British Real Ale Lovers - Happy Christmas from Villa Market

[draftvader]

Keep all those delicious tasting notes coming in. They're the only thing getting me through this diet!

Sent from my phone, hence brevity and gypos

[BestBitterPhuket]

A bit off-topic, I am in Singapore now and will later enjoy some of the beer scene here. Its quite different from Thailand though.

Strong recommendations: Brewerkz brewery and restaurant. Very good and fresh beers. I can't recommend this enough. BUT come early, if not they will not run out of beer, but you will run out of money. Between 12pm - 3pm the cost of a pint is approx. 125bht. After 6pm it goes up to almost 400bht a pint!

Other places are Thirsty beershop near Brewerkz. Its a small selling only beer, mainly American, but it has a few tables and chairs for the customers to sit down and sample some of the beers from the shop.

The Cider Pit in the east coast area is run by the guy who imports Badger beers to Singapore, and of course, that beer is featured prominently.

Other places are Sque Rotissiere and Alehouse, offering 200 different beers at very high prices. Typical price is 400-450 bht for an imported bottle of beer

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Stopped by the Big C store at Ratchadamri this afternoon, and checked their beer section. Once again, seem to have a better selection than when I last looked. Even spotted single bottles of Delirium Tremens and a Tripel Karm there. Take a look, and see if you spot any of your favorites. Alas, no Rogues and no Double Chocolate Stouts. But a few worthwhile picks. And curiously, slightly better prices on Beer Lao's than Foodland at present.

PS - Had a regular can of imported Sapporo draft that I'd been saving for a while with lunch today. Last time I checked, they were selling them for 85 baht per at the small Max Value shop on the ground floor inside the RainTree Mall at about Suk Soi 47 on the main Sukhumvit Road in BKK. Pleasant brew, but nothing too special.

[GrantSmith]

A bit off-topic, I am in Singapore now and will later enjoy some of the beer scene here. Its quite different from Thailand though.

Strong recommendations: Brewerkz brewery and restaurant. Very good and fresh beers. I can't recommend this enough. BUT come early, if not they will not run out of beer, but you will run out of money. Between 12pm - 3pm the cost of a pint is approx. 125bht. After 6pm it goes up to almost 400bht a pint!

Other places are Thirsty beershop near Brewerkz. Its a small selling only beer, mainly American, but it has a few tables and chairs for the customers to sit down and sample some of the beers from the shop.

The Cider Pit in the east coast area is run by the guy who imports Badger beers to Singapore, and of course, that beer is featured prominently.

Other places are Sque Rotissiere and Alehouse, offering 200 different beers at very high prices. Typical price is 400-450 bht for an imported bottle of beer

Also check out Harry's Bar...

Do a pretty decent lager.. They also have a branch at the airport...

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Taggart]

Yes, that is the norm. You also have "milds" and some bitters with an abv of 2.8% to 3.5%. The low alcohol makes these "session beers", which means that you can enjoy many of them without getting too drunk. You can have 3 or 4 in a weekday without getting a hangover or you can have 1 or 2 without leaving your car behind. Also, alcoholic drinks are taxed according to alcohol strength, and thus making the low alcohol beers cheaper.

For me, I like the fact that I can drink many of these and enjoy the fantastic taste without getting too tipsy.

Another interesting fact is that the most popular American beers used the British beers as inspiration, such as pale ales, IPA, stout and porter, red ale etc, but they put their own spin on it by adding a lot more alcohol and very different (and more aggressive) hops. The taste of an American IPA bears little resemblance with an original IPA, but they are each good in its own way and the appeal to different people. I like American beers a lot, but I can also see that drinking too many of them is addictive, in the sense that the taste is so powerful, that they will make almost any other beer taste bland. It's like eating spicy thai food and curries every day. When you then eat some English or Japanese food, it will taste very bland.

Rogue beers are fantastic, but they have some strange ones that are less good too, like the voodoo bacon beer.

I realized I was having a problem the last few weeks.but you've pretty well hit the nail on the head with your remark about them being addictive. I'm one of the few who don't like pale ales or IPA's, so I don't drink them, but I've grown to like sweet malty beers with high abv's from any country in the world, a bit too much I'm afraid. Recently started the unwinding process by buying beers with a lower abv,and next time I'm visiting Thailand, will not be seeking out the imports, but just sticking with the Thai blonds (beer, that is). I hope eventually to get rid of this having to have "a bottle of beer a day" habit I've got myself into in recent years. Occasionally having a beer, I don't mind. I want to control it, I don't want it controlling me.

