Home Brew Suppies In Chaing Mai

[thaitot]

First of all is this legal in Thailand or just a quick way to the monking House.

While I personally have not brewed my own beer I have a friend in the states that makes excellent beer.

He does the home brew in 5 gallon containers and it is good beer. We did the cost thing and it looked good providing no waste. But in Thailand this would be even more cost effective. As well as as a taste sensation I miss.

Especially at 120 baht a bottle at Topps

I Love that dark beer and it is one of the things I miss most.

For all you hard liners I will save you a post.

I know if you dont like the beer or prices go home.

Anyone have any info on this subject

[Pond Life]

First off, this thread is likely to get deleted sooner or later as previous ones on this subject have been.

Yes, its illegal to home brew in Thailand.

No, there are no home brew suppliers in Thailand.

You can however improvise all the equipment you need.

I think you could bring the starter/flavour/syrup into the country as it contains no alcohol.

Alternatively get used to the local beer. My usual is Leo.

Several years back there was an ok dark beer called "Black Tiger" but I guess it didnt sell well as it disapeared.

Good Luck

[Tywais]

First off, this thread is likely to get deleted sooner or later as previous ones on this subject have been.

Yes, its illegal to home brew in Thailand.

From this topic/post it seems it is legal for home use only and not to sell > Home Brew

[thaitot]

Thanks his thread was answered quickly I do drink leo and the syrup my thoughts exactly.

[Tywais]

Thanks his thread was answered quickly I do drink leo and the syrup my thoughts exactly.

I looked at that thread again and further down a member quotes a law statute that implies it is illegal. There are quite a few microbreweries here in Thailand so don't know what it would take to get a license it you are really wanting to do this. Maybe Crow Boy has more information since that topic was posted.

[briley]

First off, this thread is likely to get deleted sooner or later as previous ones on this subject have been.

Yes, its illegal to home brew in Thailand.

From this topic/post it seems it is legal for home use only and not to sell > Home Brew

Try reading a bit further, to post 14 that quotes the act making home brew in Thailand illegal.

to save you going there:

" Oh and Crow Boy - brewing in Thailand is illegal, check again, according the Excise Department website, brewing anything without a licence is illegal under the Liquor Act, B.E. 2493, fines vary depending on amount made and whether you make fermented or distilled product, contrary to what your thai cop neighbour tells you.

Section 5 of the Liquors Act (1950) states that it is illegal for anyone to brew their own alcohol, or even to have the equipment to do so.

'The maximum penalty for contravention of this section of the Act is six months in jail, or a fine of 5,000 baht, or both.

If the offender sells the liquor, the maximum penalty rises to a year in jail or a 10,000 baht fine, or both.

Those are the maximum penalties and can be imposed for making and/or selling distilled alcohol (spirits).

The maximum penalties for brewing or fermenting alcohol wine or beer, for example are lower: 200 baht for making it and 5,000 baht for selling it.'"

Personally I find some of the local beers are nice, I don't like UK style beers in hotter climates and never felt brewing lager type beers to be worth the effort. SO I stick to home brewing in the UK only.

[Tywais]

I looked at that thread again and further down a member quotes a law statute that implies it is illegal.

Try reading a bit further, to post 14 that quotes the act making home brew in Thailand illegal.

Guess we posted at the same time.

[anonymouse]

Anyone know what's the deal with the microbreweries? The beer at the one near Carrefour is exceptional but it's not a place I'd chose to drink socially. Is there some sort of law that says they can't sell it off the premises?

I would think a A microbrewery/pub in the tourist centre would make a fortune.

Edited January 2, 2008 by anonymouse

[Crow Boy]

First off, this thread is likely to get deleted sooner or later as previous ones on this subject have been.

Yes, its illegal to home brew in Thailand.

From this topic/post it seems it is legal for home use only and not to sell > Home Brew

Try reading a bit further, to post 14 that quotes the act making home brew in Thailand illegal.

to save you going there:

" Oh and Crow Boy - brewing in Thailand is illegal, check again, according the Excise Department website, brewing anything without a licence is illegal under the Liquor Act, B.E. 2493, fines vary depending on amount made and whether you make fermented or distilled product, contrary to what your thai cop neighbour tells you.

Section 5 of the Liquors Act (1950) states that it is illegal for anyone to brew their own alcohol, or even to have the equipment to do so.

That is correct - when I did the original reply in that thread I had checked with a Police officer who was a neighbour and he said it was ok as long as I didn't sell it. What he didn't say was that it was ok but not legal.

Importing the malt syrup can be a problem because of 1) weight and 2) it is a food product.

The most difficult things to get are the crown caps - they have to be imported, nearest place is Singapore.

Much as I prefer home brew beer the reality of it is that it is not worth the cost of importing the things you need and that it is illegal. My advice it not to do it and instead choose a legally brewed commercial beer that you like.

