Long awash in local & imported lagers, Thailand is developing a taste for small-batch, artisanal beers, with Chiang Mai becoming a small but burgeoning hub in the country’s maturing craft beer movement.
Photo by Quinn Dombrowski.
It’s official: Craft brewers in the US are now beating big beer! The David and Goliath battle in the world of beer is starting to tip slightly in David’s favor.There are more than 3,400 craft breweries operating in the U.S., the highest total since the 1880s. “Over the last couple of years, the number of new brewery openings has been at near unprecedented levels,” said Bart Watson, Ph.D., staff economist at Brewers Association. These small, independent breweries are typically staffed by a new breed of passionate beer enthusiasts, and they are bringing innovation to the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage:
• Craft brewers interpret historic styles-unfiltered, unpasteurized- with unique twists and develop new styles that have no precedent.
• Craft beer is made with traditional ingredients like malted barley, but interesting and sometimes non-traditional ingredients are often added to create distinctive flavors.
• Craft brewers tend to be very involved in their communities through philanthropy, product donations, volunteerism and sponsorship of events.
• Craft brewers have distinctive, individual approaches to connecting with their customers.
• Craft brewers maintain integrity by what they brew by their independence from large corporate interests.
What does the craft beer craze in the US have to do with Asia, Thailand, or Chiang Mai? Data from the Brewers Association shows that more Asians, and more Thais in particular, are consuming craft beers. Why? It is simple: craft beer offers fresher and tastier options for beer aficionados who enjoy the variety of palate pleasing brews now available to them. For decades in Thailand, beer lovers had only two breweries to choose from, but it seems the tide is starting to turn, bringing to Thailand’s shores a slew of imported craft beers from the US, Japan, and Europe.
According to the Brewers Association, in 2013 shipments of craft brews to Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) increased by 73 percent and accounted for 44,228 barrels. American craft beer exports have increased substantially in the Asia-Pacific region, largely due to emerging markets such as Singapore (up 379 percent), Hong Kong (up 150 percent) and Thailand (up 99 percent). Yet, in spite of this impressive growth, Thailand’s craft-beer market remains marginal despite the surge of interest in home-brewing, one of the leading indicators of the interest in craft brews in Thailand and the world.
Chiang Mai Craft Beer (CMCB) Group, a curator and distributor of craft beers in the Northern Region, has experienced first hand this growth and interest of craft beer in the North. Since CMCB’s inception one year ago, Randall Scott, the American partner in CMCB, has witnessed a dramatic increased interest in the number of restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and supermarkets actively embracing the idea of adding craft beers to their menus and shelves. The Riverside Craft Beer Factory is one of many examples of how the beer trends are changing.
Alisa Scott, the Thai partner and co-founder of CMCB, says, “Thai people love trying something new, and more and more Thais are evolving into sophisticated beer drinkers, similar to what happened with wine in the past. We see Thailand becoming as much a ‘beer heaven’ as it is a ‘food heaven’: both trends are driven by Thais who have travelled overseas and experienced tastier tipples, as well as by expatriates.”
CMCB, in collaboration with Bangkok-based Beervana Trading Co., is an enthusiastic curator and exclusive distributor of American and Japanese craft brews, currently serving over forty outlets in the Northern Region.
Contact Information: Alisa Scott Email [email protected]
Line chiangmaicraftbeer
Phone 0835757574
facebook.com/chiangmaicraftbeer
Website http://www.chiangmaicraftbeer.com