[BestBitterPhuket]

Dear ale friends,

I am back in Phuket after a round trip to Singapore and Bangkok.

Two happy news to share. Two new ales discovered in Villa Market.

1. In Villa Market in Thong Lor (Suk 55), I discovered an ale I have not yet seen in Phuket, Wadworth Henry Original IPA. There were not many bottles left, probably because of the word "IPA" on the label. This is a very light IPA, only 3.8% I think, and it gets very poor ratings on ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com, but that doesn't have to mean anything, since these webpages essentially are places of worship for American craft beers and Belgian beer. Anything English, except Fuller's, get bad review, especially if its an English IPA brewed the ORIGINAL and TRADITIONAL way, not containing 10 exotic hops and 8% alcohol like an American IPA. I like American craft beers, but I don't like American craft beer fans complaining that English beers are not "American" enough. Enough ranting.

2. I bought two cans of Well's Bombardier at Villa Market in Phuket today. 145 bht each for 500ml and at 4.3% abv. Good pricing! This is a traditional and excellent bitter, which is quite famous in UK. A great example of the style, and so much better than the Banana Bread Ale and Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale, but please try the two latter, just to see what they are. They are weird though.

On my trip to Singapore I had Badger beer on tap, at a British bar that may be the only bar in Asia serving Badger beer on tap. Correct me if I am wrong. I also had Fuller's London Pride on tap. Its more common, but still an excellent ale.I also had two ENglish beers I have never tried before, Fuller's Wild River ale, a British American fushion ale. Great! I also had Whychwood Brewery's Black Wych stout. Nice!!

I also indulged in some American style craft brews in Singapore such as Dead Guy Ale and Hazel Nut Brown Nectar from Rogue. I tried Brekle's Brown Ale and Shipyard Brewery Export Ale. Over at Brew in Bangkok, I had Dechutes River Ale and Twilight Ale. I also tried Mikeller's Beer Geek Breakfast porter or stout, which has a 100/100 score both at beeradvocate and ratebeer.com.....but it was not my favourite.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

...and so much better than the Banana Bread Ale and Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale, but please try the two latter, just to see what they are. They are weird though.

I love banana bread, and I love a good beer/ale.

But upon trying the Banana Bread Ale from Villa a week or so back (curiosity got the better of me), I found that A] it didn't taste even remotely like bananas or banana bread to me, and B] it didn't strike me as appealing in any other way.

All in all, a cute name, but an unremarkable drink, IMHO. Much better other offerings on the shelf.

[GrantSmith]

The problem with ratebeer et al is they're American centric... America or bust...

Yes the American craft beer industry is a big movement, but it is not the be all and end all of craft beer, I would go so far as saying it's not entirely suited to the climate here.

My knowledge of British ales is limited to Brew Dog but from what I've had, they're far better suited to the climate here. The same goes for Australian craft beers, which I'm well versed in.

Time will inevitably catch up and the gap between available products will narrow, which I can only see as a win for the consumer (price point not withstanding for our British friends)

Rome wasn't built in a day chaps or as Rachel Hunter once said "it won't happen overnight, but it will happen"

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Taggart]

The thing I like about ratebeer is the advanced search at the bottom of their website. Click on that and you can then proceed to look at the ratings by beer style (if you wish), by country, and then narrow it down by state, county or province (whichever the case will be).

One beer from Japan which I think would do very well in the Thailand climate would be Hitachino Nest White Ale. Loved that brew and very refreshing in the heat.

I also know from reading Michael Jackson (the beer hunter) that he seemed to have a certain fondness for some of the Japanese craft beers. Before his death, he was asked once what he thought was the worst beer in the world he had tasted and answered right away (Corona).

[BestBitterPhuket]

The thing I like about ratebeer is the advanced search at the bottom of their website. Click on that and you can then proceed to look at the ratings by beer style (if you wish), by country, and then narrow it down by state, county or province (whichever the case will be).

One beer from Japan which I think would do very well in the Thailand climate would be Hitachino Nest White Ale. Loved that brew and very refreshing in the heat.

