Singha Beer Goes Low Alcohol

[george]

Low-strength Singha on the cards

Boonrawd Brewery is considering making a new

low-alcohol beer under its Singha brand.

BANGKOK: -- The brewer will extend its Singha line with the new brew if the government begins calculating excise duty on beer based on alcohol content, rather than price.

Boonrawd Brewery yesterday revealed its strong support for the idea, suggested recently by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

“We are considering the introduction of a new beer with a low alcohol content of only 2 per cent or 3 per cent, down from the existing Singha Beer, which has an alcohol content as high as 6 per cent,” said company president Santi Bhirombhakdi.

He said the launch of a new low-alcohol beer would also strengthen Boonrawd Brewery’s export sales, particularly to markets where high-quality beer with a low alcohol content was preferred, such as some states of the United States.

He said he would like to see Boonrawd Brewery increase its export business dramatically, from less than 4 per cent of total sales at present to more than 10 per cent in the near future.

“The existing excise tax system, which is calculated on the beer price, is unfair and allows brewers who make high-alcohol beer to sell at low prices and benefit from low tax,” Santi said.

“We would like to encourage the authorities to introduce a new excise tax system calculated on alcohol content. This would treat all domestic players fairly. Such a taxation system is now normal practice in all developed countries, including Europe and Japan.”

He added that a tax system based on alcohol content would also be fair to foreign beer producers who seek to invest in Thailand.

Boonrawd Brewery, which has been producing beer in the Kingdom for 72 years, pays more than Bt10 billion every year in excise.

Supporting Santi’s statement, the company’s vice president, Dr Sudhabodi Sattabusya, said brewers were currently charged 55 per cent of the retail price of beer for excise tax.

He said the factory price of Singha Beer was now Bt36.95 per bottle, so Boonrawd was charged Bt20.32 per bottle for the excise tax.

“We would like to urge the authorities to calculate the excise tax based on a charge of Bt550 per litre of pure alcohol,” Sudhabodi said.

Since Singha beer currently has an alcohol content of 6 per cent by volume, the new excise tax charge per bottle would be Bt20.79.

“This shows that the Tax Department would not loose any revenues charged to local beer producers,” he said.

Santi said the new tax system would encourage local brewers to make quality beer with a low alcohol content, similar to that made in many international markets.

Thai consumers would be able to consume quality beer with a lower alcohol content, which would be good for their health and would reduce road accidents resulting from drunkenness.

--The Nation 2005-06-16

[Totster]

Singha is crap anyway IMO.... don't drink that, and can't see the point in drinking low alcohol beer... might as well have a cup of tea...

totster

[meom]

Tea in my opinion is also crap unless you mix it with a shot of sang som.

[Soi Mongrel]

I thought Singha Gold was their lower-alcohol content Singha.

[Totster]

Tea in my opinion is also crap unless you mix it with a shot of sang som.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're quite welcome to substitute Tea with any other non alcoholic drink...

totster

Edited June 15, 2005 by Totster

[meom]

Tea in my opinion is also crap unless you mix it with a shot of sang som.

You're quite welcome to substitute Tea with any other non alcoholic drink...

totster

Thanks

[Buff-horns]

Singha is crap anyway IMO.... don't drink that, and can't see the point in drinking low alcohol beer... might as well have a cup of tea... 

totster 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

[Membrane]

[dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe it's the formaldehyde! ?? All I know is that stuff creates a WICKED hangover!!

[Zoltan]

[dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe it's the formaldehyde! ?? All I know is that stuff creates a WICKED hangover!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

WHY IS THE formaldehyde in the beer is it to make it age?

[Bangkokbutcher]

Singha is crap anyway IMO.... don't drink that, and can't see the point in drinking low alcohol beer... might as well have a cup of tea... 

totster 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds rather like that French stuff, Stella Artois...now that does me in big time

[the scouser]

Sounds rather like that French stuff, Stella Artois...now that does me in big time

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Stella is Belgian. I think from Leuven; i.e. Liege (Waloon or Phlegm)

Scouse.

