New craft beer place--Nimmanhamin soi 9

[heybruce]

A new place with a very limited selection of Thai craft beer, only two kinds, has opened on Nimmanhamin soi 9.  It's a small hostel with a bar, the easiest way to find it is to start at Rush Bar then travel about 20 meters east and look to your left.

 

They only have IPA and wheat beer in bottles, but plan to have something (not sure what kind) on tap by the end of the week.  I'm not a fan of wheat beer but the IPA is very good.  The owner is a young Thai woman who speaks fluent American English.  The beer is 150 baht per small bottle, but she told me she will have to raise prices in December.  To legally sell the craft beer it has to be "imported" from Cambodia (I think it is brewed in Thailand and bottled in Cambodia) and the Thai government, in order to protect the crap beer duopoly, is raising the taxes on imported beer.

 

I've seen a number of businesses open and close in this location, I hope this one will succeed.

[narkeddiver]

I believe it’s called My Beer Friend

 

The music is pretty good there and they have a large variety of gin as well, which if I recall correctly gets a discount at the weekends

 

Also on Saturdays the Solar burger van should be serving there as well

 

There is also a good craft beer bar called I’m Happy near the North-East corner of the moat - they have a good selection of beers on t

[BuddyDean]

350%+ more than Heineken at Tops....should have hot, hot stripper at that price.  Mosquito's and grouchy cops more likely.  The only survivors in that Chinese ghetto are those very well connected.

 

That gets me almost as excted as free wine tasting at Food land, BKK.

[heybruce]

Obviously if your only concern in beer is price, not taste, you aren't interested in craft beer. 

 

I wonder why so many people post on topics that don't interest them.

[heybruce]

Internet problem, duplicate post.

[heybruce]

Internet problem, duplicate post.

[heybruce]

1 hour ago, narkeddiver said:

I believe it’s called My Beer Friend

 

The music is pretty good there and they have a large variety of gin as well, which if I recall correctly gets a discount at the weekends

 

Also on Saturdays the Solar burger van should be serving there as well

 

There is also a good craft beer bar called I’m Happy near the North-East corner of the moat - they have a good selection of beers on t

Yes, there was something about a weekend gin discount, 20% off I think. 

 

I didn't know about I'm Happy.  I'll check it out.  Is the steak as good as it looks in the FB page?     https://www.facebook.com/imhappycnx/

[narkeddiver]

8 hours ago, heybruce said:

Yes, there was something about a weekend gin discount, 20% off I think. 

 

I didn't know about I'm Happy.  I'll check it out.  Is the steak as good as it looks in the FB page?     https://www.facebook.com/imhappycnx/

 

I’ve not been too impressed with the food there so far but that’s not an issue as nearby (5 min walk) is RibTalk which does the best ribs I’ve had in a long time and they also serve craft beer

[heybruce]

2 hours ago, narkeddiver said:

 

I’ve not been too impressed with the food there so far but that’s not an issue as nearby (5 min walk) is RibTalk which does the best ribs I’ve had in a long time and they also serve craft beer

Another place for me to check out.  Thanks.

[millwall_fan]

To legally brew craft beer in Thailand you have to be able to brew 10 million litres a year - which no craft beer start up could possibly manage, so they brewed in Savannaket and now some have moved to Cambodia where it is brewed by Kingdom Brewery. Effectively its a Cambodian beer with a Thai label and Thai owners. That is how the government protects the 'crap beer duopoly' -slightly more subtle than you suggest Bruce, but only marginally so!

[heybruce]

34 minutes ago, millwall_fan said:

To legally brew craft beer in Thailand you have to be able to brew 10 million litres a year - which no craft beer start up could possibly manage, so they brewed in Savannaket and now some have moved to Cambodia where it is brewed by Kingdom Brewery. Effectively its a Cambodian beer with a Thai label and Thai owners. That is how the government protects the 'crap beer duopoly' -slightly more subtle than you suggest Bruce, but only marginally so!

I didn't know the full details, but obviously the goal is to protect the two big Thai brewers from competition, including homegrown competition.  It's unfortunate, there are some Thai people who know how to brew good beer.

[BuddyDean]

Tiger/Heineken certainly aren't part of any "duopoly," but nastybeer inc. has little problem keeping them off the menus and out of the stores..especially Tiger, priced less than Singha.  Heineken is the best seller in the world for a reason; it ticks a lot of boxes.

[heybruce]

13 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

Tiger/Heineken certainly aren't part of any "duopoly," but nastybeer inc. has little problem keeping them off the menus and out of the stores..especially Tiger, priced less than Singha.  Heineken is the best seller in the world for a reason; it ticks a lot of boxes.

Asahi also somehow manages to provide beer at competitive prices, but also is not as widely distributed as the Thai duopoly beers (I'm avoiding using the names due to absurd defamation laws and TV rules).  Of course Heineken, Tiger and Asahi aren't craft beers. 

 

So the duopoly manages to make life impossible for small producers and difficult for big international players. Gee, it almost looks like they have friends in government!

[BuddyDean]

I vote with my wallet and just about avoid "the two" entirely.  Always funny seeing the 11:50 pm crowd at 711 buying Leos after a 2000 THB night at Republic, etc..  Bottom line is import taxes are a ripoff....I always want to avoid them, can drink Sierras and Guiness every day for 41 THB at my parent's.  If they would just focus on hot girls and cold beers in Thailand, that would be fine, but it seems to have mostly slipped away.

[BuddyDean]

This has pretty much been the scene at a Tesco Express for the last two years.  One of the busiest intersections in the province, too.  Obviously, there is collusion to only sell "the two."  I am willing to boycott, but I just wonder how many thousand warm C & L, the craft touts have consumed, on the six days a week, they cant afford to be pretentious with their alcohol.

[heybruce]

4 hours ago, BuddyDean said:

This has pretty much been the scene at a Tesco Express for the last two years.  One of the busiest intersections in the province, too.  Obviously, there is collusion to only sell "the two."  I am willing to boycott, but I just wonder how many thousand warm C & L, the craft touts have consumed, on the six days a week, they cant afford to be pretentious with their alcohol.

I get Tiger at Tops.  It's a little more expensive than the big two, but not a lot.  It's also not great beer, just not as offensive as the what the duopoly pushes.

[BuddyDean]

43 minutes ago, heybruce said:

I get Tiger at Tops.  It's a little more expensive than the big two, but not a lot.  It's also not great beer, just not as offensive as the what the duopoly pushes.

Yep, now 2 x 116...so just a smidgen more than the duo, and it ic clearly in a different league or even Heineken at 3 x 201...10 THB more for a large H over a large L?  Almost nothing....and as Anita Bryant used to say:  not just for breakfast.  150 for a small Cambodian beer? Be my guest, but I think H & T would be the best way to hurt the culprits.

 

BTW, what happened to the Lao dark fad?  Did it lose steam..hadn't heard it mentioned lately.  Not as good as Yuengling black and tan, but also better than the duo, but then again so are Anchor and Angkor.