I also know from reading Michael Jackson (the beer hunter) that he seemed to have a certain fondness for some of the Japanese craft beers. Before his death, he was asked once what he thought was the worst beer in the world he had tasted and answered right away (Corona).

Singapore has a huge Japanese expat community residing there, and they have a very good selection of Japanese craft beers. A wide range of beers from Hitachino is available in the Japanese supermarkets, especially the one in Liang Court, near Clarke Quay. I particularly like the Hitatchino Sweet Stout. Very nice!

[BestBitterPhuket]

...and so much better than the Banana Bread Ale and Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale, but please try the two latter, just to see what they are. They are weird though.

I love banana bread, and I love a good beer/ale.

But upon trying the Banana Bread Ale from Villa a week or so back (curiosity got the better of me), I found that A] it didn't taste even remotely like bananas or banana bread to me, and B] it didn't strike me as appealing in any other way.

All in all, a cute name, but an unremarkable drink, IMHO. Much better other offerings on the shelf.

They got the smell right, because it doesn't smell beer, but all banana. The problem is the taste..

[GrantSmith]

The thing I like about ratebeer is the advanced search at the bottom of their website. Click on that and you can then proceed to look at the ratings by beer style (if you wish), by country, and then narrow it down by state, county or province (whichever the case will be).

One beer from Japan which I think would do very well in the Thailand climate would be Hitachino Nest White Ale. Loved that brew and very refreshing in the heat.

I also know from reading Michael Jackson (the beer hunter) that he seemed to have a certain fondness for some of the Japanese craft beers. Before his death, he was asked once what he thought was the worst beer in the world he had tasted and answered right away (Corona).

Singapore has a huge Japanese expat community residing there, and they have a very good selection of Japanese craft beers. A wide range of beers from Hitachino is available in the Japanese supermarkets, especially the one in Liang Court, near Clarke Quay. I particularly like the Hitatchino Sweet Stout. Very nice!

Hitachino is available in Bangkok via Wishbeer commercially, but have seen it at a couple of Japanese restaurants in Thonglor. A couple of other Japanese craft ale's - I do have a fondess for them over other available beers - are also available here.

About 150 baht a can (330ml) for Yona, Aoon, Suiyoubi and Sun Sun (which is organic) from Isetan at Central World.

[draftvader]

I really rated the Yoho Brewing Company's Yona Yona that I had over Christmas. I was NOT surprised to hear it had won a huge number of awards. VERY good for the climate.

[BestBitterPhuket]

In 6 months from now, which beers will remain in Villa's product line? Well's, Young's, St Austell, Wadworth, The Beer Kitchen, Sambrooks or Hook Norton? And will Central continue to sell +300bht Shepherd's Neame?

My prediction is that Well's Bombardier and Banana Bread will remain, while the odd Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale will go. Young's Double Chocolate Stout seems to be selling well and it will continue (fortunately). I would think that St Austell will continue, as all of their ales sold out at my Villa Market, but at different times. Proper Job was sold out first, followed by Tribute, 1913 Cornish Stout and finally the Admiral Ale. Hook

Norton is selling less, but they are still selling all of their beers, but at a slower rate. I hope they will keep them because they are excellent beers all of them. The Beer Kitchen managed to sell out their IPA and wheat beer quickly and have been selling a bit of the Espresso Stout, but not the Orange Peel ale (which I liked) and the whiskey barrel aged beer. Wadworth is a different story. It is not selling as well. I have tried all of them twice, and they are all ok, but not great like St Austell or Hook Norton, or very good like Sambrooks. Due to poor sales, I believe this range will be discontinued.

As for Sambrooks, I like all three of their beers. They are very sweet with low carbonation and reminds me of the cask ales of UK. The porter has been selling well, while the other are a bit slow which is sad, because they are excellent.

How about Shepherd's Neame sold at Central at the price of a bottle of wine. The Bishop's Finger and Double Stout retails at 329bht per bottle!! Surely they can't sell many of these, but with margins of more than 200 per bottle they don't need to sell many.

