Brewing discontent: Frothy passions erupt when Thai craft beer goes big

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Brewing Discontent: Frothy Passions Erupt When Thai Craft Beer Goes Big
By Cole Pennington
Correspondent


Photo: Quinn Dombrowski / Flickr

BANGKOK — Crack open a bottle of Chiang Mai Weizen from Thailand’s first legal craft brewery, Chiang Mai Beer, and out pours a light straw color, almost golden or banana yellow. There’s a slight haze, typical of the weizen, or wheat style.

However, its recent debut started a firestorm on social media, with this particular beer becoming the focal point for a controversy that’s been brewing ever since the race to produce a large-scale, Thai-made craft beer began about two years ago.

In December, Chiang Mai Beer won that race, becoming Thailand’s first domestic craft brewery to distribute on a large scale. It got around the illegality of home brewing by sending it to be bottled in Laos and shipped back to Thailand to be taxed as “foreign-made beer.”

Despite this feat, critics were quick to slam it as awful and blame the move to large-scale production.

“The weizen has no mark of weizen at all,” proclaimed Yaksa Brewery. “The beer was too light. There was not a single trace of wheat. Every smell was overwhelmed by the rotten and damp smell. I tried to continue drinking it to really know it, but I had to give up. The beer was clearly infected.”

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1454560655


-- Khaosod English 2016-02-04

[Laughing Gravy]

Good for Chang Mai Weizen. The breweries here are an absolute disgrace and have done their best to stop other beers coming in. Considering the ASEAN FTA you would expect beers from other countries here but no. The breweries know if they did get here the pish they serve would be left on the shelves or in the pumps. Beer Lao on draft or other beers from China, Vietnam and even Cambodia would make drinking the crap here like toilet water. I don't expect to see any change either.

[trogers]

Sure those bottles in Laos have been properly cleaned and sterilized? Could be the source of added flavors... ?

[Bluespunk]

"The first sip was pleasantly surprising, at least because it wasn’t completely god-awful like the online banter led me to believe.

It tasted like standard homebrew; a taste familiar from sampling many Thai-made craft brews during the past few years. Flat and slightly metallic – but drinkable, with a minor funk (not the good kind)."

Damned by faint praise.

[leeneeds]

It is good for getting a shine back in your hair if you let it dry before washing.

[jacky54]

I don't like the term 'craft beer' there is only good and bad beer and most commercial Thai beer is an inferior product. Anything that adds variety is welcome

Edited February 4, 2016 by jacky54

[steelepulse]

I'm so sick and tired of the beer mafia here. A couple families controlling the law on who can and can't brew beer here is a nice way to corner the market and not allow competition. What are these families afraid of, a little competition of better tasting beer. Beer choices here suck................

[jacky54]

How leo beer can be so popular with Thais is a mystery, they can't have any taste buds left at all, that stuff is rubbish

[Ruin]

Ah, the chance to see Beer Lao Damn in the bars. Please!!!

[CelticBhoy]

Bring back Amarit

[speedtripler]

I'm so sick and tired of the beer mafia here. A couple families controlling the law on who can and can't brew beer here is a nice way to corner the market and not allow competition. What are these families afraid of, a little competition of better tasting beer. Beer choices here suck................

i normally drink leffe , erdinger ,hoegarteen ,duval etc

there is good beers available but you gotta pay double or triple the price of a leo or chang for a smaller bottle

ii only drink thai beer if there if there is no good beers available ......

expensive tastes ..............but life is too short to not drink quality beers...........

[trogers]

I'm so sick and tired of the beer mafia here. A couple families controlling the law on who can and can't brew beer here is a nice way to corner the market and not allow competition. What are these families afraid of, a little competition of better tasting beer. Beer choices here suck................

i normally drink leffe , erdinger ,hoegarteen ,duval etc

there is good beers available but you gotta pay double or triple the price of a leo or chang for a smaller bottle

ii only drink thai beer if there if there is no good beers available ......

expensive tastes ..............but life is too short to not drink quality beers...........

Give that A&W Beer back to me anytime...

[Kasset Tak]

How leo beer can be so popular with Thais is a mystery, they can't have any taste buds left at all, that stuff is rubbish

At least Leo is better than Chang, even my friends that are working for Thaibev and are brewing Chang beer drinks Leo unless they get a Chang for free!

[Prbkk]

In the event these small players get some following the big players will just buy them out and either keep them small or close them down. No competition watchdog worthy of the description here.

[canopus1969]

How leo beer can be so popular with Thais is a mystery, they can't have any taste buds left at all, that stuff is rubbish

At least Leo is better than Chang, even my friends that are working for Thaibev and are brewing Chang beer drinks Leo unless they get a Chang for free!