CB

[tigerbeer]

legal or illegal. anyone able to home brew? send us a message and we'll be there

[sceadugenga]

I looked into this about a year ago. The big problem is the malt which can be purchased by mail order from a home brew supplies in Singapore. (I've lost the URL, look it up yourself).

The weight of the cans, and I noticed they had Cooper's brand there, makes the postage high and therefore it's not really economical.

Making your own malt would be an option and I must admit that I wondered what beer made out of malted rice would taste like. It's the same principal.

There are excellent home brew websites/forums on the 'net.

[Crow Boy]

I looked into this about a year ago. The big problem is the malt which can be purchased by mail order from a home brew supplies in Singapore. (I've lost the URL, look it up yourself).

The weight of the cans, and I noticed they had Cooper's brand there, makes the postage high and therefore it's not really economical.

Making your own malt would be an option and I must admit that I wondered what beer made out of malted rice would taste like. It's the same principal.

There are excellent home brew websites/forums on the 'net.

You can get unhopped liquid malt from some health food shops - not easy to find but possible. The other way is with raw barley which you might get from stock feed agents or similar. The process is called double tunning and is more complicated that simply using a liquid malt mix.

The next problem is getting the malt to fully ferment out. The sugars in malt (maltose) are more complex and the yeast sometimes cannot convert them to alcohol so you end up with a beer that is is fairly sweet and half strength. To give it a helping hand the common way is to add sugar. In most countries the common sugar is made from Sugar Cane which has sucrose as it's principle. Sucrose works well - very well and sometimes too well but gives what is called a cidery overtaste - it is a fault if you submit it for judging at a beer making contest. The better one is dextrose which is made from corn sugar - I spotted dextrose at the bakery supplies store in Chiang Mai.

yeast can be a problem but when I was doing my home brew before I found out it really was illegal and the bib would come round to arrest me for making home brew instead of coming round for a drink I got around the problem of sourcing yeast by using either a previously used brew or every 3-4 rounds a bottle of Coopers Ale which is naturally fermented AND conditioned in the bottle ie it still has live yeast culture in it. Drink all but the bottom cm of the beer and leave the sediment. Add filtered water and a tablespoon of dextrose - cap with a vapour lock and leave in a warm spot. It will start to ferment in a couple of days. Add to the brew when you are ready and you have a live liquid yeast culture raring to go. You can buy liquid yeasts off the internet but they are expensive by the time you ship them here.

Hops - never seen them here. You will have to get them sent over or wait until you go back to buy them overseas. They store in the freezer for a long time. Remember beer without hops is called soda pop or Budweiser ie horrible.

The next problem is the caps - the beer should be stored in glass bottles with a crown cap. I have never seen these in Thailand - they can be imported from Singapore and other places without too many problems but include the cost of packing and posting and they get expensive. The substitute commonly used is PET bottles but I don't like them for a number of reasons - the plastic affects the taste and they don't seal properly so the beer is slightly flat and stale. A suggestion is to use Grolsch bottles (beer from Austria) but the outlay of sufficient bottles makes the exercise too expensive. I have tried using the recyclable water bottles that get delivered to the home - they are food grade plastic and the caps seal much better than the PET. Normally you have to make a deposit on the bottles of water but if you ask your local water supplier for about 40 of them he may sell them for a reasonable price. This type of plastic doesn't alter the taste of the beer.

CB

[Priceless]

I'm sorry, Crow Boy, but Grolsch is a Dutch beer, not Austrian. Be careful about Nienke next time you meet her

/ Priceless

[Crow Boy]

I'm sorry, Crow Boy, but Grolsch is a Dutch beer, not Austrian. Be careful about Nienke next time you meet her

/ Priceless

You are correct, I'll go and stand in a corner now and hang my head in shame

CB

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I'm sorry, Crow Boy, but Grolsch is a Dutch beer, not Austrian. Be careful about Nienke next time you meet her

/ Priceless

You are correct, I'll go and stand in a corner now and hang my head in shame

CB

Batch #285 for Thailand in the primary on 31 Dec, since it's a bit cold these days, will wait 10 days before bottling.  It's a Coopers Bavarian Lager, good sipping.

Bottles are those "Grolsh" style, but 900 cc, I brought back 10 cases of empties from Khartoum in '89.

If using large local beer bottles, Crown caps might be available from:

Crown Seal Public Co., Ltd.

AddressAddress: 135/3 Moo 5 Rangsit-Nakorn Nayok Road Prachatipat, Thanyaburi, PathumThani, 12130, Thailand

Tel: 662-5744230

Fax: 662-5731687

It's visible at Klong 2 on the south side of the highway.

Got a mule coming up from Oz later this month with some more kits, I hope.

Absent home brew, I much prefer Singha, after 43 years and 11 months (not continuous time) I've become used to it.

Mac

[p1p]

Sorry. Homebrew is illegal.

Topic closed.