Why is 99.9% of beer sold in Thailand bottled beer?

[Leaver]

Pre covid, Thailand had millions of tourists, from all around the world, many of whom enjoy a cold beer in a tropical climate, whilst on their holiday.  Most were sold bottled beer.

 

The majority of expats and locals, most of the time, have no choice but to drink bottled beer.

 

With so much beer sales here, why isn't Thailand offering more tap beer?

 

Yes, there are glass and glass cleaning costs, but these would be offset by not needing to run large fridges. Many of the beer companies pay for the installation because the bar can offer their beer at a reduced price because it's on tap, not bottled.  They also supply their glasses, with their company logo.

 

It's better for the environment, and less labour intensive to the point of sale.  Eg. no fridges to stack.  Thus, more profitable for the bar, and the beer company.

 

30 years ago, I could understand why couldn't.  In 2021, it's still bottled beer here.

 

Will tap beer ever be the norm in Thailand?  

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Leaver

[sirineou]

Tap requires equipment, delivery infrastructure and quality control that is not available in Thailand. 

[Leaver]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

Tap requires equipment, delivery infrastructure and quality control that is not available in Thailand. 

 

Sure, most of which is paid for by the beer company, IF the bar only offers their beer on tap, thus, increasing that beers company's sales.  

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

Sure, most of which is paid for by the beer company, IF the bar only offers their beer on tap, thus, increasing that beers company's sales.  

The is on one end of the equation but the vendor is at the other,can you imagine the cr#p you would be drinking  if left to the vendors to control the distribution? 

When you Open a bottle of Leo , you know you are getting a Leo with a particular consistency. Could you be assured the same  at every place in Thailand with tap? 

You get where I am heading with this?

Edited February 5, 2021 by sirineou

[fishtank]

Thailand has beer available?

News to me.

[Leaver]

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

The is on one end of the equation but the vendor is at the other,can you imagine the cr#p you would be drinking  if left to the vendors to control the distribution? 

When you Open a bottle of Leo , you know you are getting a Leo with a particular consistency. Could you be assured the same  at every place in Thailand with tap? 

You get where I am heading with this?

 

Yes, I do get where you are heading.  

 

So, incompetence and laziness, causing a lack of hygiene, would be the reason.  

 

Once again, it's 2021. Will Thailand ever be able to offer tap beer to its millions of tourists, post covid?  I mean, Thailand being a "World Class Tourists Destination" an all.   ????

[foreverlomsak]

3 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

Sure, most of which is paid for by the beer company, IF the bar only offers their beer on tap, thus, increasing that beers company's sales.  

If you could only buy beer in bars then things might change, but the vast majority of beers are sold by "off-licences", 7Elevens, mama/papa shops or do you expect them to install barrel storage pumping systems and people to buy by the pitcher, as olden days, and then walk home, sometimes only selling 1 or 2 bottles worth a day.

I have, in the past, been in many air-con bars where you are offered beer by the bottle or by the glass from pumps, personally I prefer bottled beer for 2 reasons 1) consistency of quality and 2) how good is the bar at keeping the pipes etc. clean and safe (it's down to the bars not the beer companies)

[foreverlomsak]

18 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

IF the bar only offers their beer on tap, thus, increasing that beers company's sales.  

why would it increase sales?

 

[darksidedog]

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

Tap requires equipment, delivery infrastructure and quality control that is not available in Thailand. 

Possibly the biggest single issue is the temperature. The amount of CO2 required to pull a beer changes as the temperature goes up and down. Not a problem in a UK Pub cellar which remains pretty constant all year round. When you get the CO2 wrong, the beer is either flat or foamy, either way you get a bad pint and the bar loses much waste in every barrel.

There are systems in Europe to automatically do this, (Google Draftmore) but they are expensive and most bars find it easier to not get involved with draft, unless they or their cellar in a decent place have a constant temperature. And that is why most bars, especially those without AirCon, only have bottles.

[Leaver]

4 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

If you could only buy beer in bars then things might change, but the vast majority of beers are sold by "off-licences", 7Elevens, mama/papa shops or do you expect them to install barrel storage pumping systems and people to buy by the pitcher, as olden days, and then walk home, sometimes only selling 1 or 2 bottles worth a day.

I have, in the past, been in many air-con bars where you are offered beer by the bottle or by the glass from pumps, personally I prefer bottled beer for 2 reasons 1) consistency of quality and 2) how good is the bar at keeping the pipes etc. clean and safe (it's down to the bars not the beer companies)

 

If your read my OP, you will see it's focused on the hospitality industry, and particularly mentions tourists. 

 

My OP was not focused on "take away" beer from 7/11 or the supermarket.   

 

 

[Leaver]

5 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

why would it increase sales?

 

 

Keg / tap beer is a lot cheaper than bottled beer, both for the beer company, and the retailer. (bar)

 

Let's say Tiger offer to put a tap beer system into a bar, under the contract that they will be the only tap beer in that bar for X amount of years, then that Tiger tap beer can be offered a lot cheaper than the competition's bottled beer.

 

However, my thread is not about the cost of beer. 

 

I am just wondering why, with such a huge tourism industry (pre covid) and in 2021, tap beer is not more common in bars in Thailand.   

