With the Beijing Olympic Games only a month away we thought we would feature a Chinese beer today. Harbin is one of China’s premium beers, this super premium pilsner style lager has won some pretty prestigious awards including the China Top Brand Award twice. The beer has a interesting fruity aroma which comes from the Qindao Dahua hops which is grown in the remote north western provinces of Heilongjiang. The beer undergoes a long and cold aging process which helps give the beer a really fresh and crisp finish. The beer originates from Harbin which is home to those amazing ice sculptures and castles you see every year. The brewery is China’s oldest dating back over 100 years. When drinking beer with Chinese people it is customary in China to consume beer from smaller “toasting” glasses, using the traditional Chinese phrase: “Gan Bei, ” which means “bottoms up “,or more literally,” dry the glass.” And as we said in the title of today’s story the beer is so tasty, if pandas drank beer this would be the one we think they would enjoy the most.
Trust the Japanese to come up with something so weird- Sapporo Breweries are making a special batch of space beer! Yes, they are brewing beer using barley which are grown from decedents of grain which has traveled to outer space and lived on board the International space station for five months. The team sent just under an ounce of barley into space then planted about a quarter of it when it returned to Earth. This quarter was planted and its crop then sown to produce about 50 kilograms of grain. This grain will end up in the space beer. The test batch will make about 100 bottles, and there are plenty of people lining up to taste it, but we don’t know why. Scientists have tested the grain and found it is no different to grain which has spent it’s life on Earth- well who cares, it will still be tasty Sapporo Beer I suppose.
If you were after a beer in Taiwan prior to the late 1990s you had only one choice and that was Taiwan Beer, a brand made by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor who was state run and had a 99% market share thanks to strict importing laws. Today things are different with imported beer being allowed to be sold in the country although Taiwan Beer still has a very healthy market share. We are not sure if you can find this one outside Taiwan, they did attempt to export it to China once but Chinese copyright law makers who say you cannot name a product after a region of China stopped the plan from going ahead. It was a strange move strange considering China’s Tsing Tao is named after a town in China. Taiwan Beer has been brewed since 1945 with around 35 million liters brewed each month, the beer has won several international beer awards in recent years. If you have seen this one outside Taiwan hit up our comment form below. Read the rest of this entry »
Beer keeps getting a bad rap for all the bad things it is suppose to do to our bodies but Korean brewer Hite has produced a new beer that may even be good for you. Hite’s new beer is named S and is targeted to the Korean youth market, the interesting thing about S is that they have added 0.5g of dietary fiber to the beer. Dietary fiber is known to enhance intestine movement to help people keep in shape and prevent the hardening of arteries by lowering cholesterol in the blood. Hite claim the recommended daily dietary fiber allowance for Koreans ranges from 20g to 25g while the average intake is only about 17.3g. So the best way to rectify the shortfall is down a few S beers a day, sounds like a good plan to me. Read the rest of this entry »
The Japanese really know how to automate everything, how’s this flash beer pouring machine. Not only does it hold the glass properly to pour it- it even creates the frothy head Japanese love so dearly on their beer. No longer do you need to wait for the bar tender to meticulously create the head (while you could be drinking it) the machine does it quickly and perfect every time, two at a time. It’s a wonder they have not invented a machine to drink the beer…well there’s an idea! Read the rest of this entry »
If you want an enjoyable and interesting day out when visiting Singapore book yourself into the Tiger Brewery where you can not only learn how this tasty drop is produced but sample a little bit of it the end of the tour. For about $10 you can visit the brew house, the packaging hall and the beautiful Tiger Tavern. Located behind the Raffles Golf Course it is in easy reach of all of the island city by MRT and Bus. The brewery offers three tours most week days and is conducted in English. For most visitors other than the sample at the end the historic presentation of advertising and beer memorabilia is the highlight of the tour, there is some very cool antique beer making equipment and paraphernalia. Tiger is one of Asia’s biggest beers being brewed in both Singapore and Malaysia, it has won a whole trophy cabinet of prestigious awards for excellence over the years and is available in over 50 countries.
The Japanese sure love their beer and beer drinkers will be out in force next week for the Japan Craft Beer Association is hosting the 11th annual Great Beer Festival at the Ebishu Garden Palace. The event is to be held on the 5th and 6th of May and more than 120 craft beers will be represented. All you need to do is turn up with your sampling shoes purchase a ticket and start trying these lovely beers. (you can purchase tickets before hand and save yourself a few Yen, Family Mart, Circle J-Sankus are a few of the continence stores which sell them, otherwise tickets are Y4800 at the door). The beers are served in 1.7 ounce portions and are sectioned into 12 categories, a great way to fill in a cool afternoon in Tokyo- Kampai!
People in Osaka don’t miss out either as they have their festival on starting May 31 at hte Sky Hall at the Kyosera Dome in Nishi-Ku.
Don’t’ forget to visit http://www.happyjappy.com for all your Japan travel needs.
Bintang is Indonesia’s biggest selling beer an is produced by the huge international brewer Heineken. Being a pilsener style beer and having a 5% alcohol volume the beer is very similar in flavor to that of Heineken. The beer was introduced onto the maket in 1929 in a time when Indonesia whas under Dutch Rule and was brewed in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city. Heineken became the largest shareholder in 1936 and today the brewery is known as MBI or Multi Bintang Indonsesia. The brewery now operates two breweries in Indonesia one in Samang Agung and the other at Tangerang. They produce a range of beer products including Heineken, Guinness all under licence and a no alcohol Green Sands soft drink like beer plus their latest beer the BIntang Zero which we will feature in the coming weeks.
We have absolutely no idea what’s going on here but its got something to do with beer and we are rolling around the floor laughing at the stupidity of it all. From what we can work out Beer-Chan is the little yellow guy with the beer and he is the Beer fairy. Now don’t just watch the You Tube video take a look at the website for the Beer Fairy it is ridiculous, we are sure as the Telly Tubbies make sense on Speed the beer fairy will make sense on beer- you will probably need a bit though! Enjoy the fun
If you do nothing else today at least go to this site: http://www.san-x.co.jp/charageki/beer/images/Beerchan.swf We would love to hear your comments- drop us a line and tell us what you thought and send the our link to all your friends they will love it!
Flying Horse Royal Lager Beer is India’s finest and is often called the champagne of beers it has a crisp clean taste using superior malts, aromatic hops making this beer very refreshing on a hot day. The beer is best served a little colder than usual and is fantastic with spicy food especially your favorite Indian curries and chutneys. The beer is pale golden with a slight has and you has a very sweet and nearly herby taste with a slight bitterness if not sourish finish. It is brewed very similar to German beers being Rheinheitsgebot pure, and has a similar taste and appearance. A very pleasant beer indeed and well worth a try.