[draftvader]

In 6 months? Good question. The more interesting question is will the discontinue or will they replace failing ranges. The Wadworth beers really do pale under the other 3 brewery offerings. You do wonder whether they are getting their advice from a good European/UK exporter like www.realale.com who I know are supplying some big names (i.e. Marks and Spencer own branded ale is actually Oakham CITRA....actually there is a brewer who would be welcomed at Villa!). So, subtle hints about Oakham whilst standing in Villa muttering over the Wadworth brews....you all hear that

[BestBitterPhuket]

In 6 months? Good question. The more interesting question is will the discontinue or will they replace failing ranges. The Wadworth beers really do pale under the other 3 brewery offerings. You do wonder whether they are getting their advice from a good European/UK exporter like www.realale.com who I know are supplying some big names (i.e. Marks and Spencer own branded ale is actually Oakham CITRA....actually there is a brewer who would be welcomed at Villa!). So, subtle hints about Oakham whilst standing in Villa muttering over the Wadworth brews....you all hear that

The Wadworth beers are perfectly fine if they escape comparison, and I would buy them if there was nothing else, but with Well's, Young's, St Austell, Hook Norton, Fuller's, Greene King and Sambrooks, then why buy Wadworth?

British breweries I would like to see in Phuket are Marston (rumors say its available in Bkk), Theakston, Adnams, Badger, Wold Top and Samuel Smith.

[smokie36]

Six bottles of Oakham Citra in my fridge.....soon there will be five...heh heh!

[Taggart]

What a lot of people don't realize is that Thailand's oldest micro-brewery is actually located in Khon Kaen since 1995. It's called the Kronenbrauhaus and is located in the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid Hotel. Although their blond Hell beer is fine, I much prefer the dark Dunkel which I always make a point of ordering when I'm visiting Isaan. Just absolutely love this beer. To me it tastes even better than the two imported from Germany Dunkel`s I can purchase here in Canada, Erdinger and Weihenstephaner.

Now if I can only find one of the large supermarkets in Isaan or the North which would stock a great supply of craft beers from around the world, then my next visit to these two regions of Thailand would be jolly indeed.

[BestBitterPhuket]

What a lot of people don't realize is that Thailand's oldest micro-brewery is actually located in Khon Kaen since 1995. It's called the Kronenbrauhaus and is located in the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid Hotel. Although their blond Hell beer is fine, I much prefer the dark Dunkel which I always make a point of ordering when I'm visiting Isaan. Just absolutely love this beer. To me it tastes even better than the two imported from Germany Dunkel`s I can purchase here in Canada, Erdinger and Weihenstephaner.

Now if I can only find one of the large supermarkets in Isaan or the North which would stock a great supply of craft beers from around the world, then my next visit to these two regions of Thailand would be jolly indeed.

There is nothing like fresh and well made beer. Personally, I can't recommend strongly enough Brewerkz brewery and restaurant in Singapore, which is the nearest we are to a craft brewery of high international standards. Go there between 12 - 3 pm and enjoy a price of 125bht a pint. After 6pm it's 375bht a pint.

I just had a Fuller's IPAbought at Central. It came with Fuller's new bottle design, which means it's quite fresh, even though being bottle conditioned, too fresh may not always be the best. It was really good though.

Enjoyed a Hitachino Nest beer in Phuket yesterday, which was good.

[BestBitterPhuket]

What a lot of people don't realize is that Thailand's oldest micro-brewery is actually located in Khon Kaen since 1995. It's called the Kronenbrauhaus and is located in the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid Hotel. Although their blond Hell beer is fine, I much prefer the dark Dunkel which I always make a point of ordering when I'm visiting Isaan. Just absolutely love this beer. To me it tastes even better than the two imported from Germany Dunkel`s I can purchase here in Canada, Erdinger and Weihenstephaner.

Now if I can only find one of the large supermarkets in Isaan or the North which would stock a great supply of craft beers from around the world, then my next visit to these two regions of Thailand would be jolly indeed.

There is nothing like fresh and well made beer. Personally, I can't recommend strongly enough Brewerkz brewery and restaurant in Singapore, which is the nearest we are to a craft brewery of high international standards. Go there between 12 - 3 pm and enjoy a price of 125bht a pint. After 6pm it's 375bht a pint.

I just had a Fuller's IPAbought at Central. It came with Fuller's new bottle design, which means it's quite fresh, even though being bottle conditioned, too fresh may not always be the best. It was really good though.

Enjoyed a Hitachino Nest beer in Phuket yesterday, which was good.

