German Micro-Brewery Closes

[Ricardo]

Taking a few new-to-the-area friends down to the German Micro-Brewery for some real beer, near Plub Pla behind Big-C-Extra (used to be Carrefour), I was sad yesterday to learn from someone sitting outside that it has now closed permanently, and brews no more.

Not enough customers has been a long-term problem there, not helped by (IME) sub-par food & declining entertainment, but I always hoped that the beer itself would continue.

Where now can we go, for a good 'Dunkel' or 'Lager', there's always Beer-Lao I suppose, but I for one will miss the place.

Or perhaps someone might open a micro-brewery in a more-visited area, to get the tourists & locals alike, or to supply the many successful local drinking-establishments ?

[PoorSucker]

Sad to hear that.

Had good beer.

[barefoot1988]

home brewery is as illegal as littering here, so thats not an option. there is a homebrew forum which i participate, you could find me there. personally i liked cooper wheat kit.

[rebo]

In spite of the delicious beer and edible food, and although I liked the show and kind of music (especially the traditional thai/modern instruments mix) the sound was always way too loud, so verbal communication was impossible. So I stopped visits about 5 years ago as well as most of our friends, whether Thais or farangs. Actually it's a pity ...

[elektrified]

It was only a matter of time...saw that one coming long ago. Too bad.

[AngelsLariat]

Re: "Where now can we go, for a good 'Dunkel' or 'Lager', there's always Beer-Lao I suppose, but I for one will miss the place."

One option might be the Beer Republic on Nimmenhaemin Soi 11. I counted 20 taps there though some of them might have been duplicates. Little expensive though.

[AngelsLariat]

Re: "Where now can we go, for a good 'Dunkel' or 'Lager', there's always Beer-Lao I suppose, but I for one will miss the place."

One option might be the Beer Republic on Nimmenhaemin Soi 11. I counted 20 taps there though some of them might have been duplicates. Little expensive though.

Beer Republic is located here: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:18.796843,98.968521

[keo]

Re: "Where now can we go, for a good 'Dunkel' or 'Lager', there's always Beer-Lao I suppose, but I for one will miss the place."

One option might be the Beer Republic on Nimmenhaemin Soi 11. I counted 20 taps there though some of them might have been duplicates. Little expensive though.

How expensive is "little expensive"? Tried to go yesterday for lunch and a beer, but they don't open until 5pm. Seems a strange opening time for a pub/bar in a busy area like that. The food and beers look interesting though.

The German Microbrewery had its day many moons ago, but has been stumbling along like a wounded giant for far too long. Unable to adapt or attract a regular clientele. Decent Weizen, right enough. Hopefully they will open a smaller place in the future.

[AngelsLariat]

Re: "Where now can we go, for a good 'Dunkel' or 'Lager', there's always Beer-Lao I suppose, but I for one will miss the place."

One option might be the Beer Republic on Nimmenhaemin Soi 11. I counted 20 taps there though some of them might have been duplicates. Little expensive though.

How expensive is "little expensive"? Tried to go yesterday for lunch and a beer, but they don't open until 5pm. Seems a strange opening time for a pub/bar in a busy area like that. The food and beers look interesting though.

The German Microbrewery had its day many moons ago, but has been stumbling along like a wounded giant for far too long. Unable to adapt or attract a regular clientele. Decent Weizen, right enough. Hopefully they will open a smaller place in the future.

As I recall, the cheapest brew on the menu was draft Fosters for 120 per pint (or maybe 500ml) and most expensive was draft Schneider Aventinus at about 240 baht per pint. I can hear people screaming about the price of the later already, but Aventinus is no trivial beer and it's quite unusual to find it anywhere on tap. Several other German and Belgian beers were in the 200 baht per pint range, all on draft.

Edited January 6, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[keo]

Fosters is piss water. Coopers is the best Ozzy beer I've tried. 200B is a bit spendy, but affordable I guess if you're just having a couple. Some promotions might make it more viable for a session.

I'd hope to see them get some more 'off the beaten track' uk brews in, maybe Brewdog, Fullers, or Williams Brothers who do some wicked porters. German beer is generally too gassy, Belgian too strong and sour.

[AngelsLariat]

Fosters is piss water. Coopers is the best Ozzy beer I've tried. 200B is a bit spendy, but affordable I guess if you're just having a couple. Some promotions might make it more viable for a session.

I'd hope to see them get some more 'off the beaten track' uk brews in, maybe Brewdog, Fullers, or Williams Brothers who do some wicked porters. German beer is generally too gassy, Belgian too strong and sour.

English ales are not their niche, the only one I recall there was Old Speckled Hen (on C02 tap, I think). I think that's probably a wise business decision though, as while most Brits in Chiang Mai talk a big game about their love for ales few are willing to pay for them and drink Leo instead.

What Beer Republic appears to be doing is indiscriminately carrying just about any imported beers that Horeca and other local distributors offer in kegs, but to their credit their bartender (a young Thai) knows enough about each one of them that he's able to describe the differences to you. At the moment their line-up includes one or two beers from Paulaner, a couple of Weihenstephaners, a couple of Schneiders, Köstritzer Schwarzbier, the InBev Belgians (Leffe Light & Dark, Hoegaarden normal and Rose, plus Stella), La Trappe from Holland, Fosters (which I guess is just to give people an out that is less than 200 baht), Old Speckled Hen, and maybe a couple of others.