[sparky38]

You are right scouse it is from Leuven in belgium which has had breweries there since the 15th century

and yer it is loopy juice- look at any british ity centre on a fri/sat night to see its effects lol

havnt seen it for sale in thailand thank god tho

[the scouser]

One of the few positive things that Belgium is famous for! I've had 15 pints of it tonight, so I should know.!

Scouse.

[farang62]

They add formaldehyde as a preservative in very hot countries. As long as the beer is very cold the taste is undetctable. In the Phillipeans the beer in the bars was served so cold that when the bottle was opened it would turn to slush, great taste when you come in from 38 degree heat. Both San Magule and Red Hat had it added.

[h90]

I found Red Horse Beer at tops and when considering that we are in thailand and not europe, this beer is very good.

Also not cause me to hang like Singha.

Singha is crap anyway IMO.... don't drink that, and can't see the point in drinking low alcohol beer... might as well have a cup of tea... 

totster 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[mnoorsapl]

Low-strength Singha on the cards

Boonrawd Brewery is considering making a new

low-alcohol beer under its Singha brand.

Thai consumers would be able to consume quality beer with a lower alcohol content, which would be good for their health and would reduce road accidents resulting from drunkenness.

--The Nation 2005-06-16

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To good health

[dereklev]

Low-strength Singha on the cards

Boonrawd Brewery is considering making a new

low-alcohol beer under its Singha brand.

Thai consumers would be able to consume quality beer with a lower alcohol content, which would be good for their health and would reduce road accidents resulting from drunkenness.

--The Nation 2005-06-16

Not drinking and driving will reduce road accidents resulting from drunkeness!!!!

[jayenram]

Supporting Santi’s statement, the company’s vice president, Dr Sudhabodi Sattabusya, said brewers were currently charged 55 per cent of the retail price of beer for excise tax.

He said the factory price of Singha Beer was now Bt36.95 per bottle, so Boonrawd was charged Bt20.32 per bottle for the excise tax.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does this make sense?

If the "factory price" of beer is Bht 36.95 and tax is Bht 20.32 then one bottle of Singha would retail at Bht 57.27. I don't buy Singha beer but I believe that the wholesale price is in the order of Bht 400.00 per case (Bht 33.33 per bottle). Perhaps it's the other way round; Bht 36.95 less Bht 20.32 = Bht 16.63 being the "cost price". But that would mean the excise tax is 122% over "cost price". What is the difference between the "factory price" and the "retail price" anyway.

I'll stick to *Chang* and Archa - less complicated.

[JimsKnight]

[dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe it's the formaldehyde! ?? All I know is that stuff creates a WICKED hangover!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

WHY IS THE formaldehyde in the beer is it to make it age?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nahh its to preserve it, only problem is they put more of it than the reccommended parts per million which prevents its export to the Western countries.

Chang Beer is also known for its formaldehyde content

[Pui]

Most people I know say Singh makes you sick. Personally I couldn't drink enough of the stuff to make me sick. It doesn’t taste good. Singh Gold is meant to be quite good. But hard to find.

The choice of beer can be boring in Thailand. Most places have Heineken. We used to have Carlsberg just as readily available. Although not the best beer it made a change.

Heineken

[lampard10]

Supporting Santi’s statement, the company’s vice president, Dr Sudhabodi Sattabusya, said brewers were currently charged 55 per cent of the retail price of beer for excise tax.

He said the factory price of Singha Beer was now Bt36.95 per bottle, so Boonrawd was charged Bt20.32 per bottle for the excise tax.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does this make sense?

If the "factory price" of beer is Bht 36.95 and tax is Bht 20.32 then one bottle of Singha would retail at Bht 57.27. I don't buy Singha beer but I believe that the wholesale price is in the order of Bht 400.00 per case (Bht 33.33 per bottle). Perhaps it's the other way round; Bht 36.95 less Bht 20.32 = Bht 16.63 being the "cost price". But that would mean the excise tax is 122% over "cost price". What is the difference between the "factory price" and the "retail price" anyway.

I'll stick to *Chang* and Archa - less complicated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No.....your wrong there Yorkie old mate. Singha is around the 550 mark a case,sometimes more. We have also stocked low alcahol Sigha for years. Gold comes in at 4.5%. Havn't been able to get any for the last couple of months, maybe they're just re-introducing it. There is also a third Singha, which I've never seen in bars but you can buy in wholesalers.