[draftvader]

One for the brave!!!

http://goo.gl/fbe8lj

WOW!

[GrantSmith]

One for the brave!!!

http://goo.gl/fbe8lj

WOW!

Definitely not one for those with heart conditions!

Phwoar!

That will sink you quicker than the Titanic!

I hear they've also developed a beer flavoured burger, which apparently you need to be (obviously?) over the legal drinking age to conume....

[BestBitterPhuket]

One for the brave!!!

http://goo.gl/fbe8lj

WOW!

Many purists would argue that that is not a beer, but that has always been Brewdog's style - pushing the limits. Some of their beers are very good though, while others only very weird and not good.

[balo]

No need to pay ridicilous prices for real ale.

At Friendship , S-Pattaya rd. they sell imported 0.5 l bottles from Wells, only 149 baht. Different types , my favourite is Waggle Dance.

[BestBitterPhuket]

No need to pay ridicilous prices for real ale.

At Friendship , S-Pattaya rd. they sell imported 0.5 l bottles from Wells, only 149 baht. Different types , my favourite is Waggle Dance.

That is a fantastic price for a 0,5l premium beer. Waggle Dance is quite similar to Fuller's Honey Dew beer, which is also a beer with honey. I don't like Belgian beers very much, but with one exception, the Barbar honey beer weighing in at 8% abv. It's sold at Wine Connection.

[balo]

No need to pay ridicilous prices for real ale.

At Friendship , S-Pattaya rd. they sell imported 0.5 l bottles from Wells, only 149 baht. Different types , my favourite is Waggle Dance.

That is a fantastic price for a 0,5l premium beer. Waggle Dance is quite similar to Fuller's Honey Dew beer, which is also a beer with honey. I don't like Belgian beers very much, but with one exception, the Barbar honey beer weighing in at 8% abv. It's sold at Wine Connection.

Yes Waggle Dance is made with honey, very drinkable beer . They also sell Wells Bombardier premium bitter 0.5l, very tasty beer, perfect to drink with spicy food.

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[draftvader]

No need to pay ridicilous prices for real ale.

At Friendship , S-Pattaya rd. they sell imported 0.5 l bottles from Wells, only 149 baht. Different types , my favourite is Waggle Dance.

That is a fantastic price for a 0,5l premium beer. Waggle Dance is quite similar to Fuller's Honey Dew beer, which is also a beer with honey. I don't like Belgian beers very much, but with one exception, the Barbar honey beer weighing in at 8% abv. It's sold at Wine Connection.

Yes Waggle Dance is made with honey, very drinkable beer . They also sell Wells Bombardier premium bitter 0.5l, very tasty beer, perfect to drink with spicy food.

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

The Bombardier is a great session beer but I have to admit that I find the Waggle Dance a touch insipid when put next to Fuller's Organic Honey Dew. None the less the Bombardier find is excellent news for those near Pattaya...which I am, sadly on this occasion, not

[Taggart]

One imported beer I'll definitely be on the lookout for next time I visit Thailand is Guinness Foreign Extra Stout brewed in Dublin. They won't import it where I live here in Canada, and even when I sent an e-mail to the Guinness head office kindly requesting they do so, they basically answered no. Been hoping to try this brew at least once for the last few years, but still haven't seen it. There may be light at the end of the tunnel. The latest review at ratebeer said they had found it at a 7/11 somewhere in Bangkok, so there is still hope. User gave it a 9 out of 10 for taste. Mostly high marks there from other beer drinkers as well.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That would be quite a surprise. AFAIK, there hasn't been any Guinness sold via any retail store outlets in Thailand for some years -- though it did used to be available here.

I'm not a big 7/11 beer shopper, but I can't recall ever even seeing any imported beers stocked by a 7/11 in Bangkok.

[GrantSmith]

That would be quite a surprise. AFAIK, there hasn't been any Guinness sold via any retail store outlets in Thailand for some years -- though it did used to be available here.

I'm not a big 7/11 beer shopper, but I can't recall ever even seeing any imported beers stocked by a 7/11 in Bangkok.

Isn't Guiness contract brewed here by APB or something? Like almost every other "import" commercial beer...

EDIT - yes it is... http://www.tapb.co.th/en/brands

EDIT 2 - sorry, it's actually imported, not contract brewed at least according to the website...