Shortage Of Beer At Many Stores In Bangkok: Thailand Flood

[Randee]

Why bothering about booze when water is still a scarce supply?

Bothering or not bothering - water is still scarce.

These floods are an awful and terrible time for everybody concerned (myself included). I would like to continue my life as normally as possible and not let the floods get me down. Normal for me is having a few beers at the weekend. Sorry if this offends anyone.

A beer at the end of the week is a welcome break for many of us.

at the end of the day ..... or the beginning

but seriously (eh? i was serious!) i'm down on the thai/malaysian border right now and some days 7/11s havent got malborough lights or any malboroughs etc ... but later on or next day they're full again ...

Edited November 16, 2011 by Randee

[chooka]

We expect the shortage of our beer products at major retail outlets will last a month.

If the reliability of that prediction is anything like the reliability of their forecasts of when the flood waters will recede, then we'll still be short of beer at Songkran!

Wow that would be a really good thing, no beer at Songkran, maybe a few more people will live

Why get rid of the beer? just get rid of Songkran and a few more people will live and not jump out in front of moving vehicles to drench the occupants. The festival kills not a few people sitting at home enjoying a quiet beer watching the AFL.

[HeavyDrinker]

Yep, gettin out of BKK next week...Lao is the sensible option...bloody lovely beer!!

The ale in Malaysia is very good plus they have Guinness!

Just don't go to a "dry" state....

I saw a few vans making drops at our local 7-11 and they were queued up at Tesco Bang Plee this aftie while I was having a wander.

Maybe supply lines are starting to trickle open now....?

[BinDhumm]

San Miguel THB 970 (usually THB 840); Singha THB 990 (usually THB 690), Chang not available anymore. Beer Lao Lager THB 790 (same as before), Beer Lao Dark THB 1'250 (same as before), Weihenstephaner not available anymore, Paulaner THB 1800 (same as before). Do you see, what I see? Except Weihenstephaner being imported by very incompetent German krauts, the rest is in Thai hands........ while the other imported booze, well, is not only available but at the same prices. A message somewhere?

What do you mean by'imported by oncompetent german krauts?' German beer is the only one here to be considered beer. All the rest is cemicals looking and tasting like beer. The Germans brew it, not just add some chemicals together like the rest of the world. So be careful with these unqualified statements. Hang on to your bladder cleaner called HEINEKEN.

[Ricardo]

Seems like in many stores the distribution system has really broken down; not only for beer and water but just about any bottled stuff. The only thing that's still on the shelves at the 7-11 next door is bottled tea, crab curry or seaweed shrimp tempura potato chips, and dried banana.

Popped into a 7 yesterday and the coolers were completely devoid of any coffee whatsoever apart from loads of that fairly new "diet" coffee. Not really a good selling point.

" Natural disaster- supplies running low - people desperate - and they still won't drink our shit "

I guess the only marketing-option left, is the old "It makes you sexy/attractive" line, preferably illustrated by pictures of lithe-ladies or muscular-gents, wearing skimpy costumes, emerging from a pool or waterfall ?

But seeing as where we are, perhaps doubling the price, will also boost sales ?

[robblok]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

[Mickeem]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

Heineken is also sometimes the only beer in the 7/11 coolers here in CM.. At 48B a small can it is too pricey for most of the locals that are used to a small Chang at 29B. It;s marketed as a 'Premium' beer in LOS ha ha

[robblok]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

Heineken is also sometimes the only beer in the 7/11 coolers here in CM.. At 48B a small can it is too pricey for most of the locals that are used to a small Chang at 29B. It;s marketed as a 'Premium' beer in LOS ha ha

I prefer Leo.. and im Dutch

[Scully]

Loads of beer in the North East, visa run day today so I now have a bottle of Glenfidich and a case of Laos.

A couple of beers and then a dram before bed, I also have "have I got news for you" to watch from UK Nova. I will just have to leave my cases of Leo for a rainy day, if there is no rain I will settle for a hot day.

Good luck and my regards to those that are less fortunate than myself.

[gregb]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

Heineken is also sometimes the only beer in the 7/11 coolers here in CM.. At 48B a small can it is too pricey for most of the locals that are used to a small Chang at 29B. It;s marketed as a 'Premium' beer in LOS ha ha

Interesting.

I'm down here in Pattaya while my house is being remodelled as a crocodile farm and Heineken was the first to be sold out and has stayed sold out. All that is left now is Chang. So I think what you are seeing is a complete lack of distribution channels. All anyone has is what the people in the area don't really want. Perhaps I should load up a truck with Chang here, drive to Chiang Mai and bring back a load of Heineken. I'm really surprised they can't get things going again in some fashion. I know they can't do bottles any more because the only plant in Thailand that makes bottle caps is now offline, but I really don't understand the deal with cans.

[chooka]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

Heineken is also sometimes the only beer in the 7/11 coolers here in CM.. At 48B a small can it is too pricey for most of the locals that are used to a small Chang at 29B. It;s marketed as a 'Premium' beer in LOS ha ha

local stores are selling Heineken fpr 70 baht a can and they are complaining no one is buying. The old dear at my local mum and pop says if she can't sell she will have to put the price up again to cover costs.

[pxlgirl]

apt-get install beer

E: No package found.

SCNR...

[ginjag]

Im in a flooded area for some reason the 711 is full of Heineken. It seems its a brand they can get. I see a lot of no name stuff that is normally not in this 711. So i guess they have a different distribution chanel now.

