Are there any retailers in Thailand anymore offering a decent range of Belgian beers, ales of any nationality and stouts?

[Gilligan In Drag]

I was just looking at Villa Market's web page and was glad it looks like I can order a lot of stuff I can't get

up in Isaan. However, the selection of beers was really down from what was in the brick and mortar shops

themselves say 5 years ago. To my taste buds and particular variety of alcoholism, just lots of the same beers

but with different labels, IPA's, lagers and plain wheat beers leaves a lot to be desired.

 

I really like heavier, darker beers, and it seems they are nearly extinct in Thailand now.

Beer Lao dark is not really a dark beer  in my book but more a lager with a bit of molasses thrown in.

I was rather surprised that there were at least a hundred varieties of beer and cider listed on Villa,

but not one stout beer. I've long noticed there is a thing about stout in Thailand, it's only ever available at certain bars,

Guinness something available in corner shops just about all over the world has never been available in Thailand.

Coopers, not my favorite stout but it will do, has seemingly completely vanished.

Weinstephaner's line of beers is down to one basic wheat beer in the Tops supermarket in my town and not represented at all on Villa.

Schneider Weiss, my favorite German wheat beer alchemist/brewer, makers of the phenomenal tap #6 Aventinus, and Eis Bock disappeared 15 years ago

from Foodland, the alcohol section manager said there was a disagreement of some kind between Foodland and the Schneider-Weiss

distributor, so the manager said Foodland was cut off. You could order it from Wish Beer, but Wish Beer is completely gutted these days, very little of anything.

 

7-8 years ago I stopped into Villa Market Tonglor and they had a very good selection of Belgian beers from the Kasteel company.

I would be fully satisfied if I could buy those, their coffee Belgian Quadrupel and cherry quad are really pretty excellent I think.

The proper Belgian trappist beers, made by actual Catholic Churches, well, maybe that's asking a bit much,

but there were a couple of specialty shops who sold them, one European deli meats and cheeses shop on Suk Soi 19 had all the best

Belgians, even an array of matching glassware for m,ost of the beers they sold. They went out of business in about 2015 or so.

Hell, even Baccara gogo Bar on Soi Cowboy had Orval Trappist and Cactus Bar on Cowboy had a really good Belgian selection, John had

Tripel Karamaliet and some others and he'd get new things in and tell you if he knew your were keen.

There was the Roach Motel beers as I like to kiddingly call them, Rochefort 10, 8, and 6 the best of the lot at Cactus bar sometimes and

in the above mentioned cheese and meats shop on Soi 19.

 

But, Yes, you can get Duvel at Villa, and thats a good one. The basic Leffe's are Ok and they have the blonde and the brown, but Villa used to carry

a few others by Leffe that are better I think the Cuvee and . They have Fuller's London Pride, but not their London Porter which used to be fairly easily had in Thailand.

 

OK, thats about it for my sad song, "Oh Where Oh Winely Nag, Hath the Darke Beers Goneth?" Now time to ask about one seller in Thailand that I  found

and ask if anyone's had a go with them. They are called Oak Wine and incredibly they seem to have just about every kind alcoholic drink

on planet earth, including most of the beers I have mentioned in this post. It seems a little too good to be true and they only accept direct

bank deposits for payments, so that also makes me wonder if they aren't

just on the take. Anyone tried them? Any other suggestions for where to buy beer for delivery, my internet searches are not yeilding anything really.

Edited January 22 by Gilligan In Drag

[BenStark]

30 minutes ago, Gilligan In Drag said:

The proper Belgian trappist beers, made by actual Catholic Churches, well, maybe that's asking a bit much,

 

Leffe is available at Makro and other supermarkets

[Lite Beer]

Beer Delivery by Wishbeer | Bangkok, Thailand

[Gilligan In Drag]

40 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

Beer Delivery by Wishbeer | Bangkok, Thailand

They used to carry these beers but no longer, there are no Trappist beers its just what you can get at the supermrket.

They have listings of some of these beers but are constatntly out of stock, it looks as though there is no intention

of stocking them.

[Gilligan In Drag]

1 hour ago, BenStark said:

 

Leffe is available at Makro and other supermarkets

I mentioned in my post that I was aware of these beers and they are OK, Makro does not carry Leffe Ruby and Cuvee or any of their others, but yes I pick up a couple bottles of brown and blonde everytime I go to Makro or Tops up here in Roi Et. Villa used to have 4 types of Leffe and now only the blond and the brown. I think my point is I am looking for a way to get access to a wider array of ales and darker beers, such as was once available.

[Ralf001]

Any here any good ?

 

https://thebeerclubasia.com/collections

[Morch]

Problem with all those imports are expiry dates and handling. When you crack them open, disappointment is not uncommon.

As for sources, I don't know - used one of the websites above one with mixed results. A couple of the local upper scale restaurants seem to have a line of supply though, so there must be a dealer somewhere. Not cheap, though.

[Gilligan In Drag]

11 minutes ago, Morch said:

Problem with all those imports are expiry dates and handling. When you crack them open, disappointment is not uncommon.

As for sources, I don't know - used one of the websites above one with mixed results. A couple of the local upper scale restaurants seem to have a line of supply though, so there must be a dealer somewhere. Not cheap, though.

