Beer Drought Looming?

[OriginalPoster]

...... Kevin at the Red Lion (wash my mouth out am I allowed to say that on Thai visa?) has even got London Pride in that I assume is drunk by wealthy ex-pats, tourists and those wanting to show off

.......

{redacted by Santisuk - yeah I know it's against the rules but my intent is to select not distort!}

...and occasionally perhaps by those expats who tire of the same old rubbish chemical concoctions brewed to a price by manufacturers who care nothing for the craft of brewing that is the standard drinking experience in Thailand

The "brewed to a price thing" is pretty universal. Despite all the talk by 300 lb British expats about the virtue of real ales,. Carling is the no 1 selling beer in England, Fosters is no 2, and Stella is no 3.

And that is why the market is in decline. Mouthwash passed off as beer is easy to swill down & easy not to. What we need is beers with character that form a bond with your taste buds. Oh yes, I got Beer Lao Dark at Rimping Meechok today but I think they were the last 6 bottles. Sorry.

Lot's of oddities about what sells in the land of ales. I recall many elitist rants from British expats about virtues of John Smith's Extra Smooth when it started to be imported into Thailand a few years ago. Seemed to create a lot more excitement that London Pride and London Porter landing here, though when JS went away again it seemed like no one noticed.

[SantiSuk]

180 thb a pint but well worth it just to drink a decent beer.

Certainly no rip off. Cost price ex brewery gates in the UK would be close to 100 baht a pint for a medium size barrel and there are pubs in central London who would sell it close to 250 baht a pint. Imagine the delivery costs!

I'm hoping the Red Lion is a CM pub that I can call on when I'm visiting in 10 days time (I'm giving the new Air Asia link from Ubon a whirl - 5,500 baht for me, wife and 2 yera old - bargain no 2 ). If so where is it please?

[OriginalPoster]

180 thb a pint but well worth it just to drink a decent beer.

Certainly no rip off. Cost price ex brewery gates in the UK would be close to 100 baht a pint for a medium size barrel and there are pubs in central London who would sell it close to 250 baht a pint. Imagine the delivery costs!

I'm hoping the Red Lion is a CM pub that I can call on when I'm visiting in 10 days time (I'm giving the new Air Asia link from Ubon a whirl - 5,500 baht for me, wife and 2 yera old - bargain no 2 ). If so where is it please?

It's way down the end of Loy Kroh road. Punch these coordinates into Google Maps and you'll find it: N18.78396 E99.00115.

FWIW, it you live in Chiang Mai you can get cases of those beers delivered to your house by Cape North Distributors: http://www.winesandbeersupply.com/

[SantiSuk]

Yes - plenty of rubbish drunk in the UK.

Doesn't stop those of us who prefer to taste something extra singing the praises of the fact that real beer is at least available (again - thanks to bearded wonders of Campaign for Real Ale who sang the praise of such beer for several decades) in many hundreds of different styles around that country. Lager doesn't have to be chemical $hite - look at Belgian and German craft beer from independent breweries.

As I've said on other forums, a beer is better than no beer, (but in the case of Thailand, only just )

[OriginalPoster]

Yes - plenty of rubbish drunk in the UK.

Doesn't stop those of us who prefer to taste something extra singing the praises of the fact that real beer is at least available (again - thanks to bearded wonders of Campaign for Real Ale who sang the praise of such beer for several decades) in many hundreds of different styles around that country. Lager doesn't have to be chemical $hite - look at Belgian and German craft beer from independent breweries.

As I've said on other forums, a beer is better than no beer, (but in the case of Thailand, only just )

CAMRA's mission is noble, I won't argue with that. Somtimes though beer (rather ales) that meet their philosophical standards are not the most pleasant to drink. One can specify the brewing methods, ingredients, that one out not to pump Notrogen into it, etc., until the cows come home, but ultimately the proof of the pudding in the eating. No matter how you slice it, there is no shortage of British ales that taste like old gym socks. Often too you'll meet a CAMRA member that couldn't tell the difference between a Spitfire and Beer Lao Dark if put to the test.

