Why Is Beer So Expensive In Thailand?

[duke69]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i am like 99% sure Guinness is not under license to be brewed anywhere in AESAN

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

GUINNESS: there is a factory in KL (Malaysia) which produces Guinness and Heineken under license, just a few 600 workers are there .......

and the beer is good and relatively cheap

Give me a couple of weeks and in my next trip to KL I will take a photo

[Pink Mist]

get the photo on the way in, if you anything like Jaye you wont on the way out.

[duke69]

GUINNESS Malaysia also produces the Guinness in glass bottle, it's much better than the draugh.

Cans (I had the suspect because of the higher prices) are still from Ireland.

I do not understand why some of us say that it's "&lt;deleted&gt;" when they never tried nor tasted, if Guinness is giving the name (for a royalty) to a producer, do u believe they're producing &lt;deleted&gt;????

Come on dude, it's almost noon, wake up

[The Dude]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...   So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No question about it that beer is an outright ripoff worldwide. I support a mass boycott of the stuff. People often cry about the price of cigs but they are a fraction of the cost of beer. You can buy a pack of cigs for 38 baht or you can buy 1 Heineken. I dont know anyone who can polish off more than a cig or 2 in the time it takes to slam dunk that heine. No question that bars are the single biggest ripoff in this and every other country. I support a full out decrease in alcohol consumption in barrooms around thailand. Drink home, outside or anywhere for that matter other than a bar. If you must go to the bar once in a while, limit yourself to 1 drinky.

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

[Crossy]

Locally brewed Guinness is 'different', not really &lt;deleted&gt; (or shiite), and is far better than nothing

Guinness is one of those products that is tailored to the local market. Real Irish Guinness is sold by the slice, it takes so long to pour that you place a telephone order before leaving home for the pub. Take your first sip from one, order the next

UK Guinness is thinner and has a more 'English' taste, Asian Guinness is thinner still and has a much milder taste, supposedly to make it more palatable to the locals. Just like Thai food in the UK, less bite than Thais would use, now that is &lt;deleted&gt;

PS, Didn't the term 'shiite' get replaced by 'shia muslim' because of the 'confusion' with a bodily waste product??

Edited June 8, 2005 by Crossy

[duke69]

Locally brewed Guinness is 'different', not really &lt;deleted&gt; (or shiite), and is far better than nothing 

Guinness is one of those products that is tailored to the local market. Real Irish Guinness is sold by the slice, it takes so long to pour that you place a telephone order before leaving home for the pub. Take your first sip from one, order the next 

UK Guinness is thinner and has a more 'English' taste, Asian Guinness is thinner still and has a much milder taste, supposedly to make it more palatable to the locals. Just like Thai food in the UK, less bite than Thais would use, now that is &lt;deleted&gt;   

PS, Didn't the term 'shiite' get replaced by 'shia muslim' because of the 'confusion' with a bodily waste product??   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IRISH taste,

different from English, just ask to an Irish .......

[Richard Hall]

Well, the answer is actually very simple:

Thailand is (still) the only country in the world where alcoholic beverages are not taxed on base of their alcohol content but rather their production cost. Therefore, beer and wine with a relatively low alcohol content are quite expensive while a bottle of local "whisky" (= better say blended spirits) can be bought at 150 Baht despite an alcohol content of about 40% vol.

Imported alcoholic beverages are surely expensive here as well because the retail price of the exporting country is already quite high (particularly the premium grade ones that have undergone years of a riping process) and on top there comes logistical charges, duties and taxes.

While being on this "spiritual" subject already I do not want to miss out to shed light on a related topic in another recent thread as well.

"Although not drinking beer but just wine and ocassionally high vol. beverages I get fat. Isn't it beer that makes you fat while wine and booz doen't?".

Actually, it is the alcohol causing the problem because one gram of alcohol has a nutrional value of 7 calories compared to 4 in one gram of protein and carbohydrates respectively and 9 calories in one gram of fat.

A bottle of wine (750ml) with 14% vol alcohol hence contains roughly 100g of alcohol or 700 calories coming from alcohol considered to be empty calories doing nothing but creating pot bellies.