Yes, I agree that sometimes they are bit old by the time you get to them. When Wish Beer was good I got almost entirely still good tasting beers, but I don't think there was a fifty bottle order that I ever made that didn't have a few bad ones, as in not stored properly and a bit off.

 

Did you use the Oak Wine website I mentioned? They seem too good to be true and I hesitate, not to mention the nearest bank is 30 minutes away and thats the only payment they accept is a cash transfer. Still if I knew they were good I'd buy a few cases of stuff I haven't had in ten years because no one in Thailand will sell their beers despite for some people, those beers being the best in the world. I know, its a matter of taste, and you ask most Brits about Belgian beer and they respond something like "Yuck! Treacley crap!"

[Gilligan In Drag]

32 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Any here any good ?

 

https://thebeerclubasia.com/collections

Thanks very much for that Ralf! Yeah there's som e good ones and a number I have never tried. The prices are low too!

[Bangkok Barry]

15 hours ago, Gilligan In Drag said:

I mentioned in my post that I was aware of these beers and they are OK, Makro does not carry Leffe Ruby and Cuvee or any of their others, but yes I pick up a couple bottles of brown and blonde everytime I go to Makro or Tops up here in Roi Et. Villa used to have 4 types of Leffe and now only the blond and the brown. I think my point is I am looking for a way to get access to a wider array of ales and darker beers, such as was once available.

 

Maybe not enough people bought them to make stocking certain beers worthwhile?

[sirineou]

If you live in Khon Kaen there is a very nice and popular restaurant that offers dozens of different beers, live music and great food. It is called Non Na caffe but don't let the name confuse you it is a great restaurant. My favorite place to eat at in Khon Kaen 

https://www.facebook.com/Khonkaennonna/

 

 

[Expat68]

15 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Any here any good ?

 

https://thebeerclubasia.com/collections

O'Haras Nitro Stout is really nice. My friend used to get it from a retailer in Pattaya but now unable to get it

[HaoleBoy]

Check No. 1 Bar & Cafe in Chiang Mai.  Owner, k. Joi, is still a Belgium distributor.  

 

th.foursquare.com/v/number-one-bar/4e16acaf1fc7d99db5c77dc9

[n8sail]

Beertique in Pattaya has a massive selection of local microbrews and many imports as well. I believe some Belgian beers in the coolers last time I was there, but I'm not a big fan of them so can't tell you what they were.  There were a few stouts and porters both locally brewed and imported if you enjoy those sorts of dark beers.

Could be worth contacting them to see if they would send a stock list and/or ship to you in Isaan.

 

A video on Facebook of the cooler (don't need to log in, just close the prompt if it asks)
https://web.facebook.com/reel/1420496558811889

[ChipButty]

Have a look at this web site https://belbev.asia/bottled-products/ 

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Have a look at this web site https://belbev.asia/bottled-products/ 

 

Might be an issue for someone looking for retail.

 

[Tazmo]

I get Chiang Mai stout from Rim Ping, Iron Bridge branch. It’s a good taste, flavor etc though not as smooth as Guinness.

 I liked the Guinness zero per cent in the UK and in USA, I got home delivery.

 I stick to the Bars in CM that serves Guinness, there’s about 5 that I know of.

but will check out some of the links. I was a regular at No 1 Bar, but not been there in years!

[dorlemon]

Till you find a good one go to Beer Point in Pratamnak Soi 6 almost down at the end the soi before the corner.

I had a Belgian unfiltered and I saw IPA also, all draft ....

[MangoKorat]

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but there's a restaurant near my place that always used to have literally hundreds of imported beers - Belgian and otherwise. I haven't been recently so can't comment on their current offer but I note the mention 'Craft Beers' on their Facebook page.  I note you're in Isaan and mention visiting Bangkok so you will almost go past the place on that route. Well worth a visit.

 

E.A.T. Khao Yai - small restaurant but excellent food.

 

Its on the 2090 - Thanarat Road and although it says Khao Yai, its actually closer to Pak Chong and literally 5 minutes from Highway 2 (Mitraphap) - about 500m after Makro.

[JimTripper]

I gave up on them here. When I do see them they are so pricey that it's not something I would buy unless it was a special occasion. If I had to have one then Villa Market or those pubs like Robin Hood on Sukhumvit or the Londoner in Bangkok that had Guiness and others that looked good.

Edited January 23 by JimTripper

[Skipalongcassidy]

It's called economics... supply is dependent on demand... the cheap charlie expats and the Thais certainly will not support the specialty beer market, so it has all but disappeared.

[Gilligan In Drag]

On 1/23/2024 at 10:18 AM, ChipButty said:

Have a look at this web site https://belbev.asia/bottled-products/ 

I filled out their form about a year ago, but they never answered.

They are probably only interested in doing business with bars and stores

which is what I'd like to know, where are these shops and stores

because i will buy beer from them, these beers on this site

are nowhere to be found anymore.

[ChipButty]

Ive seen this company advertising on FB got it's own brewery I good I dont know seems they have branches in Pattaya and Bangkok, a friend of mine has been in but she knows <deleted> all about beer, https://www.facebook.com/restaurantbrewery/