Taiwan Beer is a story of a nation, a people. Its success is not marked by the changes of brewmasters or marketing strategy, but rather evolved with the struggle of the place, its identity, and the people’s strong connection with it.

In 1919, during the Japanese Colonial Era (1895-1945), the first beer brewery in Taiwan was set up in Taipei by a Japanese company. Now at the heart of Taipei, it was once surrounded by miles of rice fields that stretched to the Yangming Mountains. The brewery imported cobble tanks and other equipment from Germany, and produced a unique pilsner style beer that would intrigue locals’ unexplored palates for beers.

The original brewery established in 1919. Taipei

Taiwan was restored to Taiwanese people from Japan in 1945, and the brewery was taken over by the government. Appropriately, the brand was changed from Takasago Beer to Taiwan Beer, and began a steady domestic growth, eventually expanding into the international market. In the U.S. market in 80s, Taiwan Beer was once labeled as “China Beer”, a result of the pressure from mainland China – one of the numerous examples of Taiwan negotiating just what name it could be called.

The label was once changed to "China Beer" for US market

After the Government’s Monopoly Bureau passed into history in 2002, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation took over the famed brewery’s operations. With over 100 beer brands in the Taiwanese market today, 85% of domestic consumption is still of Taiwan Beer.

Rice is to Taiwanese as bread is to westerners. It’s the main grain they eat, and is as varied in quality as any other grain. To cultivate high quality rice grains with abundant nuances that make three happy meals a day, has been a focus of Taiwanese agriculture for the past century. And they are proud of their rice. It is this embrace of rice as a high quality staple of everyday life rather than as a cheap adjunct which distinguishes Taiwan Beer from European and American style pilsners. It’s also the reason why it pairs better with most rice, noodle and fish dishes than its American and European cousins. The recipe for the classic Taiwan Beer calls for the heavenly Ponlai rice, which provides its unique balance of the crisp pilsner tradition with the almost rounded, more floral characteristics found in some sakes.

The original cobble tanks from Germany are still in the facility

This September I took a tour of the original brewery in Taipei which has been protected by the government for its historical architecture and continues to produce a small amount of beer today. In this humble facility, the cosmopolitan mixture of the Japanese colonial, the respect for European traditional ingredients and techniques combine with the Taiwanese brewing team’s ongoing devotion to what has become a national treasure. Growing up in Taiwan, we all recall the many nights of drinking Taiwan Beer at seafood stalls on the sidewalk, with BBQ on Moon Festival, chatting with friends until sunrise. That flavor and pride contributed to what had happened on all those occasions. To this day, now living in NYC amongst the exploding craft brew movement, when it comes to blind tasting on beers, it’s that subtle balanced smoothness and distinct fragrance that remains unforgettable: “..this one is made in Taiwan.”

                                                                                                      - By Ming Chan

The original brewery maintains a small production today. Taipei

ABOUT THE BEER

Abv: 4.5% Abv
Made with finely chosen imported malt and hop and top quality locally exclusive Ponlai rice. They are mixed to the best ratio and brewed with bottom fermentation yeast in low temperature

Awards:
International Monde Selection
Brewing Industry International Awards

Food pairings: noodle or rice dishes, pork bun, dumpling, sushi

Other helpful links:
Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation   http://en.ttl.com.tw/
Taiwan  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan

The tour begins in their cellar, where German winemaker Kathrin Puff offers an in-depth look at the winemaking process complete with barrel samples and a taste of their top-end wines…Ending where the winemaking process begins, the floating vineyards add a uniquely Thai air, though you won’t find any vines literally floating in the canals built to help irrigate the land during monsoon season. Essential items include your camera and a few words of Thai to converse with the viticulturist. Nearby the famous floating markets await to further fill your memory card.

Sounds dandy. You can go ahead and read the rest here. If you’re in Thailand and want to tour the vineyards for yourself, book a tour on their website and tell them we sent you.

At Siam Winery, a tour offers an in-depth look at the winemaking process complete with barrel samples and a taste of their top-end wines.

If you have a fear of flying and want to try the Monsoon Valley Wines from Thailand, go to your better Thai restaurants and ask for it!

Yeah duhh, lady!

back slapped by ginger!

There’s also an entertaining Godzilla clip in there as a visual aid to the author’s description of what a good ginger ale tastes like, but our favorite description is, “tastes like drinking pins and needles, like drinking down a sneeze”. Yes!

Did you read it? Our favorite Bruce Cost Fresh Ginger, Ginger Ale gets the accolades.

Run out and get your Fresh Gigner, Ginger Ale at Dean & Deluca’s across the city.

a toast to all the nagas

Meet Monsoon’s winemaker Katherine Puff who will talk you through a 5 meal course at Bed Supperclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11.

If you’re not in Bangkok right now, you can always go to a Thai restaurant and pretend.

From the review:

The wine list is mercifully priced, and the most interesting bottle comes from Thailand: a Monsoon Valley red ($29) blended from Shiraz and the indigenous Pokdum grape. The color is pale and the taste is brittle and slightly sour—and the bouquet will surely change your mind when it comes to matching Thai food and beverages. Spicy food eaters: You can now throw away your whites!

all 7 flavors

We just got all 7 flavors of this awesome soda in from Seattle this week. If you’re not familiar with DRY Soda, it’s just as sounds- an adult gourmet soda without all that sweet sticky gunk.

It’s a low calorie, low sugar, all natural, soda coming in seven genuinely unique flavors: Lavender, Lemongrass, Blood Orange, Rhubarb, Juniper Berry, Vanilla Bean and Cucumber.

ever drink a cucumber before?

These home-grown soda makers are keeping the count down low…each 12oz. bottle has just 45 – 70 calories and 11 – 19 grams of cane sugar! The result…less sweet and more fruit, flower and herbal flavors!

The packaging is nice too, isn’t it?

Check out a recent interview with DRY Soda’s creator, Sharelle Klaus and the DRY Soda site for more deets.

Which one will you try first?

Call us for an order today!

Each bottle of sake we carry came alive as faces and personalities painted a third dimension to the one-dimensional view of each brewery and its environment our palates delineated. It’s like seeing a movie after reading the book, but actually fulfilling and even enlightening. Actually, it’s probably more like reading the book after watching the half-assed movie adaptation…you get the idea.

Between the sake-induced nights and hazy Shinkansen dreams, there will probably be a few random posts about lost meals and missed trains, but here are quick links to the core of the trip- the sake breweries:

Hakuyou Brewery, Fukushima prefecture
Senkoma Brewery, Fukushima prefecture
Tsukinowa Brewery, Iwate prefecture
Nakagawa Brewery, Tottori prefecture
Housui Brewery, Tokushima prefecture

The brewing process is structurally similar throughout the breweries visited, but they all differentiate from one another in style and artistry. Half the joy is talking to them about it, and the other half is drinking their craft. Pick up a bottle and enjoy!