A bottle of Singh (6% vol in 630ml) features around 38 grams of alcohol or 266 empty calories.

Therefore, mathematically the bottle of wine would create much more of the famous beer belly than beer but on the other hand while one may be satisfied with just one bottle of the "grape juice" usually the beer bottle does not stay single but many more join in and eventually summing up in heaps of empty calories = former eel like slender appearance slowly transfers into a pear like display.

Isn't it quite amazing that a bottle of Mekong "Whisky" has approximately the calorie content of 4 liters of full sugared Coke. No wonder that the Coke drinking Ms. Patpong (please do not confuse with the famous tail swinging academic) stays kind of slim and trim while the male beer and whisky slurping punters eventually turn into walking mountains despite all those exhausting nightly activities.

Amen.

Call it a coincidence but now we even lifted the veil of another secret namely why we T.V.'ers are such a bunch of fatties (see appropriate threat... aeh sorry, gotta read thread) causing all those holes and cracks in Bangkok's pavements.

Cheers (in respect of a greeting and speaking a toast),

Richard

Edited June 8, 2005 by Richard Hall

[Crossy]

Locally brewed Guinness is 'different', not really &lt;deleted&gt; (or shiite), and is far better than nothing 

Guinness is one of those products that is tailored to the local market. Real Irish Guinness is sold by the slice, it takes so long to pour that you place a telephone order before leaving home for the pub. Take your first sip from one, order the next 

UK Guinness is thinner and has a more 'English' taste, Asian Guinness is thinner still and has a much milder taste, supposedly to make it more palatable to the locals. Just like Thai food in the UK, less bite than Thais would use, now that is &lt;deleted&gt;   

PS, Didn't the term 'shiite' get replaced by 'shia muslim' because of the 'confusion' with a bodily waste product??   

IRISH taste,

different from English, just ask to an Irish .......

Don't forget Eire (Republic if Ireland) is not part of the UK.

I just love real Irish Guinness, wonderful stuff

Edited June 8, 2005 by Crossy

[lampard10]

GUINNESS Malaysia also produces the Guinness in glass bottle, it's much better than the draugh.

Cans (I had the suspect because of the higher prices) are still from Ireland.

I do not understand why some of us say that it's "&lt;deleted&gt;" when they never tried nor tasted, if Guinness is giving the name (for a royalty) to a producer, do u believe they're producing &lt;deleted&gt;????

Come on dude, it's almost noon, wake up

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What are you talking about? Guinness in bottles is a totally different drink than the Guinness on draught. Bottled Guinness is more of a medicine reccommended by doctors to old people in the U.K. because of it's iron content. It is very, very bitter, and the recommended dose is a bottle a day.

Edited June 8, 2005 by lampard10

[mpdkorat]

I think the OP was on about "thai" whisky, Sang Som, MeaKong, Mungorng Tong ect. Which in comparison to "thai" beer is a lot cheaper. You can but in beer(archa, chang ect) for about 25 bhat a bottle, but when you think a bottle of sang som is 130 bhat and you can get Mungorn Tong (very simular to sang som) for 90 bhat a bottle it is comparativly cheaper to drink whiskey. (they are wholesale prices BTW).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Thai whisky is cheap, the problem is it make yout ankles swell up and you go blind, &lt;deleted&gt; where has the keybaord gone #^%@*

[mpdkorat]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i am like 99% sure Guinness is not under license to be brewed anywhere in AESAN

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for that What is that dark beer with the white head called that is coming out of Malaysia called, do you know?

[jackr]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...   So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

What ARE you rabbiting on about?? Who gives a toss what is available in your country? and just for the record, there's a reason why the beer (LAGER) is so cheap there in that it's all crap and about as bland as dishwater. As far as nobody going there, the UK is one of the most visited countries by foreigners in the world you typically geographically-challenged septic.

[planemad]

Go Jackr! Tell it like it is and take no prisoners.

[itsme]

I think its something to do with the price

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[roscoe]

It's the same in the UK.,if you compare liquid mass /alchohol content ratio . So price is only relative to the revenue amassed by it .Ask Gordon Brown or any other chancellor.

