Fresh off my virgin trip to BKK I've learned a thing or two I didn't pick up here on CH - like it's impossible to find an American beer in BKK go-gos. Ok, I admit it - I'm a beer wimp. I've always had a fickle palate, and I DON'T like heavy ales. I tried Singha, and found it downright bitter. The omnipresent Heineken I can stomach, but it certainly isn't my first choice.

They have American everything else in BKK - why can't I just get a Bud?

omg-- thatg's the first time I've heard someone complain about no bug-- i mean bud.

Hey, I'll take Sam Adams, Rolling Rock, whatever. But something other than Singha or Heineken...please!

I enjoy alternating between water, singhaaaahhh, and orange juice.

Sammy would be nice, but imagine my guy after 20/d * 20d (400 brews). BURP!

I usually drink Corona in Thailand as I do not like Sing or Heineken either. I actually saw Bud in a few bars this trip, but like Corona it's friggin expensive because there is no in country bottler. Corona is 160-180 baht per bottle . Bud was the same. Huge import tax on liquor in LOS. If it's got a tax stamp on the bottle- you're gonna pay thru the nose.

I have a preference for good old English "Real Ale", nothing beats it in this world for me.

I do not rate Heineken, Carlsburg or any of the other US or European beers they have there. My normal drink was Singa Gold which for a lager I quite liked, unfortunately it they seemed to have stopped brewing it! Can any one confirm this please?

I have to agree wholeheartedly, the beer selection sucks in Thailand. I usually drink Heineken there but I don't really like it much as far as beer goes. I can't stand Singha. I suppose I should go with Corona but it reminds me to much of TJ which is a place I am trying to forget while I am in Thailand. It's odd because all of the surrounding countries have decent local brews. I'm not to picky and am very happy with Angkor Beer in Cambodia, Bier Laru in Vietnam, Tigar Beer in Singapore and most other regional countries, San Miguel in PI or Bintang Beer in Indonesia. Beer Lao is one of my all time favorites. All of the surrounding countries have decent beer but then there is Thailand and all the local beer sucks.

WW-- a man after my own tastes. Imagine if one could find a decent bitter in LoS...!

Don Marco

If things go to plan I will be spending at least 6 months in LOS from 2006 I will miss very little of good old England except decent tea which you can sometimes find there and Real Ale which I have never found anything approaching a Fullers ESB, Youngs Special, Dogs Bollocks or Old Speckled Hen. That I will miss very much, but my waistline and liver will not!

Beer Lao is the best in Asia but not sold in Thailand for some strange reason. I would rank Singha in the same arena as San Mig or Bintang. They are all pretty decent. I would much rather drink a local beer than a Heinekken or Carlsberg...yuck. Angkor and Beer Lao are exceptional and are nearly as good as the reign supreme Japanese beers(Asahi and Kirin). I like the crispness of Asian beers and find them superior to European beers....I know beer snobs may scoff at that but I think the best beers are made in Japan not Germany or Holland. Matter of fact my favorite beer is Steinlager which I believe is made in New Zealand. The big American beer companies make panther piss but the microbreweries make some of the best beer in the world, most notably in Portland, San Luis Obispo and yes..San Diego.

Blazers, thanks for the rec-- I haven't tried Beer Lao yet. I'll see if I can find some later this month.

WW
You are correct. Sing Gold has gone the way of the dinosaur. I do not drink beer myself , which is why I drink Corona. It does't taste like beer. More like citrus flavored water with the lime squeezed in it. I cannot imagine what Corona light must taste like.

Beer Chang seems to be taking Thailand by storm, and Tiger beer is making a huge splash in the bars in BKK at least.

KM

Beer Chang was my replacement for Singa Gold, I do prefer it to Singha, but when I finaly get out there for good in 2005/6 I will be sampling everything to find a new favourite.

BEERS IN BKK - Unfortunately Carlsberg is still not available here in LOS and missed by quite a lot of people. Heineken remains by far the biggest seller in the farang bars, followed by Singha. The Thais stopped Singha Gold production but I heard that you are still served it on Thai Airways flights; just ask a flight attendant for Singha Gold it comes in cans.

We have widened our beer range at Hollywood, we now sell Heineken, Kloster, Singha, Chang and Tiger. There are some other special beers too including Corona and English Tetley Bitter. The Japanese beer Asahi was a flop!

