Lychee Fruit Beer - 台湾啤酒荔枝 - Taiwan Touch Your Beer Heart

Having lived in Taiwan for many moons, I still happen upon situations in the most unlikely places where Taiwanese offer some form of free gift or sample when shopping or just passing by a store. TTL gets the Taiwan Touch Your Heart medal for this (queue cheesy commercial).

It was only last year that I tried this for the first time and was very surprised with how decent it was for a fruit beer made locally, and by the dominant former monopoly firm as well. It definitely is a "Sweet Touch" when swigged.

Lychee is at the top of my delicious list of Taiwanese-grown fruit, although with it having the "hot" property, one can't partake in too much of them in one go.

I had not been into a TTL convenient store in all these years I've lived in Taiwan, if for no other reason that I figured it wouldn't have any special sale prices (which I found out to be mostly true) or offer anything but beer. A bit wrong on that last front. 

Was glad I finally stepped into one near my home last month and started talking to the elderly saleslady about the products the store sold, and more specifically beer, when I saw in the refrigerated section a green non-labeled bottle (repeat, "bottle", as in fresh) and asked her what that was. She replied "荔枝啤酒". I thought it only came in a can, but she gave a wink and a smile and said in Chinese that it came straight from the brewery and is for taste-testing purposes. She then asked if I wanted some. Well twist my arm. I left without buying anything, but took some pamphlets out of niceness. Of course, it helped to have my kid there speaking to her in Chinese saying "thank you, goodbye", etc. 

I popped into the same TTL store about 3 weeks later to buy the lychee beer in a can from the nice lady. Took those 2 pics above from the store's refrigerator while my boy was apparently charming the lady so much that she picked him up and held him. Went to pay the bill and the lady did the nicest two things:  she gave me one bottle of the non-labeled lychee beer and said in Chinese "here, have it, no charge. just return the bottle back to the store when you have time for recycling". Then, she reached under her counter and gave this to my boy, whose eyes lit up:

Quite a decent keyring, and love the Chinese characters written backward like the style in old textbooks and black 'n white movies. My kid wouldn't let go of this keyring all the way home. I was profusely thankful to the saleslady for giving not one, but two free things to me that day. 

Can and bottle unaware that they were about to die under consumption.

Can poured a bigger head than the bottle.

Both heads kept original height, so must've been carbonation that dropped levels after a few minutes.

Starting to look a little more like brothers after the first big swigs from each glass.

Both swigs definitely get the sweet lychee taste
Immediately burped from both. Good sign, or maybe it was the carbonation.  It doesn't matter.

Delicious cheap deli sandwich bought on 2F at Taipei train station went very well with the brew.

Draft lychee beer does taste different than that from the can.
Definitely get a "beer" taste from the bottle, moreso than "sweeter" taste from the can.

Keeping pace with one another.

Both rather very tasty.

Them beers been put to sleep most excellently. 

Can: If you want a more sugary taste during the hot summer months to quench your thirst.

Draft: If you want a stronger hint of beer over the lychee flavor and can find a nice saleslady who allows you to sneak a free bottle out of the store. 

Beer type:  Lychee fruit

Alcohol content:  3.5%

Price for 330cc can:  N$40

Price for 330cc bottle:  FREE (if you know the right lady)

Price for keyring:  FREE (from same nice lady)

Rating (1 for free bottle of beer, 1 for free keyring):