Edited November 11, 2011 by OriginalPoster

[hellodolly]

180 thb a pint but well worth it just to drink a decent beer.

Certainly no rip off. Cost price ex brewery gates in the UK would be close to 100 baht a pint for a medium size barrel and there are pubs in central London who would sell it close to 250 baht a pint. Imagine the delivery costs!

I'm hoping the Red Lion is a CM pub that I can call on when I'm visiting in 10 days time (I'm giving the new Air Asia link from Ubon a whirl - 5,500 baht for me, wife and 2 yera old - bargain no 2 ). If so where is it please?

It is on Loi Kroh In the night Bazaar.

On Loi Kroh Head to the river from the burger king in the middle of the night bazaar. It is about 40 or 50 meters on your left. It is right next to the Royal Lanna Hotel. No where near the foot of Loi Kroh.

Personally I can't understand why people are so worried about running out of beer if all they do is drink it to savor the taste. I think some of them drink more that one or two and could care less after the second one.

Edited November 11, 2011 by hellodolly

[trainman34014]

I went in to the Red lion last night and they are now selling Fuller's London Pride Bitter, a really nice drink. I had 6 pints last night and no hangover this morning.

I was there myself the other night for a chat with Kevin. Had a couple of London Pride 500ml bottles at very reasonable prices AND unbelivably, they've got London Pride Porter!! What a great drink!! staggered out very late!!

Kev, still has a few tricks up his sleeeve! Red Lion is still a great pub!!

How much is "reasonable"?

Cheers

180 thb a pint but well worth it just to drink a decent beer.

Not expensive really. A decent pint in England is now well over 3 quid in a lot of places.

[trainman34014]

Yes - plenty of rubbish drunk in the UK.

Doesn't stop those of us who prefer to taste something extra singing the praises of the fact that real beer is at least available (again - thanks to bearded wonders of Campaign for Real Ale who sang the praise of such beer for several decades) in many hundreds of different styles around that country. Lager doesn't have to be chemical $hite - look at Belgian and German craft beer from independent breweries.

As I've said on other forums, a beer is better than no beer, (but in the case of Thailand, only just )

CAMRA's mission is noble, I won't argue with that. Somtimes though beer (rather ales) that meet their philosophical standards are not the most pleasant to drink. One can specify the brewing methods, ingredients, that one out not to pump Notrogen into it, etc., until the cows come home, but ultimately the proof of the pudding in the eating. No matter how you slice it, there is no shortage of British ales that taste like old gym socks. Often too you'll meet a CAMRA member that couldn't tell the difference between a Spitfire and Beer Lao Dark if put to the test.

In that case their tastebuds are dead !

[licentiapoetica]

Not to worry folks

My wife has found mew a good supply of Pepsi Max and Coke Zero

I couldn't sleep all night worrying about it.

I drink them too and despite the floods, they seem to come and go for some reason.

I bought a 3 months supply of Pepsi Max 3 weeks ago. I drink about 1 bottle a day of the 1.25 liter variety. Some 7-Elevens in Chiang Mai still have a few 0.5 liter bottles of Pepsi Max in stock, I think - but finding big bottles anywhere now is almost impossible. New pop with sugar keeps arriving in all varieties. But no diet pop.

For some reason some people on this forum get very angry and/or condescending when another member admits to drinking a lot of diet pop. Drinking lots of beer every day seems to be more accepted... Why? I have no idea.

[funcat]

Not to worry folks

My wife has found mew a good supply of Pepsi Max and Coke Zero

I couldn't sleep all night worrying about it.

I drink them too and despite the floods, they seem to come and go for some reason.

I bought a 3 months supply of Pepsi Max 3 weeks ago. I drink about 1 bottle a day of the 1.25 liter variety. Some 7-Elevens in Chiang Mai still have a few 0.5 liter bottles of Pepsi Max in stock, I think - but finding big bottles anywhere now is almost impossible. New pop with sugar keeps arriving in all varieties. But no diet pop.

