Beer Lao On Sale In Pubs In Bangkok

[vegas]

I noticed that Gullivers Bar and many other pubs around Bangkok now serve Beer Lao. Anybody know if this is now legal in Thailand or is someone sneaking it in? Friends in Chiang Mai say it is still not available up there.

[Hans Brix]

That's a really really good question for sure. I dont have the answer to it but I have some interesting news from the Stickman column a week ago. See below from stick 6/11/2006.

"Oh My Cod, the British style cafe in the Khao Sarn Road area, confirm what everyone else is saying - Beer Lao is a winner. They sell it at a very reasonable 65 baht per bottle ALL DAY and it is outselling other beers by a ratio of 3 to 1.

And Beer Lao's success in Thailand is set to continue. Under an ASEAN trade agreement, imports will be tariff free by 2008. Under the treaty, the Thais will only be able to charge a 5% tax on imported Beer Lao. Since a 420 ml bottle of Beer Lao goes for around 5000 kip (20 baht) in Laos, once it does come into Thailand with only a 5% tariff, it'll surely take over the market from the barely drinkable locally brewed beers. Apparently Beer Lao is building a brewery in Savannakhet for this very purpose. Now if you didn't top the class in geography, Savannakhet is directly across the Mekong River from Mukdahan - where a bridge is currently under construction, and which will connect the two countries. While I look forward to the day when Beer Lao is available nationwide, it would not surprise me if there were some dirty tricks to prevent this fine beer taking Thailand by storm. The shame across Thailand if a beer from Laos of all places was available cheaper, while also a superior product, would be unbearable."

[DeathbyDurian]

I was downtown last weekend and just about every bar I went to had Beer Lao for sale. Several of the places even had advertisements and 'light-up' Beer Lao beer signs. So, it looks legitimate to me.

My one question is.... has anyone else noticed that NONE of the Beer Lao bottles have the famous black tiger in a red circle logo? You can see it in this picture, but every single bottle I've bought in Thailand has it either rubbed off completely or blacked out with a magic marker.

This stretches from Sukhumvit to Khao-san and up near the airport too, so it's not just one isolated shipment.

Any ideas as to why the import office wouldn't want us to see the tiger? Is it a symbol of communisim or something more sinister?

Edited June 20, 2006 by DeathbyDurian

[calibanjr.]

Used to be one of the reasons to go to Vientiane for the visa run! When I first had it in Laos 3 years ago, I got that light in my head that one often gets saying "I wonder how I can import this to the states, I'd be rich!" Then I had about 10 more, and moved on to other thoughts, (I think). Can't wait till it gets to Chiang Mai.

[calibanjr.]

I think if The Duke's served Beer Lao, i'd just set up a cot and eat there 24/7.

[PREM-R]

Imported beer in Thailand always bears a paper "sticker" showing that the excise duty has been paid, if the beer Lao does not have a sticker it is probably not legit.

BTW if you check the Beer Lao website Click Here they show all their distributors worldwide, there is no distributor named for Thailand.

Over to you Mr Moonchaser - "All imported beer is stale- all imported beer is a ripoff etc. etc. etc."

[TokyoT]

Imported beer in Thailand always bears a paper "sticker" showing that the excise duty has been paid, if the beer Lao does not have a sticker it is probably not legit.

BTW if you check the Beer Lao website Click Here they show all their distributors worldwide, there is no distributor named for Thailand.

Over to you Mr Moonchaser - "All imported beer is stale- all imported beer is a ripoff etc. etc. etc."

If the sticker to which you infer goes up the neck, over the cap, and back down the neck - then all the Beer Lao I have been consuming at various establishments in BKK have had the sticker.

As Mr. Brix points out, with the potential for duty free, or low duty on Beer Lao coming into Thailand the Thai beer makers must already be scheming to find a way to stop this threat to their monopoly.

[chownah]

Yeah, those commies in Laos are too st00pid to think that once Beer Lao is well established in the market to just raise the price for the exports to mesh with the prevailing Thai market and thus maximize their profits. I'm really glad that commies are so st00pid so I can drink lots of their beer and get comatose...and cheap!!!!

Chownah

[PREM-R]

On further inspection of the Beer Lao website I find that they were present at the Thaifex world of Food Asia, at Impact Muang Thong Thani,Thailand from 17/05/2006 – 21/05/06.

Beer Lao in BKK

The Lao Beer now on sale in BKK could well be a result of that 'promotion'.

[NguuMuu]

All the beer lao I've had does indeed have the import sticker attached on the neck over the cap.

Also, as deathbydurian said, they all have the black tiger rubbed off, whited out, or covered with a black marker....what's the point of this?

[chownah]

My guess about the absent tiger is that there is some law or regulation that says that the export has to have a different label from the domestic so that illegally smuggled bottles can be spotted so this is the Laos way to comply.

Chownah

P.S. Strictly a guess.

[vegas]

Anybody seen it in supermarkets? I've checked Villa, Tops but they don't have it.

[listenup]

Since reading all you guys raving about Beer Lao, I thought it was time to go out and test it myself. What a pleasure it was, a great beer, one of the best I have had.

Now all I want to know is where I can buy it without going to a bar??

Thanks guys!

[TokyoT]

No, no you are looking at this at the wrong angle. Having it available only in bars gives you a reason to tell the Mrs, that you simply must go to the bar.