Heineken is also sometimes the only beer in the 7/11 coolers here in CM.. At 48B a small can it is too pricey for most of the locals that are used to a small Chang at 29B. It;s marketed as a 'Premium' beer in LOS ha ha

local stores are selling Heineken fpr 70 baht a can and they are complaining no one is buying. The old dear at my local mum and pop says if she can't sell she will have to put the price up again to cover costs.

Not just beers, Coke 1.25L up this weel 7 bht 33% rise-wholesale.......... 7-11 was 1 bht cheaper -retail No chicken due to the floods in Bkk--Ha Ha Ha............the packing and freezing is done in Issan--and Udon cannot get stocks -reason water in Bkk Ha Ha Ha. Hoarding is evident --it is just another palm oil excuse-from last year--we all remember that...............there is a drought in Udon area, all the rice is being cut and is ready early.

Well as for all the farrangs that will die if the beer dries up...Ha Ha Ha....we all like a nice drink, but the stuff doesn't rule my life. But have to add there is not much excuse for shelves to be empty, as for Archa and Chang-I think they are Ayuttaya main base.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some of you guys aren't making it clear what area you're from and talking about....which makes it hard to get a picture of what's going on where...

Here in BKK, I don't typically shop at Mom and Pop shops, so I can't speak to those. But I do shop at all the regular supermarket chain stores... And thus far, I haven't seen any flood-related pattern of price increases for the various things.

Bought some 1.5 liter bottles of Sprite for my wife in the past week at one of the major supermarket chains, and paid the same 23 to 25 baht per bottle as usual. Same with most other things.

The difference though, at least here in BKK, is there are many things that simply aren't in stock period, depending on which store chain you're talking about. The Tops chain seem to be particularly hard hit with many bare shelves even now and no evidence of things getting better theres. But Big C and Tescos are at least beginning to head back toward normal...

The big exceptions to that general picture, however, are bottled water and beer. In a lot of the stores, including 7-11s, there simply isn't any kind of beer available, and the only bottled waters often are the pricier imported brands, with the regular brands either unavailable or rare. So it's not that they're raising the prices. It's just that the only stock they have available are the higher priced brands.

Even though the store shelves are often bare for regular bottled water, there has been a big truck parked on my soi each day for the past week or two with cases of 500 ml. bottled waters, couldn't quite make out the brand. They started out selling for 80 baht per plastic wrapped case, and the other day I noticed the sign price now said 75 baht... Again, that's for a pack of 500 ml bottles.

The bottled water truck is parked right between two different 7-Eleven shops on my soi, neither of which have had any bottled water that I've seen in stock for the past couple weeks.

On the news the other day, I read that Singha Corp. supposedly was going to have trucks out around BKK selling cases of 1.5 liter bottled water (I assume six bottles to a case) for 60 baht... But I surely haven't seen anything of those around my area, as yet. They're probably sending them out to areas bordering the flooded areas where demand and need likely is the highest.

[KKK]

It's only a crisis if your an alcoholic.

Odd thing to write...

I know may people who would be put out not being able to enjoy a few leisurely beers of an evening after a hard days work/golf/bumming around; none of them alcoholics.

If your an alcoholic it is a crisis

If your not then it is an inconvenience

[KKK]

Saw a truck with Singha water the other day, completely full.

In my 7/11 they have Chang or Cheers (red can). No water, plenty of juices and other crap.

Indeed, lots of (sugared) "fruit" juices and other crap everywhere.

But no low / no sugared drinks. Pepsi Max/Coke Zero have both disappeared where I live

[ableguy]

At the 7/11 shops here in Pattaya they have no more "Chang classic", instead they sell now "Chang Export"

Sato run out of stock as well...

Cloggie

Same in Hua Hin many shops only have Chang export, why ? must be not too good methinks.

[peterdk]

At the 7/11 shops here in Pattaya they have no more "Chang classic", instead they sell now "Chang Export"

Sato run out of stock as well...

Cloggie

Same in Hua Hin many shops only have Chang export, why ? must be not too good methinks.

Phuket stores seems stocked again.

Chang and Leo and bottled water - but ok water different brands than usually.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I was surprised to see my lower Sukhumvit 7 Eleven yesterday finally had some regular bottled water in stock and a moderate supply of Leo bottles and Chang cans... First time in a long time I'd seen any of either.

In the place where they normally have more bottles of water, they actually had the little cups of water with the plastic top like you often see at Thai hospitals...where you poke the plastic straw through the top in order to drink. Never seen those before in 7-Elevens...

But under the circumstances, I guess any clean water is a good thing.

Likewise, saw some large cans of Heineken at one of the supermarkets the other day... Looked underneath and saw the bottling date of early November... Figured I'd take a pass on that, feeling some doubt over where they likely got their brewing water from...

[germanystartup]

thats the sad thing of the fllooding, hope everyone will survive

James

berlinstartup.com

Funny to see the mention about some supposed effort with 7-Elevens in the article above.

At the 7-Elevens around my area in central BKK, they have NEITHER beer nor bottled water, and haven't had for weeks. No sign of improvement at all.

So I'm not quite sure what that supposed effort/progress is supposed to be.

BTW, maybe some of the bigger drinkers than me can comment on this:

When the wife and I do go out for some drinks lately in BKK, we've yet to run into a restaurant or pub where they didn't have the beer we wanted to drink. Maybe we're not going to enough different places to get a good sampling???

Yet most of the grocery stores have almost no shelved stocks of beer.

[DennyEagle]

In Nong Khai big Leo is no problem, small Leo bottles are very scarce.