Regarding English bitter in BKK I do have some news - TETLEY DRAUGHT is available in specially imported cans in some bars around BKK. I think Big Dogs and some Nana Plaza bars still sell it. It is more expensive because it is imported but it is the original English bitter. Aussie VB or Victoria bitter is quite a good drink, although different to our bitter. English style pubs like The Huntsman (Landmark Hotel) and the Londoner do sell bitter but I have not tested it out myself yet.

Dave...I've heard we don't see American beer because the cost of importing it is expensive. Do you think Bud, Bud Light would flop as well?

Dave the Rave,

You are right Carlsberg is missed by many including myself. I tend to drink the Heineken now. I miss the bar girls saying "Carlsberg for you na". Not sure if this is true, but Sigha Gold is actually a "light beer". Kloster is ok, but really do not enjoy the Sigha or Chang although it is very strong and does the trick if you want to catch a quick buzz. For now I'll just stick with the Heinekan.

Cheers,

Jokerman

Hi Solid, I really wish somebody would import Budweiser, because I worked in nightclubs in the UK and it was the number one seller in most places. I think Budweiser would be popular in LOS but could we get it at a reasonable price, this is the question. Imported beers tend to be very expensive and some guys complain about the cost of our regular beers now. I asked my supplier several times for Budweiser but no luck so far.

Jokerman - There was a report about Chang beer that it is not only strong but contains a few chemicals, this is why I have stopped drinking it. The local ex-pats call it "loony juice" and I have to agree. Chang is the only beer that (even as a bar manager) I recommend people steer clear of.

BEERS IN BKK - I just checked with my secretary and she confirmed that Budweiser is just far too expensive. Corona is expensive to buy in but Bud would be considerably more, so for now it is not practical. Often the bar owners are blaimed for high prices but the suppliers are selling imported beers at a very high price to begin with. However all is not lost, there are some new beers so people can experiment. Victoria Bitter (Aussie VB) is different, Corona is quite popular, Tetley English Bitter is available, real Guiness and Kilkenny are on sale in pubs and ex-pat bars, and Tiger is now widely available here. Some bars are also selling Aussie Fosters lager, so there is quite a good range of different beers.

Isn't San Miguel now available in Thailand? SM Light would be a welcome addition, and ANYTHING coming out of the Philippines has gotta be CHEAP!

Thanks for the research Dave. I don't mind paying the higher price of a Corona in Thailand, but if Bud is going to cost more than I'll stick with the Corona.

Hi Porker & Solid, I really wish the beer suppliers here would get their f*ckin' act together. I have been screaming for San Miguel for ages. There is supposed to be a factory in Rayong (near Pattaya) but no luck so far. Us Brits know San miguel from our holidays to Spain and islands like Majorca/Ibiza, etc. It is an excellent little beer, I will make more noise about this one! NB. Go into Villa Supermarket and you can buy some of these imported beers like Budweiser. They are expensive but you could stock up your hotel freezer with various imported beers from all around the globe. I'll let you know what is available but I'm dodging the water war at the moment!

Hey Dave, I wonder how well those beers would sell if you got them from the supermarket and stocked a fair number of imports? That could be a nice specialty (if you've got adequate cooler space) - "Best beer selection in Nana Plaza". Not sure if the beer sales would be that lucrative, but it might draw people in.

Hi Phoenixguy, we have thought about it many times but we would have to sell these special beers at around a hefty 200 baht. Great idea in theory but it's not practical because expensive beers tie up a lot of money in holding stock. If we have a Club Hombre party at Hollywood we could hand out some free Budweisers if one of the guys could bring a case of cans over.

Thanks for the idea because it might be worth me stocking a limited amount of imported beers for special occasions, I will ask the Boss and see what he thinks. I tried "English Tetley Bitter" which was expensive to buy in and sales were very poor. Same with Japanese Asahi.

Hope you sold your stockpile of Asahi to the Rainbow group. Would be huge sellers there. I am glad 2 hear that you stock Corona although it costs 4 times as much there as here.

San Mig and San Mig Lite would be a huge seller I'm sure. I enjoy San Mig Lite when in AC.

Khun Mor, I'm still working on the imported beers issue and I might even buy some bloody beers myself. I love the place but LOS can be so backward sometimes, even with all the "Amazing Thailand" promotions, they can't get basics right like beer imports. Regular beers at Hollywood are 125 baht and Corona is 170 baht. The suppliers prices are killing us!

A lot of bars and gogos seem to do draught beer at about 60B a glass all day and night, in bars happy hours can be had for as low as 50B a bottle, but check on the times for these.