me inline with duty-free allowances for US Customs, and at 50 baht each, provide great gifts for all my drinking friends in the states.
fortunately, Thais take their beer pretty seriously, and the national favorite, Singha, is something to be proud of, as is the national liquor of choice, a rice whisky called Maekong, which i also review below. in general, Thailand is an exceptionally friendly place, even in touristy areas, and they'll indulge you if possible in whatever you want to quaff. that said, i highly encourage keeping your money local (at least nationally) by supporting these authentic Thai products.
all beers discussed below beers are lagers; an ale, especially a heavy one, is just not a priority product in the incredible heat. fortunately, Singha has a lot of flavor and body compared to the standard American lager, and all the better Euro and Canadian lagers.
check out: http://www.piatom.com/beeren.html :
a pretty solid summary is provided of the last decade+ in the Thai beer market, which has been just as active, in its own way, as the American micro-macro-revolution. i mostly agree with the authors' position on the beers, and completely agree that it's not worth comparing the non-in-country-brewed offerings from Japan and Singapore (especially since they are really mostly available only in 7-11 and the rare supermarket.)
the beers:
1. Singha
beautiful: a slightly spicy, noticably hoppy, and impressively full lager, the Thai 'national beer' is brewed by Bangkok's Boon Rawd Brewery, and is the beer against which all other Thai beer must be judged (similar in stature to, say, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for APA.s). it rolls in at a solid 6.0% ABV, and is best had in a 22 oz. bottle, ice cold from the omnipresent rolling-door cold cases seen at every roadside stand and restaurant in Thailand. at an average (at restaurants and food stalls) of 75 baht for a 22 oz. bomber, or about $1.75 USD, it's the best overall buy for your money, and can be has as cheap as 45 baht (just about $1.00/USD!) at the 7-11's that have populated every city of any size. don't worry: everyone has a bottle opener, and generally offer it if you're buying a beer at a time, since it's expected you'll want to drink it soon, and cold.
(these cold cases also house pop, water, and something i didn't know was a Thai original until this trip: Red Bull. ick. instead of the nasty little silvery cans one sees in the states, nasty little brown glass bottles that Red Bull comes in litter too many roadsides and gutters.)
2. Beer Chang
pronounced in Am.English as "Chong" or "Chawng", not 'Chang' with a long 'a', this Singha clone is produced by brewing giant Carlsberg, and designed to compete head-to-head. through heavy spending and significant undercutting of price, Chang has gained a significant market share, and is often the only beer sold at roadside stands and noodle/soup stalls. it's almost always 20 baht (about $0.50 USD) cheaper than Singha, and so is more accessible to the average Thai at around 55-60 baht (~$1.50 USD) than the much tastier Singha. at 6.4% ABV, it's a similarly heavy brew, but with noticably less taste, a thinner grain bill, and generally less character, hop and otherwise, than its aspiration. it's best drunk ice cold, and preferably sitting at a tiny outdoor stall to calm the spicy, wonderful made-to-order soups and noodle dishes. (the best of them focus on one or two dishes.)
3. Leo
like Singha, it is also made by Boon Rawd Brewery, but is a sad younger brother. it's thin, light, goes down without any noise, and generally not very satisfying. it's cheap, though: i saw 22 oz. bombers for as little as 28 baht at 7-11, which is, oh, about $0.70 USD. even if it seems like a fun change on a restaurant menu, don't bother: it's only really good when you need a fourth or fifth beer to cool down, and don't want to spring for Singha or Chang.
4. & 5. Heineken & Carlsberg
It's sad, but these European giants' huge spending and aggressive sign-making has established both beers for younger, more well-off Thais who drink beer as status, often shunning their parents' drink of choice in the sultry evenings and nights, Maekong whisky (see below). Both beers are as bland and boring as they are around the world, and at a ridiculous premium price: usually around 120-150 baht ($3.00 - $3.75 USD) for a 22 oz. bottle, and i've seen Heinie for as much as 250 baht for a 12 oz. draft. Now, at roughly $6 USD, or about 5.30 EUR, this might not seem that exorbitant to the American or European pubcrawler, but bear in mind this buys a two nights in decent room in a guesthouse in a regular city like Trat or Sri Racha, and even a night in a less fancy fan-cooled bungalow on a tropical island paradise beach in Koh Chang.
6., other: Maekong whisky
not beer by any means, this wonderful whisky is slightly sweet, easy to drink, fermented from rice, and is basically the national drink of choice for most Thais who are able to indulge. at about 80 baht ($2.00 USD) for a 375ml flask (35% ABV, 70 proof) in a normal restaurant or food stall, and rarely more than 110 baht (about $2.75 USD), it's a comparatively cheap way to drink like a Thai, impress your waiter, and likely make local friends without speaking a lick of Thai beyond 'hello' (phonetically, rougly "ko pung kwap" for males, and "ko pung kaa" for females) and 'thank you' (roughly, "sawadii kwap" m. / "sawadii kaa" f.)
if you just smile and say Maekong, the waiter or stall operator might be a little surprised, but they'll know exactly what you want. it is generally drunk over ice, mixed with either soda water ("so-dah") or Pepsi/Coca-Cola (guess at the pronunciation), and these sides have to be asked for, but they'll assume you want something to cut it. especially with pop as the mixer, this stuff is shockingly easy to drink, so be careful, especially in bars, where the bartender/waiter will often refill your drink when it gets below half, provide a fresh bottle at a similar rate, and since it's so cheap for most westerners given incredible exchange rates (circa February 2003), the next morning you'll wonder what the hell hit you.
for Maekong in a store/liquor stand, look for the ubiquitous orange-ish/yellow labels with beautiful red and black Thai script, avaliable most often in 375ml flasks, and also 750ml bottles. they have paper safety/authenticity labels that stick over the top, but don't worry if they have dried up and come off easily, as long as the twist-off metal cap is sealed until you remove it.
upon leaving Thailand, i had to seek out the surprisingly rare 200ml bottles of Maekong at a little stand designed mostly for travellers and drunks at the train station parallel to Bangkok Int'l Airport: these little gems keep me inline with duty-free allowances for US Customs, and at 50 baht each, provide great gifts for all my drinking friends in the states.