The Best Belgian Beers Available In Thailand!

[KhonChaidee]

P.S. This topic has been approved by George and Raro. Please do not delete topic.

After going to Thailand for over twenty years and married with a Thai woman for ten years i must confess that i am a member of many Belgian/Thailand forums and blogs and almost every other week theres some guy who comes a long with some brilliant bussiness idea to make cash in Thailand so this not unique to thai visa.

He I seems like a nice chap uni educated in Belgium and Thailand but is missing a lot of life experience and seems a little full of himself.

But then again who am i to judge if he wants to burn a big hole in his pocket.

One has to be determined in order to succeed in setting up a venture. I sincerely appreciate all your advice and insights and I'm far from done with my homework on this project, especially after reading some of your comments.

[saakura]

I like to drink some good beer but find it very expensive. Just today i bought a few bottles of belgian beer Chimay Red at 220 baht for a small 330ml bottle from Lotus. Great tasting beer, enjoyed every drop. I hope that with more competitors, the price comes down so i can enjoy more often.

[Kudel]

P.S. This topic has been approved by George and Raro. Please do not delete topic.

After going to Thailand for over twenty years and married with a Thai woman for ten years i must confess that i am a member of many Belgian/Thailand forums and blogs and almost every other week theres some guy who comes a long with some brilliant bussiness idea to make cash in Thailand so this not unique to thai visa.

He I seems like a nice chap uni educated in Belgium and Thailand but is missing a lot of life experience and seems a little full of himself.

But then again who am i to judge if he wants to burn a big hole in his pocket.

One has to be determined in order to succeed in setting up a venture. I sincerely appreciate all your advice and insights and I'm far from done with my homework on this project, especially after reading some of your comments.

when importing alcohol to thailand from a country without a free trade agreement tax is 400 procent with trade agreement is 200 procent.

Free trade agreement only covers import duty not excise tax and vat and as i see it correctly Belgium or the European union have no free agreement as of yet thats why yinluck shinawattra had a meeting a few weeks ago in the european parlement to try and get this done but this wil still take a long time before this ever happens because of things like human rights track record in thailand.

So youre uni educated you do the numbers .

[raro]

I am doing direct sales of wine since a couple of weeks (yeah, no more shipping! Never ever again!!). We sell our wine directly to end consumers with a little wine tasting at their home and deliver the next day by the box whatever has been ordered.

Some of my friends strongly advised me against it because: Wine is sooo expensive here. No one would buy wine for more than 400 baht a bottle. There are not many wine drinkers anyways. Thais don't drink wine at all.....and so on. All the negative BS you get from your close friends.

Fact is, we are selling. Our wines range from 700 to 1,000 Baht a bottle, and so far EVERY wine tasting sold. Why? Because our customers do understand that value costs money and that the Thai government takes a good cut as Kudel pointed out already. Further, we do have a quality product that is not available in any shop throughout the country.

Rogue beer from Oregon is for almost a year in the market and selling. A bottle (0.3 l) costs you a whopping 200 Baht. Have you tried it? You should! It is NOT a beer you knock down in a beer bar by the liter. It is a completely different product.

Mikkeler from Denmark started importing early this year. This brewery makes batches. One beer at a time and never the same beer again. Specialties. Not cheap either, but hey, it is an experience!

If KhonChaidee starts now with specialty beers as well, he will find a growing market and this market is predominantly Thai. If you do not believe me, have a look at Brews Beers and Cider in Thonglor. They have about 200 beers on the menu, none of them below 200 Baht a bottle and I hardly ever saw a Farang in there.

[KhonChaidee]

Nice to see some good faith!

Truth is, we have already brought in several pre-orders of different clients, both business and consumer. The main difficulties still lie in clearing the goods at Thai customs. Luckily the importing company (there are 2 legal entities involved) is owned by my Thai companion, who has been gathering legal documents and establishing connections for over 3 months now. It is an entirely different market indeed and I would have NEVER been able to undertake everything on my own.

There are a few big names out there that demonstrate the potential of specialty beers, especially among locals. Raro already named a few, and HOBS would be a nice addition to this that can't be left out. This place is packed everyday with Thais sipping on Hoegaarden and playing expensive games to win a six pack of "Duvel".

Of course, such big names are still miles away, but by starting out small and taking things one step at a time I am hoping to build up a decent network over time.

[raro]

you may want to talk to the moderator tombkk. He is working in the shipping business and is quite experienced with alcohol imports.

[Goong Chae Nam Pla]

P.S. This topic has been approved by George and Raro. Please do not delete topic.

