Cambodian and a few Vietnamese Brews

First off: I totally forgot to write about the Cambodian kareoke that seems to be on tv's everywhere even sometime when you can't hear the music.  It was on in restaurants, loud bars, in stores, even on the bus rides!  And the best part was the music videos that go with the songs.  Each one went as follows.  A man looking lonely sitting on a beach or looking at himself in a mirror.  Then he sees the girl he likes.  He sneaks up behind her and surprises her.  Together they go to look at some statue of something - usually the girl hides behind a dragon and the guy doesn't know where she is, then she jumps out.  They laugh. They almost kiss, something interrupts them and then they hug and run down the beach.  SCENE.  Hilarious.  Hours of that on the bus is very entertaining.

Anyway, to more important things like beer:

Cambodia:
Angkor:  It's everywhere!  Almost every bar has banners for it and sells it for $.50 - $.75 draught.  It's very drinkable.  Like a Bud Light.  Refreshing but not too much taste going on.

Anchor:  I'm convinced that this is exactly the same as Angkor.  But not in the same way that Coors light and Keystone Light are the same.  These two taste exactly the same and sell for the same price.  Why would the company do that?  Also, sometimes I'd order an Angkor and get an Anchor because they sound the same.  ABV: ~4.5%

Klang:  Has a white can with a gray elephant on the front.  Looks like a terrible beer.  Tastes like nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I could only tell that I was drinking a carbonated liquid, could haev been any liquid.  I wasn't going to get one but Tarik surprised me with one the last night in PP because he wanted me to try it.  ABV: 6%

BeerLaos:  Surprisingly good.  I guess the people of Laos only have 1 beer to drink so they make it good (supposedly Laos governemtn doesn't allow other beers into the country).  Dark and foamy.  A nice dark lager.  ABV: 6.3%

Phnom Penh:  Surprisingly good for a can that looked like the label was faded and falling off.  A lighter lager that pretty sweet.  Went down well when we were watching Bruno.  ABV: 5.5%

Vietnam:
333:  Liek drinking a warm Chang.  Awful.  Enough said.  ABV: 6.2%

Saigon: Really good drinkable beer.  Actually, I think this reaction was just because I drank it right after I drank a 333.  But it was drinkable.  Like a nice cold PBR.  The first one out of the 30.  Also it came in a half liter bottle which is always nice.  ABV: 4.6%


There's a good selection of beer here including Coors Light, Budweiser (but not Light), Carlsberg, and Heineken.  Will have to try them all!

Headed to the Mekong River Delta tomorrow morning for an overnight trip to see the countryside, floating villages and markets, and who knows what else.  Will blog about that and Saigon when I get back.

Beers in Thailand

As you know, since I started brewing beer a year and a half ago I've become a told beer snob.  This is a bad thing in Thailand as they have a max of about 5 - 7 beers in any given store/restaurant.  Most have 2 or 3.  However, some are drinkable.  Here's the rundown of the beers:

CHANG:
The national beer of Thailand.  Ubiquitous everywhere we've been.  On the beach, in the Hmong village, on the streets of Bangkok.  Everybody seems to love it.  That must just be because it's cheap.  It tastes like a PBR that's been left out in the sun and rechilled a few too many times.  The first few sips are drinkable but once it starts to get warm, you better start chugging.  The last few sips are brutal.  But, like any beer, the more you drink the easier they go down.  Apparently the hangover is bad too.  ABV: 6.4% though I heard that this isn't regulated and totally depends on the batch.  Sometimes you can get some that are closer to 8%.

LEO:
My favorite beer so far and go to at the bars.  A nice dark lager with a sweeter finish.  Tastes similar to a Sam Adams Boston Lager but a little sweeter.  Was told it doesn't give you the hangover that Chang does though haven't thoroughly tested this theory.  Has a cool tiger on the label which makes no sense because Leo means lion.  Go figure.  ABV: 5.5%

TIGER:
Apparently this has become popular in the States, though I've never seen it outside of Asian restaurants.  It's a darker lager that is totally drinkable.  I think it's a spin off of Leo as they taste about the same and have nearly the same label.  This time the tiger makes sense.  ABV: 5%

SINGHA:
The fancy beer of Thailand.  A bottle of this will run you 10-20 more baht than a Chang.  It's smooth and dark and kinda tasteless.  The label is gold and silver - I think that's why it's more expensive.  ABV: 6%

CHEERS XTRA:
Can't put it better than Tarik did: "That beer smells like ATO!"  It tastes like it too.  Comparable to Natty Ice.  Bought it once and not making that mistake again.  ABV: 6.8%

SAN MIGUEL / SM LIGHT
The national beer of the Phillipines.  A pale ale though not in the sense of american pale ales.  The light is almost completely tasteless - like a Corona Light without the lime.  For some reason they only have the light version in restaurants and I just managed to find a bottle of heavy for the first time today.  It's actually quite good.  Tastes like a Dos Equis.  Apparently Filipino beer tastes like Mexican beer.  Who knew?  ABV: 5%

ASIHA
Japan's national beer.  It's a light pilsner which is much different from the other beers.  It's very drinkable though more expensive than the rest because it has to be imported.  It tastes like Henieken (sp?) and has the same very light color.  ABV: 5.5%

BEER LAOS:
The national beer of Laos.  Supposedly they don't serve any other beer anywhere in Laos.  They export it as well but I haven't seen one since our first trip to Bangkok and I didn't try it then.  Will hopefully find another one soon.

That pretty much sums it up except for Henieken which I don't have to explain to you.  In general all of the beers are sweeter than beers in the States and have a bit higher percentage.  The green Chang labels are everywhere you look.  It's impressive really.  Going to have my first bucket tonight - Saem Song (local whiskey) and pineapple.  Should be an adventure!

Leaving for Bangkok tomorrow afternoon.  A wicked storm blew in this afternoon around 3 and it's still raining.  Guess that means it's time to go.  Will write all about scuba diving tomorrow.