However, while I think that their beer line-up is worth working though, their food is another story. Their menu has gorgeous pictures of each dish, but on two visits for dinner there we've been disappointed in the food each time.

Overall, it does adds up to an expensive night out unless you're a "one and done" type of drinker, but you are sure to wind up drinking beer whose quality is a couple of leagues above anything that the German Microbrewery was selling.

Edited January 6, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[heybruce]

The Beer Republic has a website with limited information, it only has about one third of their beers listed. It's only been open a few weeks, so perhaps the website is a work in progress.

http://www.beerrepublicchiangmai.com/

I was there Friday night and had the Speckled Hen Ale. Not the best ale I've ever drunk, but definitely the best ale I've had in Thailand. I think it cost 140 baht for a half liter--a fair price for a good ale, but pricey for anyone looking for a cheap drunk. The manager told me she will be getting in an English India Pale Ale in early February. I'll go back for that, I'm much more of a fan of ales than German or Belgian beers.

[AngelsLariat]

I don't see the emphasis on German & Belgian styles of beers as a negative against Beer Republic. As its name implied, the German Microbrewery was not a place to go for English ales either. And the inquiry in the OP seemed to be more about good beer in general than about English ale in particular.

[anonymouse]

It is a shame, though as others have pointed out it has been on the decline for a number of years.

I don't frequent the place very often but I believe the Olde Bell serves a few decent English Ales I remember a mention of Fulllers London Porter being sold there though bottled not on tap, this has got to be one of my favorite British Ales.

I'm looking forward to trying out Beer Republic though it will have to be a special occasion, you can expect to pay around the 200 baht mark for a pint in a London Pub these days so a 1,000 baht to try a few interesting imported beers in Chiang Mai wouldn't be that bad.

[Semper]

Schneider Aventinus at about 240 baht per pint.

Beer Chang gotta be a bargain.

[Ricardo]

Thanks for the feedback ... I didn't know about Beer Republic !

Cheers !

[AngelsLariat]

Schneider Aventinus at about 240 baht per pint.

Beer Chang gotta be a bargain.

Perhaps in the same sense that Carling is a bargain.

[AngelsLariat]

It is a shame, though as others have pointed out it has been on the decline for a number of years.

I don't frequent the place very often but I believe the Olde Bell serves a few decent English Ales I remember a mention of Fulllers London Porter being sold there though bottled not on tap, this has got to be one of my favorite British Ales.

I'm looking forward to trying out Beer Republic though it will have to be a special occasion, you can expect to pay around the 200 baht mark for a pint in a London Pub these days so a 1,000 baht to try a few interesting imported beers in Chiang Mai wouldn't be that bad.

Fuller London Porter, London Pride, and ESB are indeed available at several pubs and restaurants in Chiang Mai. Additionally, several ales controlled by the Greene King / Morland conglomerate (Ruddles, Hen’s Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, Bellhaven, etc) have started to show up in recent weeks. Figure about 180 to 220 baht per 500ml bottle for each of those depending upon venue. Probably anyone who is British already has a firm opinion of each of those brews, but if you just have to have an ale one of those might be an option.

Edited January 7, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[naboo]

I worry about beers on tap at those prices in this heat. Not going to sell fast nor last long and passing back a bad pint expecting a good replacement is not going to happen.

I'll stick to the tins and bottles for my imported beers.

Edited January 7, 2013 by naboo

[MESmith]

Fuller London Porter, London Pride, and ESB are indeed available at several pubs and restaurants in Chiang Mai. Additionally, several ales controlled by the Greene King / Morland conglomerate (Ruddles, Hen’s Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, Bellhaven, etc) have started to show up in recent weeks. Figure about 180 to 220 baht per 500ml bottle for each of those depending upon venue. Probably anyone who is British already has a firm opinion of each of those brews, but if you just have to have an ale one of those might be an option.

Any retail outlets for these beers?

[AngelsLariat]

I worry about beers on tap at those prices in this heat. Not going to last long and passing back a bad pint expecting a good replacement is not going to happen.

I'll stick to the tins and bottles for my imported beers.

I think that they are keeping the kegs in a refrigerated space and running lines from there to the taps.

[AngelsLariat]

Fuller London Porter, London Pride, and ESB are indeed available at several pubs and restaurants in Chiang Mai. Additionally, several ales controlled by the Greene King / Morland conglomerate (Ruddles, Hen’s Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, Bellhaven, etc) have started to show up in recent weeks. Figure about 180 to 220 baht per 500ml bottle for each of those depending upon venue. Probably anyone who is British already has a firm opinion of each of those brews, but if you just have to have an ale one of those might be an option.

Any retail outlets for these beers?