[eddie11]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...   So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What ARE you rabbiting on about?? Who gives a toss what is available in your country? and just for the record, there's a reason why the beer (LAGER) is so cheap there in that it's all crap and about as bland as dishwater. As far as nobody going there, the UK is one of the most visited countries by foreigners in the world you typically geographically-challenged septic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Like your style Jack r

[Welshman]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...   So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No question about it that beer is an outright ripoff worldwide. I support a mass boycott of the stuff. People often cry about the price of cigs but they are a fraction of the cost of beer. You can buy a pack of cigs for 38 baht or you can buy 1 Heineken. I dont know anyone who can polish off more than a cig or 2 in the time it takes to slam dunk that heine. No question that bars are the single biggest ripoff in this and every other country. I support a full out decrease in alcohol consumption in barrooms around thailand. Drink home, outside or anywhere for that matter other than a bar. If you must go to the bar once in a while, limit yourself to 1 drinky.

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, seems I went to the wrong 'America'. When I travelled around Dixie, all I saw was Miller, Bud and Schlitz. I tried to get draught (or tap beer I think you call it) in one bar and it turned out to be some pretentious German crap which tasted even worse.

And as for the licensing laws, they're freaky and vary from county to county. In one of the busiest tourist resorts I visited (Pigeon Forge) you couldn't buy a beer or even have a glass of wine with your meal. You had to buy it in a supermarket and lug it back to your motel room!

So sorry, Dude, egg on your face with that one.

[mrbojangles]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...   So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

No question about it that beer is an outright ripoff worldwide. I support a mass boycott of the stuff. People often cry about the price of cigs but they are a fraction of the cost of beer. You can buy a pack of cigs for 38 baht or you can buy 1 Heineken. I dont know anyone who can polish off more than a cig or 2 in the time it takes to slam dunk that heine. No question that bars are the single biggest ripoff in this and every other country. I support a full out decrease in alcohol consumption in barrooms around thailand. Drink home, outside or anywhere for that matter other than a bar. If you must go to the bar once in a while, limit yourself to 1 drinky.

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

Hmm, seems I went to the wrong 'America'. When I travelled around Dixie, all I saw was Miller, Bud and Schlitz. I tried to get draught (or tap beer I think you call it) in one bar and it turned out to be some pretentious German crap which tasted even worse.

And as for the licensing laws, they're freaky and vary from county to county. In one of the busiest tourist resorts I visited (Pigeon Forge) you couldn't buy a beer or even have a glass of wine with your meal. You had to buy it in a supermarket and lug it back to your motel room!

So sorry, Dude, egg on your face with that one.

Here, here. I had exactly the same experience (and i've only been 15 times) usually by force due to work committments! Is this guys name really Dude or "The Dud"

Mr BJ

[SandDragon]

"As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy."

Dude, don't mistake having 700 different breakfast cereals to choose from as either a sign of national superiority or in any way relevant to a discussion about beer prices.

However, I must say that I once went to a place in Kentucky (just over the river from Cincinnatti) that claimed to have over 100 of beers on tap and 500+ different bottled beers. But it was expensive.

Right now I'd settle for anything because Holsten 0% (best available where I am) does not do the trick.

[Greer]

It's not only local brews that are cheaper as well.A lot of my ozzie customers say that my V.B.,Crown Lager & Coopers is cheaper in my pub than in a pub back home

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One of those in Sydney will cost anything from AUD4.50 to AUD5.50 in an average pub and at around 30 baht per dollar, that more than equates to an expensive beer in a club in BKK.

Happy hour in a typical Sukhumvit Soi 33 bar is usually between 50 and 90 baht for a beer - and yes, I know - Soi 33 is not considered cheap.

A Chang or Kloster used to be around 40 to 50 baht a bottle in Cowboy during Happy Hour.

All in all, I think beer in Bangkok seems quite fairly priced in comparison to places like Australia.

[Greer]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

WOW! That's not much different from the price in my local bar, the Bulls Head in 33/1....I would be reviewing your suppliers prices with a view to getting it elsewhere...there MUST be someplace cheaper than that. Guinness have a big brewery in KL...so it's local...unless they really are importing it from Dublin of course...

