Will the price of beer, wine and spirits go up?

[superal]

18 hours ago, fruitman said:

The girls are much cheaper in Germany these days, the beer sure is, the saucages are much better, taxi's are very good and safe.

 

Thailand is far overpriced now and they even can't speak english. Ordered a cheeseburger set today in the MAC, had to say it 3 times and they still didn't know what i wanted.....what a shame..

 

19 hours ago, fruitman said:

The girls are much cheaper in Germany these days, the beer sure is, the saucages are much better, taxi's are very good and safe.

 

Thailand is far overpriced now and they even can't speak english. Ordered a cheeseburger set today in the MAC, had to say it 3 times and they still didn't know what i wanted.....what a shame..

but ease up on the Mac staff , we are in their country . Are you a German guy speaking English ? I am English and often cannot understand some of my own countrymen , especially broad Scottish , Irish and Geordies . BTW I can speak some Thai but often I am not understood either .

                               Beer I can buy in the UK ,  4% lager works out at 26 baht for a 440 ml can if bought in a pack of 20 for 12 pounds . Many red wines 75cl at 260 baht a bottle . Given the wages here drinking is out of reach for the basic earner .I would imagine that German guys are used to a high quality beer from their own country and must be disappointed with Thai beers .Finally I was told recently that Heineken in the can was being copied in Cambodia and  getting into Thailand .

                            Nearly 17 00 hrs and time for my first beer of the day .    Cheers

[superal]

9 minutes ago, Brer Fox said:

Yes is the short answer. I have lived in both countries for the past ten or so years but mostly nowadays in Vietnam for personal preferences, (modest older style condo in Bang Kapi, BKK 6,000 THB/mth and a large villa house 4 beds, 3 bath, not far from Hanoi 15,000 THB/mth) I would say overall the cost of living in Vietnam is at least 50% cheaper than Thailand. Good hotel in Hanoi for 800 THB/night. The only thing that might be more expensive than Thailand would be home leasing and even then it would not seriously more.

Food at the local markets is next to nothing. e.g. tomatoes 30 THB/kg, large cauliflower 45 THB, apples 100 THB/kg, pork and chicken is dirt cheap, lean beef mince at BigC 200 THB/kg. 

As for visas; Thailand is a nightmare while Vietnam is dream. Just got my marriage exemption visa for five years - US$10. First renewal due at the local office after 6 months and thereafter every 12 months. Very little paperwork to get the visa and no going in and out for extensions/annual renewals and no providing of evidence of money in the bank or income. Twelve month, no strings multiple entry visas can be had through an agent for about US200-250. Employment visas easy.

Entertainment is an personal thing. There are no Pattayas or Nanas or Walking Streets (that I know of anyway) but plenty of excellent restaurants and bars. In my opinion Vietnam is basically violence free and a much safer country to live in (no face loss problems like Thailand) and certainly no guns or knives. Any local causing trouble/assault on foreigners is in deep, deep trouble. Never any hassles from the police or authorities who are always very respectful. A very friendly people. 

Thanks for the reply , very interesting 

[Grouse]

If some gets some facts, please let us know

 

All kinds of rumours circulating including minister responsible has been fired?

 

Price of booze is certainly much cheaper up country than the tourist areas. Draft beer is about double the UK price here in Phuket. 

[DrTuner]

So, how does the climate around here lend itself to malting barley and growing hops?

[AGareth2]

there are some nice 25l drinking water containers

[fruitman]

1 hour ago, superal said:

 

but ease up on the Mac staff , we are in their country . Are you a German guy speaking English ? I am English and often cannot understand some of my own countrymen , especially broad Scottish , Irish and Geordies . BTW I can speak some Thai but often I am not understood either .

                               Beer I can buy in the UK ,  4% lager works out at 26 baht for a 440 ml can if bought in a pack of 20 for 12 pounds . Many red wines 75cl at 260 baht a bottle . Given the wages here drinking is out of reach for the basic earner .I would imagine that German guys are used to a high quality beer from their own country and must be disappointed with Thai beers .Finally I was told recently that Heineken in the can was being copied in Cambodia and  getting into Thailand .

                            Nearly 17 00 hrs and time for my first beer of the day .    Cheers

No i'm not German but i can speak it as well without any accents, just like i can speak the Queens English. I also don't understand Scottish or Irish or Welsh and i just tell them. It's not my fault they can't speak proper english, i also had to learn it.

 

I just ordered: One cheeseburger set please and he had no idea what i wanted...He should learn that for gods sake, hamburger, cheeseburger, french fries that's about all they sell there in the Mac and yes it's an american restaurant so they should respect that. Also Bangkok is not Nakhon Nowhere so before they come to work here some basic english is needed for jobs like that or they should stay at the ricefields.

