Photo: Joshua M. Bernstein.
The average Asian beer is feather-light and forgettable, the equivalent of drinking seltzer doctored with food coloring and a splash of alcohol -- look no further than brews like Vietnam's 33 Export and Singapore's Tiger Beer. But every blue moon, a cookie-cutter lager can shake our belief in mass-produced suds. To wit, Taiwan Beer, brewed by the government-owned and totally totalitarian-sounding Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation.
"The beer is purer and more flavorful than many other Asian beers," says Anna Zhang, operations manager for art-filled Shanghai restaurant TMSK, which sells loads of Taiwan Beer.
We can hear microbrew lovers loudly tsk-ing their disapproval. However, hear us out: While Taiwan Beer may pale in comparison to, say, Full Sail's full-bodied Session Lager, it more than holds its own owing to a recipe incorporating locally grown Ponlai rice, which provides a semi-sweet component.
But this is hardly liquid candy: Honey-colored Taiwan Beer pours a fluffy, if fast-dissipating head, with a crisp hop aroma that carries a hint of lemon. The snappy, assertive flavor is equally full and rewarding, with a dry, creamy maltiness typically missing from most rice brews. Sure, Taiwan Beer may lack the complexity of the average microbrew, but that's judging apples against oranges. Taiwan is simply a tasty thirst-quencher.
What's so wrong about being refreshing?
Think Asian beers are awful? Amazing? Spill your thoughts in the comments.
11-02-2009 @6:01PM SinoSoul.com said... as a wee lad, this was the first beer I ever savored. It was pee colored then, and it tastes pee-ish now. Among the "Asian" beers, this has to be one of the worst sold in US, with Harbin being the bottle of the barrel.
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11-02-2009 @5:43PM Joshua M. Bernstein said... Ah, yes. 'Tis not for everyone. But after spending two weeks traveling through China, slurping far too much watery beer, this was by far the most flavorful brew: I even liked it better, dare I say, than Tsingtao.
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11-03-2009 @9:24AM Ted Shieh said... Rumored for decades is the notion that Taiwan beer can taste different depending on the batch, and whether the particular batch is being sent for international competition, which it has won in the past. Over the years of drinking Taiwan beer, I'd say the beer is generally quite good, but at times disappointing. Lets just say, I had a small party once and served several varieties of good microbrews and Taiwan beer, and the Taiwan beer was the winner amongst the European beer snobs.
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11-03-2009 @9:54AM Gunadic said... Ooooh, 台灣啤酒, I remember drinking this stuff. Its not so bad. What you really need to avoid, though, is the beer flavored green tea that they have. Nasty stuff.
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11-03-2009 @10:33AM wsl said... Um, you clearly have not been drinking more than one of these at a time. Never had a hangover as bad as after 6 flat Taiwan beers. True, the "green bottle" Taiwan beer is far superior to some other Asian beers, not least among them the "brown bottle" Taiwan beer. And hey, it's my local brew. But let's be straight: it's garbage. One look at what Hitachino does with rice and it's a wonder we're even having this discussion. (PS: agreeing with Gunadic... ouch!)
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11-03-2009 @11:39AM lister said... In bottle form Taiwan Beer is flavourless, thin and boring. I had it on tap from the brewery and it had more flavour (still not great) and body. I wandered around the area on the street with my pint. Novel idea, can't do that in Ontario.
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11-11-2009 @8:54AM Kent said... I arrived on a long flight from Honolulu via Tokyo and was tired and hungry. A friend from Taipei picked me up and we drove into Taipei ending up at an old Japanese style home which was now a restaurant. On the way in, my friend ordered up 3 dozen dumplings, egg drop soup, a plate of mixed vegetables and a bottle of Taiwan beer which arrived at our table in a green bottle. What a feast we had, it was all washed down with this new beer which I found tasty, mellow and smooth. We ended up ordering 3 bottles and stuffing our tummies with a wonderful meal washed down with a wonderful new beer. Can't find it in Hawaii.
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