Lifestyle

Phuket finally has a decent source of beer

Beer in Thailand has long been overshadowed by that of the beer of its neighbouring countries. However because of tight import laws and heavy taxation there has been little competition for the low to mid priced beers. With the advent of ASEAN agreements and various Free Trade Agreements things are beginning to change and markets are starting to be opened up.

Here are my thoughts why Thais can drop off to sleep at a moment's notice. A Thai village must be the noisiest place in the world to live.

Brewed by the Phillipino company San Miguel this beer is the most economically viable on the market. Less than twenty baht for a can and 6.9% it doesn't just kick, it screams. This beer is aimed squarely at poor Thais, the red can has barely any English language text on it and it is rarely found outside of Thai orientated retail outlets.

There is no free love for a man, never was. Ask anyone who has raised four kids, put them through University and then been dumped by the wife who woke up one morning and said she wants a little space to find herself. Meaning; I'm shagging your best mate so why don't you fuck off and leave me the house and half your pension fund.

It was to some astonishment when researching this beer that some people actually like it. Beer Singha was formerly the best selling beer in Thailand until Beer Chang came along and stole it's crown. This was an easy fight as previously Singha had had no real competition, and it tasted like piss, and it was expensive.

A glimpse of personal evolution: life and love in Thailand.

However comfortable you the farang may feel in the tender loving care of your Thai girlfriend, or wife, it is important that you understand and accept that there are profound differences genetically, culturally and emotionally between them and your former western wife or girl friends.

Malayan Breweries Limited (MBL), now known Asia Pacific Breweries, was founded in 1931. Tiger is the company's flagship beer and has been since its creation in 1932 in Malaysia. The beer has always been popular with Europeans, many of whom made up a large section of Malaya's beer drinking population in the early twentieth century.

This is the cash cow of the Boon Rawd Brewery and probably the only reason the company is still economically viable. It is cheap and does not taste like piss, soap or foam so is unlike any of the other beers in the company's portfolio.

Beer Chang is one of Thailand's most notorious and popular alcoholic beverages. The beer was only created in 1994 and held just 9% of the domestic beer market in 1995 but in five short years they managed to grab a 60% share, turning previous market leader Beer Singha into a mere shadow of it's former self.

Now I have never been one for supporting military Juntas who commit mass murder and rape but I have to say as far as making beer goes the Union of Myanmar has got it right. Despite recent claims that Beer Myanmar is being exported to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh you would be hard pushed to find any great quantity at your local shop anywhere apart from Myanmar due to global economic sanctions against the country for one of the longest lists of human rights abuses in the world.

My first encounter with Angkor Extra Stout was at a drunken business meeting I had recently in Cambodia.

It's our third time together in a little over a year. Her name is Noi and I've lost my heart to her. I'm 53 and she is 27. The age difference means nothing. We were made for each other's arms.

Quote from a friend's email: "I'd like to have a child, but my options here don't look too great, as my age turns most childbearing women away."