Friday, September 16, 2011

Taiwan Beer Draft 台湾啤酒生 - The Lost Beer


Few people know where to buy a bottle of Taiwan Beer Draft to take home, and not the Gold Medal label - will get to that one day - because even I have to emphasize "生" when in a bar and make sure it's not 金牌. You can swing a thousand dead cats or those wild dogs along the city rivers and likely not hit a Taiwanese who can provide the correct answer to: where can I buy a bottle?
If you know the answer, then you're a pro beer drinker, seeker, and/or drunk in Taiwan. Pat yourself on the back and find yourself a bottle opener. If you do not know, then go out and buy one at the nearest Wellcome, which has a refrigerated section that usually holds them.
Why in the refrigerated section? Because it's straight from 臺灣菸酒股份有限公司 and the bottle has an expiration date. Any beer with an expiration date - see the 18 on the bottle, that's for 18 days til you better finish it - gets a few bonus points (in this case, mug ratings) from this guy due to freshness. 




A nice straight 90-degree pour into a frosted mug. Lots of head. [That's the mug from the Jiaoxi Beer Festival. Don't be jealous now.]
First quaff and it goes down easy, creating nice burps in minutes. 
Still retains its refreshing taste after a few swigs. 
Has a distinct smell, but not in a bad way, which should be the ponlai rice. 
The draft version is by far the best tasting of TTL's 5 beers. TTL (the government brewer), as noted in wikipedia, adds "ponlai rice ("Formosa rice" 蓬萊) during the fermentation process" to supposedly give it its distinct taste. 
I'd say the draft definitely goes well in Taiwan's summers when temps get above 30 celsius.




Head still a decent thumb's length after a few minutes of settling. Not bad (way better than its brown older brother, the original, but I'll get to that soon enough). 
Leaves a decent taste in the mouth that says "I can have another round and not force myself to make such a decision". 


Beer type:  Lager
Alcohol content:  5%
Price for 600cc bottle:  N$50
Color of bottle:  Green, like Rolling Rock, but far less white printing. Style points for simplicity. 
Rating (out of 10) for being best local beer  






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