I Did A Thai Beer Experiment

[britmaveric]

I drink Chang every day and don't suffer from any ill effects. And I am a laydee!

Now Moon you've been called out by a lady you ponce!!!

[monochaser]

Jeez you are a cheap charlie. 102 baht for a Corona. What would it cost in the States?.

Corona is considered a 3rd class(class in class of beers, not people) beer in the states, the urban myth about Mexicans pissing in it didnt help its reputation.

Its a regional beer, more popular in the south west, it was a fad for awhile because folks thought it was "neet" to have a lime in the neck of the bottle.

But cost wise its pretty cheap.

ROFL, that's classic and sums it up. I'd rather drink piss than thai brewed stuff. LOL

[monochaser]

Scary stuff. And I thought I just had a pounding headache

[monochaser]

Sorry to hear about it, dude. I would hope that this would wake people up to what's truly important. But dude, are you suggesting that anyone who gets one of these pounding headaches is strokin' it?

Edited June 10, 2006 by monochaser

[Jeff1]

What i'd really like to know is , whats with the avatar Monochaser ? Is that you or billy jean king "

It's creeping me out man .

[TRIPxCORE]

What i'd really like to know is , whats with the avatar Monochaser ? Is that you or billy jean king "

It's creeping me out man .

His avatar is the jail photo of Bill Gates, Jeff.

[Jeff1]

What i'd really like to know is , whats with the avatar Monochaser ? Is that you or billy jean king "

It's creeping me out man .

His avatar is the jail photo of Bill Gates, Jeff.

Oh , thats normal Kind of like the before picture of the before and after . I get it . I guess a little jail time never hurt anybody .

[TokyoT]

What I want to know is which of these bars have Cranberry juice....for my Vodka.

Maybe I just dont know how to say it right, but I dont find it often.

That’s why I gave up drinking Vodka Cranberry in Thailand after six years of happily drinking them in Tokyo; now it’s Southern Comfort/soda water, and it’s only slightly easier to find in Bangkok than cranberry, and can be near impossible to order unless you can point out the bottle from where you are sitting.

Also note that Gullivers on Soi 5 now also has Beer Lao - 80 baht.

[meadish_sweetball]

I have heard the expat rumour that this and that Thai beer contains formaldehyde ever since I came here, but nobody has ever been able to come up with any actual proof of this.

You drink too much alcohol, your body reacts with a hangover. It is usually nothing to do with the quality of the drink itself, it is the alcohol in combination with the dehydration it causes, and sometimes heat-stroke related effects. Smoking, or just being in a smoky environment exacerbates the problem.

What type of chemical analysis equipment would you need to test for formaldehyde? Does anybody know?

[MarkBKK]

I have heard the expat rumour that this and that Thai beer contains formaldehyde ever since I came here, but nobody has ever been able to come up with any actual proof of this.

You drink too much alcohol, your body reacts with a hangover. It is usually nothing to do with the quality of the drink itself, it is the alcohol in combination with the dehydration it causes, and sometimes heat-stroke related effects. Smoking, or just being in a smoky environment exacerbates the problem.

What type of chemical analysis equipment would you need to test for formaldehyde? Does anybody know?

I think you use ''Schiff's reagent'' (had to look that up, but I think it's right). A friend took a selection of Thai beers home (to the UK) quite a while ago and tested them. Apparently it goes bright red if there's formaldehyde present. Formaldehyde I've encountered smells quite unpleasant and I think people'd smell it.

There's one web site that explains it along the lines of: US troops were here first, got very drunk because they weren't used to strong beer (and they were probably dehydrated anyway). They blamed it on chemicals in the beer. Then there was an old story (1960s?) of a Chinese brewery using formaldehyde to clean bottles (from what I can remember, from the web site -- a UK beer site? --apparently this was tried, but didn't last long).

Add two and two, get five.

[svenivan]

I have to say though that beers made by/in neighbouring countries are miles ahead of Thai beers.

Carlsberg (Malaysia) - A God of Asian brewed beers, it tastes GREAT.

Carlsberg was my favo for years but suddenly it disappeared. BUT everytime I have been to Chiang Mai I have found nice cold Carlsberg in this popular bar close to Top North hotel (150 m south on the canal).

But here in Chiang Rai noone has it.