[Leaver]

12 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Possibly the biggest single issue is the temperature. The amount of CO2 required to pull a beer changes as the temperature goes up and down. Not a problem in a UK Pub cellar which remains pretty constant all year round. When you get the CO2 wrong, the beer is either flat or foamy, either way you get a bad pint and the bar loses much waste in every barrel.

There are systems in Europe to automatically do this, but they are expensive and most bars find it easier to not get involved with draft, unless they or their cellar in a decent place have a constant temperature.

 

Glycol systems have come down in price a lot over recent years.  

[soi3eddie]

15 minutes ago, fishtank said:

Thailand has beer available?

News to me.

 

Enjoyed a good few beers and a game or two of pool last night just of Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok. Not hard to find everywhere. ???? 

 

[scammed]

if you ever tried a happy hour tap beer in any gogo you would know the answer, taste like <deleted>

[soi3eddie]

1 minute ago, scammed said:

if you ever tried a happy hour tap beer in any gogo you would know the answer, taste like <deleted>

 

I used to think draught beer (where available) in Thailand would be better. Wrong! Either it is really bad or I was served some watered down rubbish. Draught micro-brews such as Chitbeer and others are fine though. For me bottled beer is just fine and a safer bet.

 

[Disparate Dan]

 

43 minutes ago, Leaver said:

The majority of expats and locals, most of the time, have no choice but to drink bottled beer

says who? Numbers? You offer nothing in support of this weird theory.

Of course things are a bit skewed right now, because most beer is served via cups or teapots, but in slightly more normal times vast volumes are consumed as draft. Only if you drink at home (and no worries about that) would you "have no choice", and I'd say that would apply just about anywhere.

[foreverlomsak]

2 minutes ago, scammed said:

if you ever tried a happy hour tap beer in any gogo you would know the answer, taste like <deleted>

and would probable be worse in any bar beer where the barrels would always be at air temperature, and the turnover of barrels is slow.

Another reason for bottles is the ease in which new supplies can be obtained, 5 mins from the nearest 7-eleven

 

[Golden Triangle]

Turnover of keg beer is another issue, I know more than a few places that have tried keg beer and ended up jacking it in as the take up was not worth the hassle. For example, Guiness, Greene King IPA, Cider, expensive foreign lagers, Stella Artouis (spl) etc etc, the bar buys a keg, it doesn't sell, the bar chucks it away, the bar loses money.

 

Simple economics really.

 

 

[Disparate Dan]

18 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

If your read my OP, you will see it's focused on the hospitality industry, and particularly mentions tourists. 

 

My OP was not focused on "take away" beer from 7/11 or the supermarket.   

 

 

Read your own OP. It talks about "expats and locals".

[Leaver]

4 minutes ago, Disparate Dan said:

 

says who? Numbers? You offer nothing in support of this weird theory.

Of course things are a bit skewed right now, because most beer is served via cups or teapots, but in slightly more normal times vast volumes are consumed as draft. Only if you drink at home (and no worries about that) would you "have no choice", and I'd say that would apply just about anywhere.

 

Pre covid, the majority of the bars, all across Thailand, only offer bottled beer.

 

Do you disagree with this?  

[Leaver]

4 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

For example, Guiness, Greene King IPA, Cider, expensive foreign lagers, Stella Artouis

 

Higher end beers.

 

I was thinking more, Singha, Tiger, Leo, Chang etc.  

[Dagfinnur Traustason]

Because it´s not canned.

[Leaver]

4 minutes ago, Disparate Dan said:

Read your own OP. It talks about "expats and locals".

 

Perhaps you can inform us where all the tap beer is for expats and locals.  The majority of bars in Pattaya, where I am, is bottled beer.  

 

Sure, there are some establishments offering tap beer, but only a small percent of bars.  (pre covid)  

[scammed]

16 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

 

I used to think draught beer (where available) in Thailand would be better. Wrong! Either it is really bad or I was served some watered down rubbish. Draught micro-brews such as Chitbeer and others are fine though. For me bottled beer is just fine and a safer bet.

 

i think it taste like some idiot put perfume in it,

it just turns my stomach inside out

[Golden Triangle]

5 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

Higher end beers.

 

I was thinking more, Singha, Tiger, Leo, Chang etc.  

 

Ahh, you didn't say that, no problem, I don't particularly like draught Thai beer, I like a large very cold bottle (Archa) in a condom staying cold, while I chat to a couple of mates watching the world go by on SSCC.

[onebir]

42 minutes ago, Leaver said:

So, incompetence and laziness, causing a lack of hygiene, would be the reason.  

More charitably: lack of the requisite skillset combined with lack of demand for its product.

 

It was also hard to find decent cappucino/espresso in coffee shops in the UK until the mid 90s, because very few people knew how to use/maintain espresso machines, and the potential customers were drinking draft beer instead ????

[onebir]

9 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I like a large very cold bottle (Archa) in a condom staying cold,

Autocorrect issues??

[Golden Triangle]

5 minutes ago, onebir said:

Autocorrect issues??

No, Google this if you are unaware, beer condoms thailand 

 

Again, lack of a smiley fails to impart if the poster was jesting or not. ????

Edited February 5, 2021 by Golden Triangle

[onebir]

11 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

No, Google this if you are unaware, beer condoms thailand 

 

Again, lack of a smiley fails to impart if the poster was jesting or not. ????

Blissfully unaware, thanks ????

[surangw]

oral fixation ?