Edited June 9, 2005 by Greer

[lampard10]

It's not only local brews that are cheaper as well.A lot of my ozzie customers say that my V.B.,Crown Lager & Coopers is cheaper in my pub than in a pub back home

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One of those in Sydney will cost anything from AUD4.50 to AUD5.50 in an average pub and at around 30 baht per dollar, that more than equates to an expensive beer in a club in BKK.

Happy hour in a typical Sukhumvit Soi 33 bar is usually between 50 and 90 baht for a beer - and yes, I know - Soi 33 is not considered cheap.

A Chang or Kloster used to be around 40 to 50 baht a bottle in Cowboy during Happy Hour.

All in all, I think beer in Bangkok seems quite fairly priced in comparison to places like Australia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I charge 90 for all my Ozzie brews. Although at the mo, only fosters and VB left.

[meom]

"As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy."

Dude, don't mistake having 700 different breakfast cereals to choose from as either a sign of national superiority or in any way relevant to a discussion about beer prices.

However, I must say that I once went to a place in Kentucky (just over the river from Cincinnatti) that claimed to have over 100 of beers on tap and 500+ different bottled beers. But it was expensive.

Right now I'd settle for anything because Holsten 0% (best available where I am) does not do the trick.

Try sid, it might give you a buzz

[Greer]

As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

I suspect the airlines and the UK tourism association may be surprised at this revelation...

On the subject of beer - at least you can get Speckled Hen in Bangkok now... OK, it's not cheap...

[dr_strangelove]

I guess its bcoz of a simple fact that sex is so cheap in Thailand...

[Greer]

As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy. You can get dirt cheap beer for 200 baht per case and thus cheaper than this country. As for the UK, you get robbed on anything you buy there and who cares what the price of anything is there cause no one, I mean no one goes to that country unless you're from there

You heard it here first from The Dude

What ARE you rabbiting on about?? Who gives a toss what is available in your country? and just for the record, there's a reason why the beer (LAGER) is so cheap there in that it's all crap and about as bland as dishwater.  As far as nobody going there, the UK is one of the most visited countries by foreigners in the world you typically geographically-challenged septic.

...hahaha...what was that joke about "Bud"...like making love in a canoe...cos it's f*kin' near water...!

[Greer]

It's not only local brews that are cheaper as well.A lot of my ozzie customers say that my V.B.,Crown Lager & Coopers is cheaper in my pub than in a pub back home

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One of those in Sydney will cost anything from AUD4.50 to AUD5.50 in an average pub and at around 30 baht per dollar, that more than equates to an expensive beer in a club in BKK.

Happy hour in a typical Sukhumvit Soi 33 bar is usually between 50 and 90 baht for a beer - and yes, I know - Soi 33 is not considered cheap.

A Chang or Kloster used to be around 40 to 50 baht a bottle in Cowboy during Happy Hour.

All in all, I think beer in Bangkok seems quite fairly priced in comparison to places like Australia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I charge 90 for all my Ozzie brews. Although at the mo, only fosters and VB left.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...don't you DARE threaten me with Fosters....aaarghhh!

Australians do have some standards....not sure what I did with mine though... hehe!

[joinme2leave]

as a matter of FACT: beer in Los supermarkets IS expensive. beer sold in bars/restaurants IS NOT...

example:

1 can (0,33 ltrs) Heineken in german/austrian/italian supermarket: 25 baht

1 glass (0,3 ltrs) Heineken sold in a bar/restaurant: from 150 baht upwards

now, this is more than + 400 % within middle europe. all due to expensive labour.

so, YES, i agree beer sold in Los supermarkets is overprized.

but, NO, boycotting to buy yourself a beer in Los bars is a total nonsense.

hick.

[jayenram]

1 can (0,33 ltrs) Heineken in german/austrian/italian supermarket: 25 baht

1 glass (0,3 ltrs) Heineken sold in a bar/restaurant: from 150 baht upwards

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought this thread was about beer.

[lampard10]

1 can (0,33 ltrs) Heineken in german/austrian/italian supermarket: 25 baht

1 glass (0,3 ltrs) Heineken sold in a bar/restaurant: from 150 baht upwards

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought this thread was about beer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's hard to believe folks..but that comes from an Archa drinker