Ninkasi
07-10-2003, 09:12 AM
Hello From Taiwan,
I've spent the last year and a half on L'Isle de Formosa, aka Republic of China, aka Taiwan. I'll be heading home soon (for good) and thought I'd share some of my beerxperiences I've had here.
The laws of the land pertaining to brewing were stringent up until a short time ago. Once Taiwan became a card carrying member of the WTO things opened up, and if you look hard enough there is some good beer to be had.
There is one Microbrewery that I know of:
http://www.tmbc.com.tw/.
I don't live in Goashiung, so I haven't visited this brewery, but I have had the pleasure of trying some of the beers, and they're surprisingly good! They're not easily accessible, but I've happened upon them in a few bars/restaurants in the Taipei area. All the info on this brewery is in Chinese (can't read it), and when I called the brewery there were no English speakers present (I have survival Mandarin only), so I have little to offer in terms of facts...just one...the beer's decent.
A while back I heard about a Thai Restaurant/Brewpub (Jolly Thai and Malt Beverages) that had recently opened up in Taipei City (the NeiHu area). Some friends and I checked it out last week, and sure enough, a brewpub it was! Small system (10 barrel), producing 4 styles...weizen, pale ale, pilsner, and stout. The pilsner was good, but slightly lacking the hop punch to be great. The weizen was excellent (considering my local!)... fruity, fresh, frothy. It was the favorite at our table. The pale ale was off...dirty socks and tin. Disappointing, because a pale ale is almost impossible to come by over here. A resounding 12 thumbs down on that one from the gang of six. The stout wasn't available...a seasonl thing from what I gathered. The food was outstanding!! As was the atmosphere and service. And hey, we was in a brewpub for pity's sake. Believe me, after 18 months of Heinekens, Kirins, and Asahis, it was a treat.
On that note, that's exactly what you can expect in Taiwan when perusing the aisles looking for a brew. Heiny, Kirin, Asahi, Corona, Bud, and of course, Taiwan Beer. The green bottle's not bad, but stay away from the brown bottle and the cans. Ich. The easily accessible choices are depressing, but if you look hard enough (read: are desperate enough), it is possible to find the odd English or German pop.
The final note on Taiwan would have to go to Geert. Geert is an enterprinsing beer lover who has started up his very own Belgium beer import business. He's bringing in every style, type, kind imaginable and anyone who's willing to fork out X amount of NT$ can get a selection (24 to a case) of their favorite Belgium beers delivered to their doorstep! I've been in on one of these deliveries...my tastebuds almost went into shock!! Delirius with Delirium. To find Geert, just ask any ex-pat you find wandering the streets of Taipei...chances are, if they themselves are not onboard with this program, someone they know is.
That takes care of Taiwan...from my view anyway.
Cheers,
Ninkasi
I've spent the last year and a half on L'Isle de Formosa, aka Republic of China, aka Taiwan. I'll be heading home soon (for good) and thought I'd share some of my beerxperiences I've had here.
The laws of the land pertaining to brewing were stringent up until a short time ago. Once Taiwan became a card carrying member of the WTO things opened up, and if you look hard enough there is some good beer to be had.
There is one Microbrewery that I know of:
http://www.tmbc.com.tw/.
I don't live in Goashiung, so I haven't visited this brewery, but I have had the pleasure of trying some of the beers, and they're surprisingly good! They're not easily accessible, but I've happened upon them in a few bars/restaurants in the Taipei area. All the info on this brewery is in Chinese (can't read it), and when I called the brewery there were no English speakers present (I have survival Mandarin only), so I have little to offer in terms of facts...just one...the beer's decent.
A while back I heard about a Thai Restaurant/Brewpub (Jolly Thai and Malt Beverages) that had recently opened up in Taipei City (the NeiHu area). Some friends and I checked it out last week, and sure enough, a brewpub it was! Small system (10 barrel), producing 4 styles...weizen, pale ale, pilsner, and stout. The pilsner was good, but slightly lacking the hop punch to be great. The weizen was excellent (considering my local!)... fruity, fresh, frothy. It was the favorite at our table. The pale ale was off...dirty socks and tin. Disappointing, because a pale ale is almost impossible to come by over here. A resounding 12 thumbs down on that one from the gang of six. The stout wasn't available...a seasonl thing from what I gathered. The food was outstanding!! As was the atmosphere and service. And hey, we was in a brewpub for pity's sake. Believe me, after 18 months of Heinekens, Kirins, and Asahis, it was a treat.
On that note, that's exactly what you can expect in Taiwan when perusing the aisles looking for a brew. Heiny, Kirin, Asahi, Corona, Bud, and of course, Taiwan Beer. The green bottle's not bad, but stay away from the brown bottle and the cans. Ich. The easily accessible choices are depressing, but if you look hard enough (read: are desperate enough), it is possible to find the odd English or German pop.
The final note on Taiwan would have to go to Geert. Geert is an enterprinsing beer lover who has started up his very own Belgium beer import business. He's bringing in every style, type, kind imaginable and anyone who's willing to fork out X amount of NT$ can get a selection (24 to a case) of their favorite Belgium beers delivered to their doorstep! I've been in on one of these deliveries...my tastebuds almost went into shock!! Delirius with Delirium. To find Geert, just ask any ex-pat you find wandering the streets of Taipei...chances are, if they themselves are not onboard with this program, someone they know is.
That takes care of Taiwan...from my view anyway.
Cheers,
Ninkasi