 

I also speak thai and made fun of him in Thai. Many ladies were laughing loud when i did so.

 

Beer is much cheaper in Europe, also much better. It starts at 10 baht for a can i believe...in the supermarkets. Heineken also is cheap bad beer in Europe but the Thai think it's hiso to drink that. Paulaner, Erdinger and Hoegaarden,  Palm are decent beers, no headaches from that in any amount but i don't drink anymore in Thailand and lost 10kg.  Only sangsom/coke i like at parties.

 

I know Thai sell a lot of fake brandname alcohol and maybe that's why so many Westerners commit suicide here and jump from buildings and so. There must be a reason the fake stuff is forbidden in Europe. It will come to Thailand much more if they increase the price for alcohol. 

Outside large constructionsites they sell laokao openly in JW-bottles...like the police doesn't see that or what? I saw a stand right on the pavement selling it in Sathorn BKK. 

 

But also cigarettes are bad in Thailand, taxfree fags like Lucky Strike or Benson and Hedges are much better and don't burn so fast.

Those cost much more in Europe though.

 

The whole problem is that Thailand likes to increase prices all the time but the service and quality only goes downwards. There will be a moment where tourists go elsewhere or just stay home...Spain is much closer for us and also cheaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[petedk]

11 hours ago, rott said:

Disagree that it is much the same as UK prices here, in most parts of the country it is still comfortably below two quid a pint even at current exchange rates. I am talking bar prices not supermarket or 7. But I agree that compared to the average income it is pricey, beer drinking (while increasing in popularity) is still a minority thing for Thais, the cheap whisky is still the drink for most.

 

Outside of Bangkok and the resorts draught beer is dearer than bottles which confuses me. One place I go in had draught Leo for 180 a litre and 630ml bottles at 70. As our American cousins say "go figure".

I am confused.

 

180 quid for for draught leo compared with 2 quid in most parts upcountry.

Bangkok is expensive.

 

 

[rott]

56 minutes ago, petedk said:

I am confused.

 

180 quid for for draught leo compared with 2 quid in most parts upcountry.

Bangkok is expensive.

 

 

I do not understand your confusion Pete.

 

In most ordinary/average bars here a 620ml bottle of Leo varies between 65/80 baht.

Not many bars here do draught but one that did over Christmas/New Year charged 180 for 1000ml (1 litre). Like I said draught around here is more expensive than bottles. 

 

Yes Central Bangkok can be very expensive. A 330ml bottle between 90/160, but a lot of places do specials on draught 500ml for 120.

 

Hope you are now less confused.

 

And i did not say 180 quid for draught Leo, I was quoting a baht pricee

 

 

[superal]

4 hours ago, fruitman said:

No i'm not German but i can speak it as well without any accents, just like i can speak the Queens English. I also don't understand Scottish or Irish or Welsh and i just tell them. It's not my fault they can't speak proper english, i also had to learn it.

 

I just ordered: One cheeseburger set please and he had no idea what i wanted...He should learn that for gods sake, hamburger, cheeseburger, french fries that's about all they sell there in the Mac and yes it's an american restaurant so they should respect that. Also Bangkok is not Nakhon Nowhere so before they come to work here some basic english is needed for jobs like that or they should stay at the ricefields.

 

I also speak thai and made fun of him in Thai. Many ladies were laughing loud when i did so.

 

Beer is much cheaper in Europe, also much better. It starts at 10 baht for a can i believe...in the supermarkets. Heineken also is cheap bad beer in Europe but the Thai think it's hiso to drink that. Paulaner, Erdinger and Hoegaarden,  Palm are decent beers, no headaches from that in any amount but i don't drink anymore in Thailand and lost 10kg.  Only sangsom/coke i like at parties.

 

I know Thai sell a lot of fake brandname alcohol and maybe that's why so many Westerners commit suicide here and jump from buildings and so. There must be a reason the fake stuff is forbidden in Europe. It will come to Thailand much more if they increase the price for alcohol. 

Outside large constructionsites they sell laokao openly in JW-bottles...like the police doesn't see that or what? I saw a stand right on the pavement selling it in Sathorn BKK. 

 

But also cigarettes are bad in Thailand, taxfree fags like Lucky Strike or Benson and Hedges are much better and don't burn so fast.

Those cost much more in Europe though.

 

The whole problem is that Thailand likes to increase prices all the time but the service and quality only goes downwards. There will be a moment where tourists go elsewhere or just stay home...Spain is much closer for us and also cheaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Fruitman ,  good reply , however I still disagree with you on the language scenario but each to their own , sad world if we all thought the same .

