Category Archives: Exotic Beers
Beer Chang – Obscure Beer of the World #3
- A bottle of Chang
Time to review another South East Asian beer for the series of Obscure beers of the world. The beer I am remembering this time is a little less exotic than some of my previous reviews, being Thailand’s biggest selling beer, and one that is exported to both the UK and Australia. This week we are reviewing
Beer Chang
Chang is produced and bottled by ThaiBev, the Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, and I was very surprised to find out it was the biggest selling beer in Thailand, as I always remember Singha as being far better know and better distributed. I know I drank Beer Chang in stead of Singha, but mainly because it was considerably cheaper!
Chang means Elephant in Thai, and the brand is easily recognized with the two elephants pictured on the label. The bottle featured in the picture is on a balcony on Ko Phi Phi, overlooking some monkey laden patch of jungle. I think many people’s fond memories of Chang are more an association with a Thai holiday or adventure, than a true appreciation of the beer itself.
The beer, like other South East Asian beers, is reasonably light and suited to being serves icy cold in the tropical heat. I thought Chang was a little darker than most and also a bit stronger in taste. A good variation from the very predictable beers of the region. It pours well, with a decent head that seams to hold for a while. At 5% alcohol content it is a bit stronger that others also.
It works well with Thai food, diluting the chili burn nicely! But it is also quite enjoyable without food, with a noticeable light malt flavour. A bit of a hoppy aftertaste, but nothing that cannot be knocked out with another beer (again, best if it is cooold)!
I liked Chang in Thailand, but have not been even tempted to buy a bottle or case in Australia. Just don’t remember it that fondly, unlike a few others like Bintag and Kingfisher.
Opinion - pretty solid beer – “a work horse”
rating – 6.5/10
As I am going to Bali in a couple of weeks, I am looking forward to doing an up-to-date review of one of my favourite South East Asian brews – Bintag! looking forward to it, and coming soon!!
Saigon Lager – Obscure Beer of the World #2
Vietnam's Finest?
Well, another week goes by, and its time to think about another beer I have enjoyed, in another exotic location!
Ah, the fond memories! I think maybe it is a little wrong to remember each location by the quality of the beer I enjoyed there! Really, there is probably other things that I should recall about a particular destination – the sights, the history, the people, the culture, the food? All of these things are very important, but compared to the beer…well
This week I am reviewing -
Saigon Lager
Saigon Lager is from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon, hence the name). It is brewed by the country’s largest brewer, Sabeco, who also do Saigon Lager export, and the canned version -Bia 333, all of which taste extremely similar.
Firstly, the weather in the Saigon area is tropical, so it is important to note that any beer sampled in stinking heat is going to be brilliant, as long as it is icy cold! And without a doubt, the most enjoyable of these beers I sampled was the coldest ones!
Saigon Lager is quite golden in colour, and pours with a moderate amount of carbonation, and a decent head. The head faded pretty quickly though. Saigon Lager looks appealing once poured, but has a bit of a rotten egg smell, but not to the point it wasn’t drinkable. (hey, it could have a rotten egg floating in it, and I’d still give it a go!!)
Like I said earlier,this beer tasted good when icy cold, but not nearly as good when it warmed up a bit.I also found that it bloats me, so I could only comfortably have two or three (disappointing at the time, but a real positive the next morning, particularly if you are about the head down the Mekong on a ferry, its 9 am, and already you are sweating your ring off!).
Also, I find the tinfoil neck cover to be annoying, as it makes drinking it straight from the bottle unpleasant (the 350ml bottle I am talking about!)
All in all, I guess it is quite an acceptable beer for the environment it is in, but I would think it would be very disappointing if you paid imported price for it in our home country. As a 500ml bottle , served cold in a restaurant, cost about US$1.50, I would consider it extremely good value for money! Not my favorite Asian Beer (AKA Bintang)but passable!
Opinion – Did the job
rating – 6/10
Everest Special Lager – Obscure beer of the world #1
- Nepal’s Finest?
To get this series up and going, I thought it make sense to make a start of one of the most memorable beers I have had in the last year or so….
Everest Special Lager
This brew is Nepalese, and widely available throughout that particular country. Utilizing Nepal’s most famous asset in its branding assures sampling from any beer drinker visiting the country, and I am sure that is their intention. Strangely, it is called Everest Special Lager, instead of Everest Larger, as this brand is already taken – from a beer brewed and sold in Turkey! Strange!
It is Brewed by the Mt Everest Brewery, in Kathmandu, Nepal, who also brew a higher alcohol content, Golden Tiger.
Anyway, back to painting the picture. I think I first sampled this Lager where I have taken this photo. In a rooftop restaurant near Dunbar square, in central Kathmandu, on a reasonably hot April midday. Even in those circumstances, I knew this was not the best beer! Expectation would be that this scenario was one where you really enjoy a beer, and I knew at that point I would be having too many more of these!
I found the Everest Special Lager to be a very flat beer, with minimal head on the pour, and a real lack of carbonation. Beers in countries such as Nepal can vary a lot, depending on the storage and care from the restaurant/bar owner, and in this case, may be the explanation for the slight rust taste! (I’ll give the brewer the benefit of the doubt!)
At 5% alcohol content, it was of clear appearance. it has a minimally bitter after taste, but nothing too severe.
In conclusion, I can understand why this is an “obscure beer of the world”, and don’t believe it to be a hidden gem! It nice to be able to say I have had a Everest Lager, because of its obvious association with the region, but that is about it. Don’t expect to see it in a bottle-shop near you soon!
OPINION – Just the one, thanks!
Score – 4/10
Obscure Beers of the World – Introduction
Being a middle aged Australian male, I like beer ! I wouldn’t expect this to be a huge surprise to anyone who knows me, and, based on stereotypes, probably also not a surprise to those who don’t! As a result, I think about beer regularly, and while quietly reflecting on this subject recently, a flash of inspiration hit me! I would share this love with others, on my travel blog! Biggest problem, of course, if on first glance, this doesn’t appear to have anything to do with travel, the subject of my blog?
So, I thought, I could always combine these two passions? No, not to get pissed in as many countries as possible, but, instead to share some simple information of some of the wonderful beers I have met while traveling!
Everyone knows Heineken, Fosters and Guinness, but what if I can give some insight and basic tasting notes on some of the more obscure beers. The ones you will never find outside of the country they are brewed in? Immediately, I think on brands like Everest Lager (Nepal), Can Tho Lager (Vietnam) & Golden Eagle (India). These and so many more!
I recon I have well over 100 beers I can call on that I have sampled in the last couple of years, and this will be a good start. However, being a trooper, I will not rest until I have bought all 21,387 beers of the world to you all (I’m just guessing about the 21,387, but I bet its lots!). Don’t expect this series of Blogs to be too serious, as I have no real skills in this area, except determination, experience and thirst! In addition, I may well be inebriated when I post!
I will try to post a different beer about once a week, and I’ll see how it evolves. I don’t see why I couldn’t accept guest posts to this series, as I’m sure there is room for others in this field (the field being unqualified beer sampler). Im getting thirsty just thinking about it! Stay posted (or even better, RSS’d)