Not sure that I've seen any of those British ales in the supermarkets but I'm pretty sure that you can get cases of the Fullers (and maybe the other ales) from Horeca (the distributor) if you don't mind buying 20 bottles at a time. See http://www.horecachiangmai.com

Edited January 7, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[AngelsLariat]

I worry about beers on tap at those prices in this heat. Not going to last long and passing back a bad pint expecting a good replacement is not going to happen.

I'll stick to the tins and bottles for my imported beers.

I think that they are keeping the kegs in a refrigerated space and running lines from there to the taps.

And let’s suppose that one of the better German beers was left on tap too long, went flat, and lost half of its flavor. Wouldn’t it then taste pretty much like an English ale?

Edited January 7, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[DaamNaam]

Schneider Aventinus at about 240 baht per pint.

Beer Chang gotta be a bargain.

Chang Export not a bad drop indeed. Best local drop going anyway.

A shame to see the German beer hall gone. Great beer and pork knuckles not to bad either. But yes the volume was always a problem.

Nothing lasts forever i guess.

[OldeBellPedr]

I'm sorry to hear about the German microbrewery - but not surprised. When K. Somsak tried to open it in the centre of town the big breweries got their corporate lawyers on the case and had then banished to the back of Carrefour on the grounds that the microbrewery was a factory and local by-laws prohibit the building of factories. Total <deleted> but I guess if you've got expensive enough lawyers you can persaude a judge of anything. The other problem was that the management spent considerable time on 'quality control' and were sometimes a little bit 'tired and emotional' as British satirical magazine Private Eye would describe it. I used to sell the Dunkel here at The Olde Bell as did my colleague Scott at O' Malley's. Often the management were too busy at quality control to come out and fix problems so I got rid of it!

My understanding about Beer Republic is that it is owned by the sister of the lady that now owns Horeca (now that Rudi has 'retired'), I went up with the wife on Sunday to try it out, but had written the soi down as 17 rather than the 11 that Angels Lariat suggests. I'll definitely be giving it a go.

As far as bottled beers are concerned, We at The Olde Bell sell Fuller's London Pride, London Porter and ESB (as does The Red Lion) as well as a range of Greene King/Morlands beers as they become available. At the moment I've got Green King Abbot Reserve, Morlands Crafty Hen, Greene King, Suffolk Springer and Belhaven 80/- (owned by Greene King but still brewed in Dunbar in Scotland). We've also got Coopers Pale Ale from Oz The Pub also sell Belhaven and a couple of other real ales at slightly cheaper prices than us (although if you are a local resident and sign up for our 10% discount card The Olde Bell works out slightly cheaper)

Sad to hear of the demise of the German Microbrewery, but delighted at the range of decent ales currently in Chiang Mai. Sure, most of us will continue to drink Leo or Singha for everyday quaffing purposes, but its nice to have a decent beer once in a while!

[sanoek60]

Give a look at :http://www.belgianbeerschiangmai.com

[keo]

Fuller London Porter, London Pride, and ESB are indeed available at several pubs and restaurants in Chiang Mai. Additionally, several ales controlled by the Greene King / Morland conglomerate (Ruddles, Hen’s Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, Bellhaven, etc) have started to show up in recent weeks. Figure about 180 to 220 baht per 500ml bottle for each of those depending upon venue. Probably anyone who is British already has a firm opinion of each of those brews, but if you just have to have an ale one of those might be an option.

Any retail outlets for these beers?

I picked up some small bottles of Fuller's Pride in Makro Hang Dong over New Year. 95B if I remember correctly. Been back since and they haven't replenished the stock yet.

Cape North Distribution do cases of 12 x 500ml London Porter/Pride for 1500B, but with a minimum order of 3 cases. http://www.winesandbeersupply.com/

[millwall_fan]

Fuller London Porter, London Pride, and ESB are indeed available at several pubs and restaurants in Chiang Mai. Additionally, several ales controlled by the Greene King / Morland conglomerate (Ruddles, Hen’s Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA, Bellhaven, etc) have started to show up in recent weeks. Figure about 180 to 220 baht per 500ml bottle for each of those depending upon venue. Probably anyone who is British already has a firm opinion of each of those brews, but if you just have to have an ale one of those might be an option.

Any retail outlets for these beers?

I picked up some small bottles of Fuller's Pride in Makro Hang Dong over New Year. 95B if I remember correctly. Been back since and they haven't replenished the stock yet.

Cape North Distribution do cases of 12 x 500ml London Porter/Pride for 1500B, but with a minimum order of 3 cases. http://www.winesandbeersupply.com/

Are Cape North still in business? i bought a few cases from them, but then their phone line went dead!

[rebo]

Was told that it will open again, same location.
But didn't get more than this confusing Thai info: "ระหว่าง 10-13 กพ จะเริ่มเปิดจำหน่ายวันแรก ส่วน Grand Opening น่าจะเป็นเมษายน" what I translate with "between Febr. 10 - 13 it will start with a Grand Opening what will probably be April".
Anybody heard about it?

[Trujillo]

They have said this sort of things for years. Some Thai guy bought it right after it closed, but by then all the big brewing chambers had been moved off site. It's just a shell now (a big one if you remember the inside). 

German pigs might have to fly before it reopens as an actual brewery. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Trujillo