Hops restaurant in Pattaya.

[ozimoron]

I went to Hops for a couple of beers last night with a couple of mates. The place was beyond crowded. The band did really well, the same guys for 20 years. Everybody was singing along. They brew a decent German style wheat beer.

[Upnotover]

38 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

The place was beyond crowded

38 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Everybody was singing along

Good review thanks.  Serves as both a recommendation and a warning.  For me the latter.

[BigStar]

Great food, service, and ambience. One of the best pizzas in town. Popular with Thais, expats, and tourists. Survived COVID very well. Should get even more crowded when the Chinese get back.

 

Ironically, today is the one-year anniversary of Tim Dueck's death, for many years the brewmeister of the Hops. Great guy, very, very funny, sorely missed by the many friends who knew him. Thoroughly enjoyed himself and only made it to 54. Big turnout at Wat Chai for his funeral. On the day, the TQ reserved his fave bar stool and kept a bottle of his usual beer above it on the bar.

Edited February 5, 2023 by BigStar

[AlexRRR]

Hops Inn if you like average food average music and noise by all means......be nice if they refreshed everything and did something about noise travel...

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, AlexRRR said:

Hops Inn if you like average food average music and noise by all means......be nice if they refreshed everything and did something about noise travel...

Above average food, above average music (according to your tastes, but listenable, unlike most music heard live around town), doesn't need a refresh, good as is--hence so popular. Only noisy (I think; many wouldn't) when the band's playing at night (weekends only? not sure). Hops tends to be well-attended in the evenings, so it will be commensurately noisier, but not bad; very civilized, middle-class crowd. Daytime's (opens at 2) quiet. 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by BigStar

[Seppius]

Good beer, but not brewed by them on the premises as they have always claimed before

[BigStar]

7 hours ago, Seppius said:

Good beer, but not brewed by them on the premises as they have always claimed before

Was definitely brewed on the premises, contrary to what ANF Posters have always claimed before, and Tim, the brewmeister, showed me the brewing process. I'd occasionally see him getting big sacks of supplies from the storage area across Soi Yamato. He's gone now, but no reason I know of to assume a successor didn't take over, given the investment. You may present your evidence.

[soi3eddie]

Haven't seen it mentioned above, but I find the price value rather poor. Sure the food is ok but service so-so. Can be very busy but the prices on my 2nd and last visit (Sep 2022) were way in excess of the quality. Only went because it was a friend's birthday.

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by soi3eddie

[sungod]

8 hours ago, Seppius said:

Good beer, but not brewed by them on the premises as they have always claimed before

Someone has deleted the laughing emoji function, so here is my own to your ridiculous post ????

[Mac Mickmanus]

30 minutes ago, sungod said:

Someone has deleted the laughing emoji function, so here is my own to your ridiculous post ????

Instead of laughing at them , you could say something like * The beer there was quite nice and they did actually brew in on the premises* ?

[Seppius]

15 hours ago, sungod said:

Someone has deleted the laughing emoji function, so here is my own to your ridiculous post ????

The place is packed every night, they would be going through thousands of litres of beer a week, so where does this brewing miracle take place? Certainly NOT in those two decorative tanks behind the bar.

 

For one batch can take up to 8 weeks

 

"It takes 4 to 8 weeks, or even longer sometimes to brew a lager. This is because it has a special fermentation and bottle conditioning to ensure the beer is cleaner and crisper. The fermentation process in the primary fermenter takes 2-6 weeks or more, and the final gravity thus may not be reached at the end of 3 weeks."

 

https://hopstersbrew.com/long-does-it-take-to-brew-a-lager/

 

"The brewing process starts with the selection of the highest quality ingredients, including barley, hops, yeast, and water. These ingredients are carefully chosen to ensure that each beer is unique and flavorful. The barley is first malted, which involves soaking the grain in water to germinate and then drying it to stop the process. This process activates enzymes that convert the grain’s starch into sugar, which will be fermented later

 

Next, the malt is mashed in warm water to extract the sugar and create a liquid called wort. This wort is then boiled with hops, which add bitterness and aroma to the beer. The hops also act as a natural preservative, helping to extend the shelf life of the beer. After boiling, the wort is cooled and yeast is added to begin the fermentation process.".

ChatGTP

 

Yes all this happens in the narrow venue with no cellar, and most of the roof space is restaurant, nowhere on their website/Instagram/Facebook do they show pics beer brewing, odd I would have though

 

 

[Seppius]

16 hours ago, BigStar said:

Was definitely brewed on the premises, contrary to what ANF Posters have always claimed before, and Tim, the brewmeister, showed me the brewing process. I'd occasionally see him getting big sacks of supplies from the storage area across Soi Yamato. He's gone now, but no reason I know of to assume a successor didn't take over, given the investment. You may present your evidence.

Shame you never took any pictures that would be your "evidence" mine is all over the internet related to German brewing and how long it takes, impossible to make that much beer on the premises

[BigStar]

8 minutes ago, Seppius said:

Shame you never took any pictures that would be your "evidence" mine is all over the internet related to German brewing and how long it takes, impossible to make that much beer on the premises

"Related" isn't Hops, specifically. You have no idea how much they brewed in a batch or their particular brewing methods. Nor did I have any reason whatsoever to take pics.