Someone from Chiang Mai here? Are those Carlsberg from Malaysia or brewed in Thailand?

[PREM-R]

Carlsberg is now brewed by the Lao Beer co. in Vientiane PDR Lao

Lao Beer Website

[raro]

I have to say though that beers made by/in neighbouring countries are miles ahead of Thai beers.

Carlsberg (Malaysia) - A God of Asian brewed beers, it tastes GREAT.

Carlsberg was my favo for years but suddenly it disappeared. BUT everytime I have been to Chiang Mai I have found nice cold Carlsberg in this popular bar close to Top North hotel (150 m south on the canal).

But here in Chiang Rai noone has it.

Someone from Chiang Mai here? Are those Carlsberg from Malaysia or brewed in Thailand?

I hope they're not from Thailand, otherwise the best before date would be somewhat historical...then again if the beer is still fresh it could be a strong hint towards formaldehyde...

[monochaser]

carlsberg wised up no doubt

[monochaser]

please go to that Lao beer website and notice no thai distributorship, which is no surprise. all the stuff you find here is black market or bootleg garbage

[Thaipwriter]

Whamo, within a few hours, my head felt like someone pounded it several times with a sledge hammer. It was a pounder unlike and pounder I've had in 3 years. I was in excruciating pain, I mean massive. I couldn't take it. This was no ordinary headache. I reached for the ibuprofen (a drug that has never ever failed to rid me of even the worst headache), took 400 mgs and went to sleep. Woke up a few hours later with same fierce pounding headache. I was dying really. I reached again for 400 mg more ibuprofen, went back to sleep, woke up a few hours later headache intact but more severe. Now I couldn't sleep and I was suffering badly. Now the headache qualified as my worst ever; I mean even old reliable ibuprofen didn't work. It was so bad that I thought I might have a brain tumor.

You know what?

I get this same episode, usually after reading a few of your posts on here.

[monochaser]

Thailand would never allow mass distibution of beer lao as it would instintaneously erode 50% of thai brewed beer sales over night (if priced right)

[monochaser]

Below is a news release fron the Beer Lao website. Cant find any mention of Thailand, the imported beer paranoia capital of the world. Thailand is import beer paranoid for good reason; if the thai public gets to taste any beer from abroad, their beers are through, cause they are the worst in the world.

Ten containers of Beerlao left for Australia this week, following the successful marketing of a single container of the beer early last year.

The beer will be shipped to Sydney , where it will be distributed by Beer Lao Australia who market and distribute the product throughout Australia .

Attending yesterday's departure of the shipment was the Australian Ambassador to Laos, Mr Alistair Maclean, Beer Lao Australia Managing Director, Mr Garry Gale, and Deputy Managing Director of the Lao Brewery Company, Mr Sounthone Phommachack.

Mr Gale said that it had taken two years of intense marketing and promotion to reach this stage. This included changes to labelling and packaging to suit the Australian market, bar coding, and gaining distribution rights throughout Australia .

“I feel very confident that Beerlao will do well in Australia, having set up an office in Sydney with direct email ordering, they are receiving up to 200 enquires per day as to when the beer will be available for purchase,” said Gale.

Ambassador Maclean observed that this was a good opportunity for Laos to expand export growth, and also expressed his confidence that Beerlao would be successful in Australia .

“Beerlao is a great product, and Australia a great market,” Mr Maclean said.

In addition to Australia , Beerlao is now exported to the USA , France , Japan , New Zealand , Cambodia , Vietnam , Canada , and the UK . It was first exported in 1998 to Japan , USA and France .

The company says it is currently working to gain further footholds in the global markets.

Edited June 12, 2006 by monochaser

[Thaipwriter]

Thailand would never allow mass distibution of beer lao as it would instintaneously erode 50% of thai brewed beer sales over night (if priced right)

For once (amazing!) I agree with you.

I think your estimation of 50% is desperatley low though.

I normally bring back a "few" cans from visa runs and its a sad day when the last one gets slurped.