Yeah it was deleted once, as it might be considered a form of commercial advertising, rather than research. However, I kindly asked the support of the admins prior to posting and they were kind enough to offer me the green light. Guess not all admins were up to date on that.

Big thanks to those guys though!

Who are George and Raro,are they the owners of Thai Visa?

[jbrain]

P.S. This topic has been approved by George and Raro. Please do not delete topic.

Yeah it was deleted once, as it might be considered a form of commercial advertising, rather than research. However, I kindly asked the support of the admins prior to posting and they were kind enough to offer me the green light. Guess not all admins were up to date on that.

Big thanks to those guys though!

Who are George and Raro,are they the owners of Thai Visa?

Yup, George is the Puyai Baan of this forum and Raro is the , erhm erhm............

Ok, have you ever watched the movie the waterboy ?

Damn, where is my coat when i need it.

only joking, only joking.

[raro]

P.S. This topic has been approved by George and Raro. Please do not delete topic.

Yeah it was deleted once, as it might be considered a form of commercial advertising, rather than research. However, I kindly asked the support of the admins prior to posting and they were kind enough to offer me the green light. Guess not all admins were up to date on that.

Big thanks to those guys though!

Who are George and Raro,are they the owners of Thai Visa?

Yup, George is the Puyai Baan of this forum and Raro is the , erhm erhm............

Ok, have you ever watched the movie the waterboy ?

Damn, where is my coat when i need it.

only joking, only joking.

you really need it now!

[kriswillems]

I've seen others importing Belgians beers. Usually they import them in a more or less illegal way. The prices per bottle are high. Most places either stop with selling the product after a while or sell other products besides Belgian beers. Thai people don't know the product. You would need to sell to the expat community (which is a small group). Most expats are living here on a low budget. Here in my city (a very big city with very few farang) there is a shop selling Belgian beers. I never saw any customer in there. There is or (was?) a pub in Mega Bangna selling Belgian beers.

I hope you succeed because I would like to drink some Belgian beers at reasonable prices. 180 baht per bottle for a good beer is too expensive for me. At 110B/bottle I might buy one or 2 bottles per year (most of the expat community live Thai style, so a Thai budget). It would be nice if somebody would locally brew dark or high quality beers. I don't know if this is possible in this climate and with the raw products available over here.

Edited April 14, 2013 by kriswillems

[smokie36]

You missed the bus.

Even Khon Kaen is flooded with these overpriced Belgium beers now and the accompanying glasses! The concept in Thailand is flawed at the prices charged similar to good imported wine.And the competition is a lot more than just your "friends"

Good luck with your investment though.

If you call 100-110 THB for a bottle of Leffe overpriced, then I'm afraid there's not much I can do to convince you..

Yes I looked at the price on the survey....if you can deliver at that level you are on a winner.

[raro]

I've seen others importing Belgians beers. Usually they import them in a more or less illegal way. The prices per bottle are high. Most places either stop with selling the product after a while or sell other products besides Belgian beers. Thai people don't know the product. You would need to sell to the expat community (which is a small group). Most expats are living here on a low budget. Here in my city (a very big city with very few farang) there is a shop selling Belgian beers. I never saw any customer in there. There is or (was?) a pub in Mega Bangna selling Belgian beers.

I hope you succeed because I would like to drink some Belgian beers at reasonable prices. 180 baht per bottle for a good beer is too expensive for me. At 110B/bottle I might buy one or 2 bottles per year (most of the expat community live Thai style, so a Thai budget). It would be nice if somebody would locally brew dark or high quality beers. I don't know if this is possible in this climate and with the raw products available over here.

this is exactly where most foreigners have a misconception. THAIS buy the expensive booze much rather than foreigners. There are several reasons for it, one of them is, foreigners do know what the same product costs in their home country and consciously or unconsciously compare the prices. Thais grew up with beer and wine costing what it costs in Thailand.

The customers are the emerging middle class Thais in Bangkok. Couples that earn each 30 to 50,000 Baht a month, live in a condo that costs 20, a car to pay off that costs another 20 and leaves them with 40,000 Baht of spending power. They still eat in the streets day in day out but blow out 3 or 4,000 Baht for a night out on a weekend. And this is a rapidly growing market!