For some reason some people on this forum get very angry and/or condescending when another member admits to drinking a lot of diet pop. Drinking lots of beer every day seems to be more accepted... Why? I have no idea.

"...Why? I have no idea...."...it's simple...there is NO diet beer !!!...and ,if I was worry about my weight...I'll stick to the "pure" water...without chemicals...diet drinks are for "suckers" who thinks they can get away from their habits...

...good beer is always better than any carbonated,artificial,chemical,flavored BS......here you have it from the expert... :jap:

[smiling mantis]

Airport Tops still out of all beer. Zero beer. On a date like 11/11/11, you'd think there'd be at least ONE beer. Nada.

Walk a hundred meters north to Rimping, and it's like the floods never happened. They've got a sign up apologizing for some items being out-of-stock, but what these items are is anyone's guess. If I die and go to heaven I'm fairly certain within it will be a German-Thai premium grocery. Hope I can still get money out of the ATM up there.

[licentiapoetica]

diet drinks are for "suckers" who thinks they can get away from their habits...

I've never drunk lots of pop with sugar - only diet pop. So which habit am I trying to get away from? I don't want to quit. So I don't understand your point.

I know diet pop is not healthy. But I enjoy the taste of it. Why is that so provocative to so many people? It seems to me I can eat or drink or smoke just about anything else that's unhealthy, and other people won't say a thing, but when people find out I drink lots of diet pop the snide comments just won't stop. It's very weird.

[trainman34014]

diet drinks are for "suckers" who thinks they can get away from their habits...

I've never drunk lots of pop with sugar - only diet pop. So which habit am I trying to get away from? I don't want to quit. So I don't understand your point.

I know diet pop is not healthy. But I enjoy the taste of it. Why is that so provocative to so many people? It seems to me I can eat or drink or smoke just about anything else that's unhealthy, and other people won't say a thing, but when people find out I drink lots of diet pop the snide comments just won't stop. It's very weird.

Next time your on....wear a tin helmet !

[licentiapoetica]

Next time your on....wear a tin helmet !

?

[funcat]

diet drinks are for "suckers" who thinks they can get away from their habits...

I've never drunk lots of pop with sugar - only diet pop. So which habit am I trying to get away from? I don't want to quit. So I don't understand your point.

I know diet pop is not healthy. But I enjoy the taste of it. Why is that so provocative to so many people? It seems to me I can eat or drink or smoke just about anything else that's unhealthy, and other people won't say a thing, but when people find out I drink lots of diet pop the snide comments just won't stop. It's very weird.

hey...if you drink "diet" for a taste of it-I apologize... ....

[licentiapoetica]

hey...if you drink "diet" for a taste of it-I apologize... ....

Apology accepted. :jap:

[ludditeman]

Went out last night, first bar I visited only had cans of Chang Draft.

(No other beer at all in the bar)

I went elsewhere, everyone else seemed to have bottles of Chang Classic.

Edited November 12, 2011 by ludditeman

[smiling mantis]

It seems to me I can eat or drink or smoke just about anything else that's unhealthy, and other people won't say a thing, but when people find out I drink lots of diet pop the snide comments just won't stop. It's very weird.

If you think about it though it makes perfect sense. Greasy food, alcohol, cigarettes... none of these things are being marketed as being good for you, whereas diet soda is. So I think it's the BS factor.

BTW, whatever happened to diet sodas that use sucralose? Used to enjoy these greatly in Mexico, and I believe the research on sucralose does point to its being non-toxic. Everywhere I look though it's aspartame. If I could get a Coca-Cola that used sucralose as a sweetener I'd be doing rum-and-cokes in the place of beer most nights.

[insertmembernamehere]

Archa is the beer of choice for the intellegisia.

[folium]

Archa is the beer of choice for the intellegisia.

And that neatly sums up the typical Archa drinker, especially at 11.30 on a Saturday night.

[limegreenpatato]

I just drove from bkk and i saw 3 trucks of chang within 10 ks of each other coming this way.