[superal]

6 hours ago, natway09 said:

Mr BIG, you hit the nail on the head.

How are they going to tax Lao Khao which has a very high  alcohol  content & kills thousands of Thais a year

with liver & kidney disease through abuse.I have lost 3 Thai mates) It still remains dirt cheap.

Cannot see the logic but the producers of this poison must be concerned as the village drunks should be.

I look forward to seeing a large price increase in the price of Lao Khao.

As to the local ale I enjoy Chang Draught & Tiger Light so I will not be a Farang moaner.

 

Please tell me where you can buy Chang Draught which I used to enjoy , I thought it was no longer produced , now only Chang Classic ?

[redwinecheese]

13 minutes ago, superal said:

Chang

Chang is made of rice not malt...imagine Jasmine Thai rice I rather stop drinking if there was no beer but Change...

[chickenslegs]

3 minutes ago, redwinecheese said:

Chang is made of rice not malt...imagine Jasmine Thai rice I rather stop drinking if there was no beer but Change...

Malting is just a process that is used in the brewing industry to develop grain (basically grass seed) into an ingredient of beer (and other alcoholic products).

 

Some beers are made with malted rice, some with malted wheat and others with malted barley ( I expect there are other malted grains used to produce beers).

 

My personal preference is for beers made with roasted malted barley (stout), but there are some very good wheat beers and rice beers on the supermarket shelves - for example, Beer Lao Gold, Kirin, and all the expensive German, Belgian and Eastern European beers.

 

Unfortunately (IMHO), most Thai beers are just not up to scratch - and that is due to the duopoly system in Thailand which does not encourage the two established brewers to create quality and variety.

 

I hope that this will change - I would really like to support a good quality, locally produced beer as I did back in my home country.

 

If you are ever in Stoke-on-Trent (UK)  make sure to visit one of the "Titanic brewery" pubs - you will not regret it.

 

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

฿

15 hours ago, rott said:

Disagree that it is much the same as UK prices here, in most parts of the country it is still comfortably below two quid a pint even at current exchange rates. I am talking bar prices not supermarket or 7. But I agree that compared to the average income it is pricey, beer drinking (while increasing in popularity) is still a minority thing for Thais, the cheap whisky is still the drink for most.

 

Outside of Bangkok and the resorts draught beer is dearer than bottles which confuses me. One place I go in had draught Leo for 180 a litre and 630ml bottles at 70. As our American cousins say "go figure".

I think it depends where in the UK you compare, in some places a pint of Carling in a pub can still be had for under £3.30 (about ฿140), of course things in London are different, as they are out of Bangkok. My local bar in downtown Bangkok Singha small bottles are ฿80, making a pint about £3.75.

I think the draught beer price you mention is just another TIT problem, ฿40 a litre extra is a lot for haulage. I don't drink the draught unless it's on offer for a Beer Tower.

cheers.

 

[chickenslegs]

27 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

฿

I think it depends where in the UK you compare, in some places a pint of Carling in a pub can still be had for under £3.30 (about ฿140), of course things in London are different, as they are out of Bangkok. My local bar in downtown Bangkok Singha small bottles are ฿80, making a pint about £3.75.

I think the draught beer price you mention is just another TIT problem, ฿40 a litre extra is a lot for haulage. I don't drink the draught unless it's on offer for a Beer Tower.

cheers.

 

I think it is fair to compare the price of Carling lager in the UK to the price of Singha, Chang (etc.) here. The quality is about the same.

 

But, some Thai brands are marketing their lagers as "premium beer" - they must think we are stupid.

[wakeupplease]

Will the price go up, No not a chance the boys at the top will adsorb the tax hike you can be sure of that. NOT

 

I hear a bottle of Vodka (half decent) is only $7 in Cambodia, and beer (hate the stuff) 2 for 1 in some places, cigs under a quid and easy to get a visa with people who welcome you. Um interesting, but lets keep the scum out please

[maoro2013]

On 27/02/2017 at 3:41 PM, Bluespunk said:

No, the question is, how much above and beyond the tax increase will be passed onto the consumers?

 

I'm sure it will all be. If there is in fact a tax increase, the articles so far are really  vague so we don't know what is going on. Do you think that the manufacturers or middlemen are going to suffer?

[daveAustin]

23 hours ago, rott said:

Disagree that it is much the same as UK prices here, in most parts of the country it is still comfortably below two quid a pint even at current exchange rates. I am talking bar prices not supermarket or 7.

Comparing apples and oranges there mucker; a pint of real draft ale, stout or larger to, what, a large bottle of freakin Chang or Leo. C'mon! But this is about tax on alcohol in general, and at the supermarket level, and when taking choice of beers, Thailand should be embarrassed with itself. In your average Thai town, choice vs taste vs price is worse than it has ever been. Thais love to socialise and drink but they are been stifled by a decrepit bunch of old men making sweeping decisions.