[kriswillems]

I've seen others importing Belgians beers. Usually they import them in a more or less illegal way. The prices per bottle are high. Most places either stop with selling the product after a while or sell other products besides Belgian beers. Thai people don't know the product. You would need to sell to the expat community (which is a small group). Most expats are living here on a low budget. Here in my city (a very big city with very few farang) there is a shop selling Belgian beers. I never saw any customer in there. There is or (was?) a pub in Mega Bangna selling Belgian beers.

I hope you succeed because I would like to drink some Belgian beers at reasonable prices. 180 baht per bottle for a good beer is too expensive for me. At 110B/bottle I might buy one or 2 bottles per year (most of the expat community live Thai style, so a Thai budget). It would be nice if somebody would locally brew dark or high quality beers. I don't know if this is possible in this climate and with the raw products available over here.

this is exactly where most foreigners have a misconception. THAIS buy the expensive booze much rather than foreigners. There are several reasons for it, one of them is, foreigners do know what the same product costs in their home country and consciously or unconsciously compare the prices. Thais grew up with beer and wine costing what it costs in Thailand.

The customers are the emerging middle class Thais in Bangkok. Couples that earn each 30 to 50,000 Baht a month, live in a condo that costs 20, a car to pay off that costs another 20 and leaves them with 40,000 Baht of spending power. They still eat in the streets day in day out but blow out 3 or 4,000 Baht for a night out on a weekend. And this is a rapidly growing market!

I don't live in BKK. I think most people that buy Belgian beers in my city are Japanese. Is the place in Mega Bangna still open (that mall attracts a lot of high class Thai)? I couldn't find it anymore last time I went there. When I saw it I was not brave enough to go inside (I would be the only customer) although I really miss Belgian beers.

I think Belgian beers are a product with an extremely high potential (and excellent quality). The problem right now if that the product isn't very well known in Thailand. Somebody that would have a budget high enough to do a lot of marketing and sell on a large scale might become successful.

[raro]

The advantage is, that you are selling to a (still) relatively small market that meets at certain distinctive places and you need to promote there. No point in making TV campaigns and stuff as you are not selling a mass product.

[h90]

You missed the bus.

Even Khon Kaen is flooded with these overpriced Belgium beers now and the accompanying glasses! The concept in Thailand is flawed at the prices charged similar to good imported wine.And the competition is a lot more than just your "friends"

Good luck with your investment though.

If you call 100-110 THB for a bottle of Leffe overpriced, then I'm afraid there's not much I can do to convince you..

Taxes are too high....100-110 THB for a 0.33 is too expensive for the endcustomer and too low for you. Specially as you should not import beer per seafreight. As if the container stays in the full sun it doesn't taste better than Thai beer anymore.

So if someone spend say 800 Baht (3 days of working for minimum salary) for drinking a few beers alone at home and they taste bad he won't buy ever again.

Import tax is killing that good idea.....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The Wine Connection cafe at the Rain Hill Mall on main Suk Rd at Soi 47 has a variety of Belgium beers on their menu...

I've been there before and sampled them, but I can't remember the brands I had off the top of my head.

But here's what I see elsewhere.

http://www.10best.com/destinations/thailand/bangkok/sukhumvit/nightlife/wine-connection-rainhill/

Edited April 14, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Will27]

Where I am in Chiang Rai, there isn't a great selection.

Hoegaarden can be purchased at Central for 119 Baht

whereas you can always pick it up duty free in Mai Sai

for 45 Baht (and it is genuine).

Duvel, my favourite, on the other hand is a lot harder to obtain.

I've seen it here for 169 Baht per bottle which in my opinion is a

bit rich.

There's another place based in Bangkok http://www.wishbeer.com/Belgian-Beers-s/1825.htm

although they don't seem to have Duvel.

All the best with your intended venture.

Will

[pilm]

does Leffe already sell in thai supermarkets i.e. Central?

Yes.

I buy mine in Villa for 121b (though may have recently gone up in tax?).

Hoegaarten the same.

I just buy 4 or 5 btls now and again, buying a case at 2,500+ wouldn't interest me, I'm afraid.

But good luck with it!

[jocko]

The Wine Connection cafe at the Rain Hill Mall on main Suk Rd at Soi 47 has a variety of Belgium beers on their menu...

I've been there before and sampled them, but I can't remember the brands I had off the top of my head.

But here's what I see elsewhere.

http://www.10best.com/destinations/thailand/bangkok/sukhumvit/nightlife/wine-connection-rainhill/

beer.jpg

beer 2.jpg

The Graceland Hotel in Patong has a Belgium Beer bar cafe.

Expensive methinks but ok now and again for a good beer.'