Beer in the same sentence with Leo and Chang is an oxymoron

[Snig27]

There are a ton of craft beers and reasonable European beers around Bangkok - you just pay the same sorts of prices you'd pay for them elsewhere (cheaper than Singapore, Malaysia or Indo though). Wishbeer, Beervana and others are bringing a huge variety. You get the likes of Vedett (mainstream I know but a lifetime ahead of Thai beers) on tap in many places now. The other bright hope is Singha's EST33 bars. Not amazing but better than the usual Singha chemical slop.

It has improved dramatically in recent years.

[Snig27]

What is funny is the fake craft beer bar in Ekkamai - big letters CRAFT and a lookalike craft beer tap wall - pouring Leo, Chang and Singha. Talk about NOT getting it. It's empty.

[daoyai]

They also make an IPA which is much better than their wheat, I was at an event last week where there was freeflowing small cups of both so I was able to sample repeatedly.

[ChrisY1]

Sure those bottles in Laos have been properly cleaned and sterilized? Could be the source of added flavors... ?

Have they in Thailand?........

When one gets used to drinking dishwater, all other products taste bad.........!

[vogie]

How leo beer can be so popular with Thais is a mystery, they can't have any taste buds left at all, that stuff is rubbish

At least Leo is better than Chang, even my friends that are working for Thaibev and are brewing Chang beer drinks Leo unless they get a Chang for free!

I honestly think that if you blindfolded me and put the top three beers in Thailand in front of me, I would struggle to tell the difference.

[jacky54]

what happened to kloster beer? used to be in many bars

[jerojero]

Large scale craft beer? Mass production is not craft produced! That's the essence of craft beer... It a Craft!

[Inn Between]

what happened to kloster beer? used to be in many bars

Good question. When I first came to Thailand, there was Singha and Kloster. Actually there was another brand, but by the late 80's it was hard to find. I drank Kloster and enjoyed its hoppy flavour -- fairly nice European style. Singha had a reputation back then of being very inconsistent in its alcohol volume and was therefore not recommended.

Why doesn't one of these breweries dig out the Kloster recipe and at least give us the choice to drink something that isn't the boring homogenized crap common to every Thai beer. I refuse to buy Leo and its twin brothers (all Thai beer) anymore and have settled on Beer Lao -- light or dark -- they're both superior to anything made in Thailand IMHO.

[jacky54]

Yup beer lao is the only thing worth getting other than expensive European brands, gone up quite a bit though and can you get large bottles anywhere? Cheers beer extra and red horse are not too bad.

Edited February 4, 2016 by jacky54

[tominbkk]

I'm so sick and tired of the beer mafia here. A couple families controlling the law on who can and can't brew beer here is a nice way to corner the market and not allow competition. What are these families afraid of, a little competition of better tasting beer. Beer choices here suck................

I go home to the pacific northwest every summer for a few weeks - I visit my parent's local mom and pops every night grab a couple craft beers from their massive beer cooler with about 400 local varieties. Man it is fun!

[WhizBang]

Yup, the Thai beers, Leo, Chang and Singha are utter crap. Beer Lao isn't bad, well, better than Thai beer, but still not great beer.

If you want good beer, go to Tawandang German Brewary in Bangkok (and Singapore), or go to Hopf in Pattaya. Now you are talking some good 'German' beers. At home I drink Hoegaarden and Erdinger beer, sometimes Paulander. I avoid the mass produced bottled Thai crap whenever possible.

[Baerboxer]

In the event these small players get some following the big players will just buy them out and either keep them small or close them down. No competition watchdog worthy of the description here.

No competition watchdog and old monopolies or oligopolies enforced by any means required.

ASEAN won't make any difference and watch the creativity that will be used to make sure that's the case.

If Thai old businesses faced real free market competition they would have to improve quality, customer service and cost whilst becoming more competitive and marketing minded. Now that wouldn't no, not at all.

[Weblo]

I go for burgrrs from Daniel theigers burger truck on soi 23

he is in the parking lot of craft and whiskers.

a craft brewing place, tried a craft beer there, 200 ml was 200 and some odd baht.

a pint ranges from 350-400 baht.

I almost shit at these prices

$9 canadian for around 8 ounces of beer?..

$14-18 for a pint????

I grab my burgr and eat it on the street!

[Beats56]

Go to hockey game in Canada if you can afford a ticket to get in and beers are up to $12 maybe more now. Not sure the size as it has been awhile but think 20oz. Sure isn't cheap.

[kennalder]

I'm so sick and tired of the beer mafia here. A couple families controlling the law on who can and can't brew beer here is a nice way to corner the market and not allow competition. What are these families afraid of, a little competition of better tasting beer. Beer choices here suck................

Right on!

Unfortunately it is not limited to beer. Thai's seem to hate competition, in any business arena. When you limit competition, you protect and promote mediocrity.