[raslin]

Singha is crap anyway IMO.... don't drink that, and can't see the point in drinking low alcohol beer... might as well have a cup of tea... 

totster 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dont know whats in it but hard drinkers i know go crazy and paranoid on singha .

all sorts of weird complications occur. i dont touch it .

maybe the production plant draws water from the chaophya river !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Bangkok brewery gets its water from a 1000 metre deep well on site (well below the sewage level). Chang is made from rice, unlike Singh which at least starts with fermented barley. At 2% you would not need a licence to sell it in the UK - about the same as bottled cider. The local Carlsberg formula is quite different from Denmark.

[thymode91]

hey.. guys why you don't try a new beer its "Red Horse Beer" 6.5% alcohol content at 34 baht available at Family Mart or Tesco Lutos nationwide. I tried this beer already ..not bad very smooth.

[sriracha john]

I found Red Horse Beer at tops and when considering that we are in thailand and not europe, this beer is very good.

Also not cause me to hang like Singha.

In all likelihood, that's probably what is behind all this "base the tax on alcohol content" rumblings from Singha. Red Horse IS quite tasty and IS quite inexpensive and IS high alcohol content (at 6.9%, it's actually the highest easily available beer in Thailand). Certainly, for it's taste, cost, and alcohol content, Singha sees this "foreign invader beer" as a real threat to it's market percentage... so they push to fight it by recommending a new tax rate based on alcohol content.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

One of the few positive things that Belgium is famous for! I've had 15 pints of it tonight, so I should know.!  

Scouse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Piss'ead

[sriracha john]

hey.. guys why you don't try a new beer its "Red Horse Beer" 6.5% alcohol content at 34 baht available at Family Mart or Tesco Lutos nationwide.   I tried this beer already ..not bad very smooth. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The fact it is a Philippine beer has nothing to do with your recommendation, right?

Just kidding... it IS a good beer and my preferred beer in the 1980's (it's only "new" to Thailand) when I drank it in the Philippines. Have to say I preferred the recipe for the beer there where it's 11% alcohol.

Still though, the 6.9% (not 6.5%) content beer here is a completely acceptable beer. Another good beer available here from the San Miguel folks in the Philippines is Blue Ice. It's no small wonder that San Miguel is the biggest corporation in the Philippines.

[Thetyim]

hey.. guys why you don't try a new beer its "Red Horse Beer" 6.5% alcohol content at 34 baht available at Family Mart or Tesco Lutos nationwide.   I tried this beer already ..not bad very smooth. 

I have been wanting to try "Red Horse" for a long time.

The local Tesco Lotus doesn't stock it.

Is it only available in some stores ?

[thymode91]

hey.. guys why you don't try a new beer its "Red Horse Beer" 6.5% alcohol content at 34 baht available at Family Mart or Tesco Lutos nationwide.    I tried this beer already ..not bad very smooth. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The fact it is a Philippine beer has nothing to do with your recommendation, right?

Just kidding... it IS a good beer and my preferred beer in the 1980's (it's only "new" to Thailand) when I drank it in the Philippines. Have to say I preferred the recipe for the beer there where it's 11% alcohol.

Still though, the 6.9% (not 6.5%) content beer here is a completely acceptable beer. Another good beer available here from the San Miguel folks in the Philippines is Blue Ice. It's no small wonder that San Miguel is the biggest corporation in the Philippines.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yeah they don't give a good &lt;deleted&gt; on me oppss.... sorry for wrong info about the alcohol content .

[a man with a plan]

"Maybe it's the formaldehyde! ?? All I know is that stuff creates a WICKED hangover!! "

personally I find the hangover from Chang to be far worse. Still haven't been pissed up on Red horse though, maybe I should try it just for the comparison...

'Why have you bought so much Beer?'

'It's a science project, honey'

[jayenram]

Singha is around the 550 mark a case,sometimes more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK, Bht 550.00. But the figures still don't add up!

Jasus! Who would pay Bht 550.00 for Singha ( ) when Archa comes in at Bht 300.00?