Good luck to the OP

[pilm]

HOB (House of Beers) used to have an all you could drink special about 1 year ago. It lasted about a month. Something like 450b or 650b. All the Hoegaarten one could drink.

[rikkie]

As a fellow Belgian i can only support youre initiative but i think youre a little bit too late with youre bussines concept because there are already other companys such as belgian beverage asia co ltd importing Belgiums finest beers a simple google search would already have saved you a lot of money and trouble .

And i am Belgium to , what wrong with Sing, Leo, Chang.... were do you think the technology com's from ???? mmmm INBEV ring a bell yes even in thailand

[retell]

well filled in the forms and stuff so when order westmalle dubbel can also order the grenadine with it?

also would it be possible to get like 12x 1,5 liter Dr pepper ?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I often find various kinds of Leffe at the CentralWorld market in BKK, on the top floor adjacent to the theater there.

And sometimes a few bottles at some of the more farang oriented Tops markets around town.

[KhonChaidee]

We're already at 50 responses. Thank you all so much for your support! It would be awesome if we can get to 100.

I do understand that the prices in the questionnaire are lower than the average market price. This is not just a randomly drawn number, however. Thai taxes are ridiculously high, but the system also knows a lot of exemptions one can rely on when certain conditions are met.

The first calculations showed a feasible selling price of 2500 baht per case for beers like Stella and 2,900 baht for the somewhat more expensive beer types, like Leffe Tripel. Taxes for these will also be higher as they contain more alcohol.

Regardless of whether it is possible for us to deliver at this price, it would be nice to at least know if there is demand among expats for the beers at that price. That's why this questionnaire is of such great value to me.

Thanks again, hope this trend will continue!

[pilm]

The customers are the emerging middle class Thais in Bangkok. Couples that earn each 30 to 50,000 Baht a month, live in a condo that costs 20, a car to pay off that costs another 20 and leaves them with 40,000 Baht of spending power. They still eat in the streets day in day out but blow out 3 or 4,000 Baht for a night out on a weekend. And this is a rapidly growing market!

This is the reality that is much larger than most expats realize.

Most of course have nothing to do with this class and are surrounded by locals earning and living 1/4 of that, so it comes as a surprise just how many Thais are living as such.

[spermwhale]

Don't listen to all these schmucks trying to pour cold water on your idea. They're too afraid to try anything themselves. Good luck. I'd buy it, especially Orval. I see it around for bt 250 a bottle -- pricey.

[robblok]

Don't listen to all these schmucks trying to pour cold water on your idea. They're too afraid to try anything themselves. Good luck. I'd buy it, especially Orval. I see it around for bt 250 a bottle -- pricey.

Many guys are cheap or like to see others fail.

There might be a market not everyone here is on a budget.

It would fail me as I don't consider beer a priority or something i really like but others might, business is taking risks if you succeed the rewards can be good.

[robblok]

The customers are the emerging middle class Thais in Bangkok. Couples that earn each 30 to 50,000 Baht a month, live in a condo that costs 20, a car to pay off that costs another 20 and leaves them with 40,000 Baht of spending power. They still eat in the streets day in day out but blow out 3 or 4,000 Baht for a night out on a weekend. And this is a rapidly growing market!

This is the reality that is much larger than most expats realize.

Most of course have nothing to do with this class and are surrounded by locals earning and living 1/4 of that, so it comes as a surprise just how many Thais are living as such.

Many expats don't mix with those people as they need to have people around them with less money as themselves to feel good. Make them feel the big man around ect ect. Not to mention if you mix with the poorer class its easier to seduce people with money.

Edited April 14, 2013 by robblok

[kinmaew]

I applaud you bro!! Going from bar to bar drinking that crap they sell just makes me sick so hence I dont drink much when I goto Thailand unless I am at a nice place like Taweng Daeng or other good place with quality beers. But the ideal would be to get this to your average punter and I think more people should be drinking Leffe rather than those horrible Thai beers. Foreigners would be happy to pay that little bit extra I certainly would even up to 150 baht a bottle is fair to me for the quality you get (and extra alcohol content). Makes me nervous when you are saying you are doing business with a Thai. Who is forking out the majority of the dollars?, if thats you, I would worry because there is no recourse in Thailand if you have a problem, just remember that. Bribery and corruption ruins opportunities for all people and investment dollars flowing in but the government doesnt seem to care, thats because they and their cronies are the ones who benefit the most from this type of society.

[Plastic Brontosaurus]

For those of us who can't afford the Westmalle, Duvel, Orval or Chimay, there's always Beer Lao Dark