"He body-painted a bunch of dudes for an Oscar Mayer commercial."
Thailand is a country dominated by macrobrews – strict
beer and brewing laws mean that craft and home brewing are nearly absent from
the nation (at least legally). Not only
that, it remains a nation in which locally brewed beers remain the dominant
type. Today’s beer is the flagship of
one of the two breweries that utterly dominate the small, southeast Asian
nation, a beer that assiduously (and purposefully) follows the German purity
laws, a beer that since the late 1980s has become a global export, found now in
nearly every country of North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as Argentina,
Brazil, and Colombia.
Today's episode features Syd Valentine’s Patent Leather Kids 1929 “Rock and Gravel”.
II. Our Guest, the Astute and Genteel Chris Kolakowski
III. Rubrics, Reviews, and Talking Points
BeerAdvocate: 3.04 of 5
RateBeer: 2.25 of 5
Untappd: 3.02 of 5
ABV: 5%
Ingredients: Malted Irish, French, and Australian barley; Hallertau, Perle, and Saaz hops from Germany and "Czechoslovakia" (?); and German yeast
Cost: $ to $$ in the States - an import made of such high quality ingredients, worth a nudge in the price.
Appearance: Pale golden, translucent, mostly transparent, a nice head that recedes fairly quickly. Holds its bubbles fairly well,
Aroma: Malty on the opening, retains some mild smells after opening.
Flavor: Good sipping beer, a nice lager that leans malty, avoiding too many sweet notes, retains its flavor, probably would be perfect for spicy food. Clayman noted a mild, pleasant hoppy bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, pleasant, mildly dry.
Authenticity, Marketing, and Other
Factors: Brewed essentially as it always was, though Singha now has three breweries (all in Thailand) - in Samsen (Bangkok), Kohn Kaen, and Bang Len. Still brewed with the Thai royal seal, still beautiful in its labeling and advertising. Bottled around the world by Carlsburg, though, which is interesting. Still independent, still family-owned, yet globally owned. Hot damn, guys, hot damn. And, as Kolakowski points out, their logistics chain is impressive - the quality hasn't deteriorated despite being shipped from the other end of the planet.
Overall: Kolakowski gave it a 4.25, Clayman a 3.1, and Eric a 3.75. Overall? A very respectable 3.7!
IV. Our Sponsors
Today we have two magical sponsors:
Leben Farms of Abingdon, Virginia
Leben Farms is a community supported-agriculture (CSA) program that offers locally grown fresh vegetables in weekly boxes to its members in Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. Using organic and regenerative practices to grow nutrient dense food, community-supported agriculture is a food production and distribution system that directly connects farmers and consumers. In short: people buy "shares" of a farm's harvest in advance and then receive a portion of the crops as they're harvested.
Also...
Glade Pharmacy in Glade Spring, Virginia
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Locally owned and managed, Glade Pharmacy provides the highest quality pharmaceutical service in the Emory/Glade Spring area,
V. Plugs
Norfolk, Virginia
Abingdon, Virginia
VI. Selected Readings and Viewings
Laurence Civil. August 20, 2014. "My Beer, My Country." Look East.
Hannah Ellison. April 3, 2017. "Singha Beer to Bring Thai New Year to Life in London." Campaign.
Thomas Fuller. January 10, 2014. "Thai Beer Loses Esteem After Heiress's Remarks." New York Times, via CNBC.
Arno Maierbrugger. February 14, 2013. "Singha Starts Rollout in Asia and Europe." Investigative.
Suzanne Nam. February 11, 2018. "Top Thai Beer Brands." TripSaavy.
Staff. ND. "Singha or Chang Beer? Which Thai Beer is Better?" Tasty Thai.
Staff. October 22, 2013. "Singha Beer Gets an Exclusive Show on History." Marketing.
Ronald Theriot. October 5, 2011. "Louisiana Lager." Louisiana Beer Reviews. via YouTube.
