Taiwan Beer commercial

a throwback to the ’80s maybe… but it’s definitely a contemporary feelgood ad:

Taiwan Beer in Chicago

Taiwan Beer turned some heads in the windy city! Check it out:

read the full story here.

Made In Taiwan

Most beers with a long history originate from a story of an individual, a family.

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

Sake Time

Hey Sake friends!

It’s time for Sakagura’s annual “OHANAMI” sake tasting event coming on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011.

We’ll be pouring the Kura Junmai Daiginjo (Nagano prefecture), Mochiko Junmai (Iwate Prefecture), and the Koma Tokubetsu Junmai (Fukushima Prefecture).

What else will be there?
46 Selections of Nihon-shu (that’s sake for those scratching your heads) plus some of Sakagura’s executive chef, Mr. Yasuhiro Honma’s, special seasonal finger foods to hold everything down.

If you haven’t been in previous years, Sakagura will be decked out with lots of fresh real cherry blossoms making for one heck of a sight!

The event is all-standing buffet style (no tables and chairs)

Admission Fee: $80,00 per person (all inclusive)
Guest: 100 Guest Limited

1st Round: 6:15pm – 8:30pm
2nd Round: 9pm – 11:15pm

Prompt RSVP are recommended, call Sakagura at 212-953-SAKE (7253)

Visit SAKAGURA
211 EAST 43RD STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10017

Kanpai!

Monsoon Valley Wines featured in Wine Enthusiast

Some lucky feature writer got a tour of Thailand and its wine offerings and published her findings in this month’s Wine Enthusiast for all to share. Here’s what she said about Siam Winery:

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!

Bruce Cost Fresh Ginger Ale makes it to the Today Show…

you gotta check out the host’s face when she takes a sip of the BCGA…
She exclaims with a face looking like it just come out of a backhand slap,”It tastes like ginger.”

Yeah duhh, lady!

back slapped by ginger!

a ginger ale round ’em up

check out this post from Salon.com pointing out the ginger ale-mania happening and reviewing the bunch. See for yourself who gets the accolades.

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.

there’s a party going on.

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.

Siamese Twin Ale for spicy foods…

The new Thai-inspired eatery Kin Shop is on fire! Here’s a shout out to Siamese Twin Ale by the manager, Julia Travis’s picks on what to pair with spicy foods in today’s Time Out NY.

to pair with spicy foods...

The infusion of kafir lime and lemongrass in Uncommon Brewers’ Siamese Twin Ale gives the drink a distinctly Southeast Asian nose, and its creamy texture softens the sizzle of tropical cuisine. The beer’s lively aromatics and gentle acidity match particularly well with the roasted chili and sweet seafood flavors of Kin Shop’s panfried crab noodles.

Read the full review here.

Uncommon Brewer’s Siamese Twin Ale is available for purchase at the Whole Foods Beer Room on Houston St., NYC.

Monsoon Valley in the Village Voice

Thanks to the newly opened Kin Shop by Top Chef Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle, Monsoon Valley Wines got a nice mention in today’s review of the 2-month old, high-end Thai inspired restaurant in the Village Voice.

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!