 

So of course you got nothing, just the usual hot air and posturing we have here all the time. 

 

I remember mentioning to Tim that the pumps were kinda noisy. He quite agreed but said the owners wouldn't spend the money on replacement/upgrade. And I remember him coming into the TQ looking and feeling tired. Said he'd been up late working on the brewing. If he'd been up late drinking and carousing, he would certainly have said so, no secret there.

[bkk6060]

Were they singing in German?

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Were they singing in German?

Would Italian do?

 

 

[Leaver]

9 hours ago, Seppius said:

Shame you never took any pictures that would be your "evidence" mine is all over the internet related to German brewing and how long it takes, impossible to make that much beer on the premises

 

Perhaps "hops" was not / is not authentic German beer. 

[ozimoron]

11 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Were they singing in German?

They sang in several languages. 

[champers]

2 hours ago, Leaver said:

 

Perhaps "hops" was not / is not authentic German beer. 

Might that be because it is made in Thailand?

[Leaver]

7 minutes ago, champers said:

Might that be because it is made in Thailand?

 

Thailand, the land of smoke and mirrors, fakes, and counterfeits.  Money Number One here.  Anything to turn a baht. 

 

The brew could be anything, made anywhere. 

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Leaver

[ozimoron]

1 hour ago, Leaver said:

 

Thailand, the land of smoke and mirrors, fakes, and counterfeits.  Money Number One here.  Anything to turn a baht. 

 

The brew could be anything, made anywhere. 

 

The brew is made in Pattaya. It was always made by a German who worked there but he died a year ago. It's still made here to his recipe.

[jacko45k]

On 2/8/2023 at 8:31 PM, sungod said:

Someone has deleted the laughing emoji function, so here is my own to your ridiculous post ????

Yes, it comes and goes along with the sense of humour here!

[NextG]

18 hours ago, BigStar said:

Would Italian do?

 

 

Good to know he’s still up there doing his thing ????

[Seppius]

8 hours ago, ozimoron said:

The brew is made in Pattaya. It was always made by a German who worked there but he died a year ago. It's still made here to his recipe.

I agree brewed here in Thailand, just not in the restaurant.

[BigStar]

27 minutes ago, Seppius said:

I agree brewed here in Thailand, just not in the restaurant.

With no evidence for disagreeing, just a lie based on ignorant speculation I know for a fact is false. YAWN.

Edited February 10, 2023 by BigStar

[BigStar]

9 hours ago, ozimoron said:

The brew is made in Pattaya. It was always made by a German who worked there but he died a year ago. It's still made here to his recipe.

In Pattaya, at the Hops itself. Tim, from Bavaria, was always on the premises handling the process.

[ozimoron]

3 hours ago, Seppius said:

I agree brewed here in Thailand, just not in the restaurant.

Why? They have huge vats. It was brewed on site previously. 

[Seppius]

My last post on the subject I promise, believe what you want

 

There is not one picture anywhere on the net in all these years showing them actually brewing beer, They have pictures of the Pizza ovens, menus, pouring beer and the kitchens, but no brewery, isn't that something they would love to show off? I would if I was the owner

 

I have used the place for 20 odd years, never seen the tanks being used, or anyone working on them

[Leaver]

20 hours ago, ozimoron said:

The brew is made in Pattaya. It was always made by a German who worked there but he died a year ago. It's still made here to his recipe.

 

The question raised by another member was is every last drop that is bought and sold on the premises brewed on site.  I have no doubt it's brewed in Pattaya / Thailand, but the dispute is about is all of the product brewed on site?

 

The member seems to think, due to the popularity of the venue, and the length of time to create a batch, it's impossible that ALL of the product can be brewed on site.

 

I wouldn't know, and I never met the German guy, but that is the question in dispute here, as I understand it. 

[Furioso]

The mystery of where Hops brews it's beer needs to be solved. 

[BigStar]

21 hours ago, Seppius said:

I have used the place for 20 odd years, never seen the tanks being used, or anyone working on them

I have, and in fact I was pointing out to Tim that the pumps on the front tanks were noisy.

 

21 hours ago, Seppius said:

There is not one picture anywhere on the net in all these years showing them actually brewing beer

Been to quite a few brew pubs over the years and never noticed any making a point of showing the process behind the scenes. Not to say that some don't. Large brewers in the USA that ship out their craft beers and have a pub in the front give tours, but Hops isn't that kind of operation. Shiny tanks are a lot more scenic. The more industrial equipment at the Hops is in a room behind the resto, and supplies are kept across the street.

 

What we don't have one picture from you of any supposed off-site facility where the beer's actually brewed or of one picture of a truck, after all these years, unloading it on Soi Yamato. Been down that soi a million times over the years, at all hours, and never saw one. Perhaps you could hang out and get one. Or the Pattaya Proctological Photography Club members might leave off photographing garbage, construction, and various other evils and take a pic.

 

Do that, and I'll be happy to concede your point.