[rott]

Was not comparing with real ale or stout, they are obviously very different things to Thai beer, but I don't really notice any great difference between local stuff and average lager. At current exchange rates ale prices for Brits are not going to look good jn many places. Can't really comment on supermarket prices as I almost never drink at home, basically a bar-stool wallah. Not saying Thai beer is great but it is drinkable and I don't know of many who blank it when they are here.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

14 hours ago, maoro2013 said:

I'm sure it will all be. If there is in fact a tax increase, the articles so far are really  vague so we don't know what is going on. Do you think that the manufacturers or middlemen are going to suffer?

I think you missed the point, how much extra will go on the price after the tax... UK always had (until a couple of years ago) a 3-5p a pint hike in the March budget and the breweries would double it and blame the hike in diesel or some other excuse.

[piewarmer]

On 2/28/2017 at 1:47 PM, SiamBeast said:

Why not a sugary beverage tax? Like this:

http://www.philly.com/philly/infographics/383217911.html

 

Thais are not educated enough to differentiate between a healthy beverage, and a sugary drink. Hitting them in the wallet would do the trick.

Agree, make sugar beverages very expensive to stop the spiraling diabetes rate here.

[Denim]

Apparently, the stronger the degree of alcohol ,the greater the tax rise.

 

Gonna hit Lao Khao drinkers pretty hard.

 

Time to google Ali baba and invest in a cheap Chinese still package.Moonshine will be coming your way pretty soon.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Just now, Denim said:

Apparently, the stronger the degree of alcohol ,the greater the tax rise.

 

Gonna hit Lao Khao drinkers pretty hard.

 

Time to google Ali baba and invest in a cheap Chinese still package.Moonshine will be coming your way pretty soon.

At last, Lao Khao Premium...!

[Denim]

2 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

At last, Lao Khao Premium...!

 

You mean I can get something stronger than 40 degrees ?

Are we talking petrol or diesel ?

 

I knew our unused spare bedroom would come in handy one day. Went to my regular ma and pa store tonight and could hardly get in as the whole place was stacked full of beer and hooch. Can't beat them join them.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

14 minutes ago, Denim said:

 

You mean I can get something stronger than 40 degrees ?

Are we talking petrol or diesel ?

 

I knew our unused spare bedroom would come in handy one day. Went to my regular ma and pa store tonight and could hardly get in as the whole place was stacked full of beer and hooch. Can't beat them join them.

They just put the tax on aviation fuel up, so I guess it's gasohol...

[Shaunduhpostman]

 As much as I enjoy my beer and wine, I will not put up with that and I will simply stop drinking if it actually does come down to that. That or just brew my own. There are mail order suppliers in country of everything you need to brew your own beers. Just need to invest in some mash pots and a brew fridge as room temperatures are too high to brew most beers here. Works out to about 30 baht a pint, expensive for home brewing, but if you want a nice pale ale, a 400 baht craft brew pint looks to be setting you back 800 baht after the new tax , so 30 baht + your own elbow grease does not look so bad.

[maoro2013]

10 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

I think you missed the point, how much extra will go on the price after the tax... UK always had (until a couple of years ago) a 3-5p a pint hike in the March budget and the breweries would double it and blame the hike in diesel or some other excuse.

I didn't miss the point at all. I was actually saying that the articles are so vague that they are so far meaningless.

 

Yes if there is an increase, in one post mentioned a tax on the retail price, well this means a tax on a tax on a tax, as there is already excise and VAT.

 

Furthermore retailers will maintain their margin, so sure prices will go up more than the base tax increase.

[55Jay]

This country is engineered around a religion that discourages drinking alcohol.  There will be a public outcry but not much and not for too long as the underlying religious guilt trip squelches dissent.   The equivalent of a Catholic sin tax.

[ratcatcher]

3 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

This country is engineered around a religion that discourages drinking alcohol.  There will be a public outcry but not much and not for too long as the underlying religious guilt trip squelches dissent.   The equivalent of a Catholic sin tax.

Three sentences with perfect syntax.

[ek372]

I'm not a nanny state fan myself but it seems that Thailand wants to catch up with other countries, increase alcohol taxes and probably ban alcohol advertising.

 

Luxuries like imported wines and beers are of course expensive already, but I am astonished at how cheap Thai made spirits are here.

[nard]

On ‎27‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 9:08 PM, dinsdale said:

Jail

 

I just looked up the law and penalties myself.

it's 6 months jail for producing liquor.

for producing beer for your own consumption=200baht fine ??