[Hans Brix]

I've been searching retailers in BKK for this Beer Lao but nobody has it. Perhaps this is the way to keep this Thai beer monopoly thing going by not having it for sale at retail. As for ckownah talking about Laoations being too stupid to raise the export price, this is not the issue with current import high prices in this country. It is the exhorbitant taxation imposed by Thailand that results in the ultra high price of imports. It appears to me me that Beer Lao will be only allowed at bars which will greatly impact Beer Lao's impact on the inferior Thai brews in the nation.

[listenup]

No, no you are looking at this at the wrong angle. Having it available only in bars gives you a reason to tell the Mrs, that you simply must go to the bar.

You make it sound so easy

[DeathbyDurian]

My guess about the absent tiger is that there is some law or regulation that says that the export has to have a different label from the domestic so that illegally smuggled bottles can be spotted so this is the Laos way to comply.

Chownah

P.S. Strictly a guess.

That would be a good guess, except for the fact that the back of the bottle has a pre-printed label entirely in Thai. So it looks like they are already manufacturing different labels for export to Thailand....someone here just doesn't like that tiger.

[dantilley]

My guess about the absent tiger is that there is some law or regulation that says that the export has to have a different label from the domestic so that illegally smuggled bottles can be spotted so this is the Laos way to comply.

Chownah

P.S. Strictly a guess.

That would be a good guess, except for the fact that the back of the bottle has a pre-printed label entirely in Thai. So it looks like they are already manufacturing different labels for export to Thailand....someone here just doesn't like that tiger.

Yeah, but it's not like the label has been re-designed with the tiger left off, in each case it's been printed on the original label, but then scraped of rubbed off. I'm very intrigued as to why - I asked the staff in Gullivers last night and they didn't know either.

[udon]

I noticed that beer Lao was on special in my local Islamic bottle-O.

Is it worth buying a case?

[monochaser]

I noticed that beer Lao was on special in my local Islamic bottle-O.

Is it worth buying a case?

I suggest you buy a bottle first, get it nice and cold and give it a nice taste test. dont drink any alcohol be4 the test. this is what I plan to do if I ever can find a case

[ricklev]

The convenience store in Centerpoint on Lang Suan sells a lager beer called Munchen Gold from China for 35 baht per bottle (with a tax stamp). Not bad; but I don't know much about beer.

[monochaser]

hmmm, never tried Chinese beer. I did try a German beer, Paulaner. I was afraid it would taste like Becks, which is horrible. The Paulaner tasted like a US microbrew and was "ok"

[ratcatcher]

It would be a very big embarrassment and something,in my opinion, that would not be tolerated, if

sales of BeerLao outstripped sales of say Singha or Chang. Highly unlikely as they have such a huge market here in rural Thailand, I just can't see a Lao beer becoming that popular. Boon Rawd and ThaiBev control most of the Thai market and they have huge political influence.

I believe the sales of BeerLao ,mostly to farangs will continue to rise as more and more people become aware of this tasty high quality brew. But as for being the beer of choice of your average Thai, I don't think so.

[Ulysses G.]

I noticed that beer Lao was on special in my local Islamic bottle-O.

Is it worth buying a case?

I suggest you buy a bottle first, get it nice and cold and give it a nice taste test. dont drink any alcohol be4 the test. this is what I plan to do if I ever can find a case

I drank beer Lao back when you had to drink it warm or with ice - neither of which I can stand.

I would like to ask monochaser - TV's foremost beer expert/gourmet - what he thinks of it as it seems to be recommended highly by some folks, but I wasn't that impressed when I had to drink it with ice back in 1991.

[Sel]

We sell beer Lao retail min one case in Bangkok

Totally legal with tax seal

The Cat logo has been removed because of trade mark infringement with another thai product

Chang Mai should already have beer lao or very soon as I know the distributor and he went up their last week

[monochaser]

Mr UG sir, I have only tried Beer Lao on 1 occasion on a PP, Cambo trip. I was not impressed. The beer was in a can and cold. Being that this was the only time I had sampled it, I was willing to give it another shot, perhaps out of a bottle this time. I will be sure to share the results of my taste test here. I'm wondering how much formaldehyde my body will have to endure as a result of this one beer taste test. Somebody gimme an ice cold case of Bud or Mic and I'll get testing right away. Speaking of Mic, UG, I'll never forget a trip to the liqour store many years ago when a "friend" walked in the store on this Sunday afternoon and asked for 9 Michelobs. LOL, that's right, he needed 9 mics to get thru the day. classic. You ever drink any of those mini mics(7oz)? Now there was a classic package

Edited June 25, 2006 by monochaser

[DeathbyDurian]

The Cat logo has been removed because of trade mark infringement with another thai product

Nice, got an answer to this one.

Any idea what product it is? Plus - since when is Thailand concerned about copyright infringement?

[TokyoT]

Plus - since when is Thailand concerned about copyright infringement?

Only when it is a non-Thai product infringing on a Thai product.

[NguuMuu]

We sell beer Lao retail min one case in Bangkok

Totally legal with tax seal

So, Sel, who and where is 'we'? And how much does a case run for anyway? Thanks!!

[percy2]

We sell beer Lao retail min one case in Bangkok

Totally legal with tax seal

So, Sel, who and where is 'we'? And how much does a case run for anyway? Thanks!!

I also wait for the answer to this one.

cheers