[raro]

Whamo, within a few hours, my head felt like someone pounded it several times with a sledge hammer. It was a pounder unlike and pounder I've had in 3 years. I was in excruciating pain, I mean massive. I couldn't take it. This was no ordinary headache. I reached for the ibuprofen (a drug that has never ever failed to rid me of even the worst headache), took 400 mgs and went to sleep. Woke up a few hours later with same fierce pounding headache. I was dying really. I reached again for 400 mg more ibuprofen, went back to sleep, woke up a few hours later headache intact but more severe. Now I couldn't sleep and I was suffering badly. Now the headache qualified as my worst ever; I mean even old reliable ibuprofen didn't work. It was so bad that I thought I might have a brain tumor.

You know what?

I get this same episode, usually after reading a few of your posts on here.

...an I thought it's only me...

[monochaser]

Thailand protectionism keeps this threatening stuff out of stores

The UK meanwhile goes out on a limb and brings in its 1st shipment of beer lao. what a diverse selection of beer they must have over there. LOL. from beer lao website below:

Beerlao yesterday sent its first shipment to the United Kingdom making it a world-beating year for the country's only brewer

[monochaser]

Ah yes, here I sit with an ice cold Corona thinking about all those nasty tasting Leos, heines, changs and sings I used to drink. These Coronas cost me a fortune, about 600 baht/day or 20K per month, which is more than some forumers claim as their monthly Thailand total expense. Next time you drink a thai brew and you shake your head in disgust from the bitter taste, you can think of me, the #1 Thai beer hater of all time

[rcm]

These Coronas cost me a fortune, about 600 baht/day or 20K per month, which is more than some forumers claim as their monthly Thailand total expense.

Ha, Monochaser didn't know you were such a cheapatony ....600 Baht a fortune??? hardly , i would say!! I think for you it's time to relocate to laos...you'll find Carlsberg there and have the chicks there too. And another yank, who doesn't seem to be able to appreciate ANYTHING in Thailand ,less. Honestly , you won't be missed...

rcm

[Ulysses G.]

These Coronas cost me a fortune, about 600 baht/day or 20K per month, which is more than some forumers claim as their monthly Thailand total expense.

Ha, Monochaser didn't know you were such a cheapatony ....600 Baht a fortune??? hardly , i would say!! I think for you it's time to relocate to laos...you'll find Carlsberg there and have the chicks there too. And another yank, who doesn't seem to be able to appreciate ANYTHING in Thailand ,less. Honestly , you won't be missed...

rcm

Hey, he appreciates the chicks!

[rcm]

These Coronas cost me a fortune, about 600 baht/day or 20K per month, which is more than some forumers claim as their monthly Thailand total expense.

Ha, Monochaser didn't know you were such a cheapatony ....600 Baht a fortune??? hardly , i would say!! I think for you it's time to relocate to laos...you'll find Carlsberg there and have the chicks there too. And another yank, who doesn't seem to be able to appreciate ANYTHING in Thailand ,less. Honestly , you won't be missed...

rcm

Hey, he appreciates the chicks!

That enough to keep him here....easy to please....but he has far more complains than he appreciates. Read his posts than you know....

rcm

[samran]

Mono...what is your proffesional opinion of the local Asahi brew?

[monochaser]

samran, sadly the Asahi is a distant shadow of it's Japanese brewed namesake. I love the asahi brewed in Japan but sadly this Thai brewed asahi falls victim to it's foreign brand thai brewed counterparts (Heine, Tiger, San Miguel). I dont have an answer as to why decent brands become garbage when brewed here. this is the 10 million baht question. Maybe it has something to do with the water

[ayakiawe]

I agree formalin might be the problem but dont know for sure

I did the same thing with a cheap Thai wine bought from 7-11. Thought I would die. 3 days of a killer headache non stop.

NEVER AGAIN!!!!

They dont know what they are doing with chemicals in this country. It will cause a lot of pain and suffering here for 100s of years no doubt about it!

Organic is the only way to go! when will we all wake up?

[monochaser]

Let me tell you also that I wish the Asahi here was a clone of the Japan version but sadly it is not.

there have been rumors from time to time that Bud will be brewing their product here. this will never happen as there are enormous quality control problems that cannot be overcome brewing in Thailand

[Ulysses G.]

Let me tell you also that I wish the Asahi here was a clone of the Japan version but sadly it is not.

there have been rumors from time to time that Bud will be brewing their product here. this will never happen as there are enormous quality control problems that cannot be overcome brewing in Thailand

The BEST beer on the planet needs special, very superior water that can only be found in the US of A!