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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Good Beer Company

When I heard that a friend's hubby had opened up a beer stall at a nearby hawker center near my office, I couldn't help but feel excited.
Being the self proclaimed foodie, I had my own love-hate relationship with beer. Starting from the classic Tiger to the "ang moh" or imported versions of heineken and belgium beers. I stopped beer totally for a while when I went exploring the wine and liquor world. But back here I am, after washing down a pint on a sweltering work out in the afternoon sun, my palate had always longed for a cold refreshing beer ever since.

And I know from reading Daniel and Esther's blog (which I steal try recipes from) that this guy is serious about his beer. His adventures overseas had always yielded a post (or two) on a visit to the local brewery or a drink (and more!) at the local eateries. How can I miss out when a specialist opens up his own stall?

I admit I am a variety-seeking person. You would have had noticed that we seldom do repeat visits to eating places, unless there is other things on the menu that we were unable to taste in one sitting or when it is exceptionally great. And this is one thing I like about The Good Beer Company. It's been a month and a little more since their opening and they had been bringing in new stuff. Follow them on Facebook to get your stream of updates.


Visit 1


(From Left to Right)
(a) Kopparberg Elderflower & Lime Cider:  Clean, fresh taste and served with a glass of ice.Very light but turns "too warm" in our tropical weather. The light feathery taste of elderflower is surprisingly obvious and not drowned out by the alcohol. Ideal for light drinkers and people looking for a sweeter beer. (read: ladies' beer)

(b) Orval: When Esther said that this is a acquired taste beer, but kudos to G for being adventurous. This beer packs a heavy bitter taste and (i kid you not) the taste of cod liver oil. Acquired taste it is. If you miss your childhood cod liver escapades, this will sure give you the adult version of it. Alcohol included. Just don't give it to your kid in a bid to put the bugger to sleep.

(c) Sapporo: Probably my favourite Japanese beer thus far. Love the "Winter tale." edition better which is usually available during the Christmas season. Look out for it in most supermarkets.

(d) Taiwanese (NTW) Lychee Beer:  I had to taste this. Never a big fan of fruit beers but I think this changed my mind. "Too much lychee. Too little beer." for my serious beer friend. But personally I like it. A tad sweeter than the cider but definitely a happy ending to a drinking session. It's cousin, the Melon Beer is out of stock at the moment, but will come in later in mid-Dec 2011. Looking forward to tasting that.

(e) Little Creatures Bright Ale: I think this beats the more available Pale Ale that you can see in some pubs hands down. Love it for it light hops and the floral aftertaste. Had to be the best beer of the night for me. This is the kind of beer that I would term "Happy Beer." The same craft beer we had at Sydney a couple of years back.

(f) Kinshachi Japanese (Green Tea): Couldn't remember the full name but this beer is supposedly infuse/mixed/disturbed with jasmine tea (Corrected by Daniel: The beer has flavours with tea-like qualities, not infused). But honestly we couldn't taste the tea scent, (maybe because of our heavy dinner prior) but there was a little tannic aftertast, the only hint that it originated from tea. Not my kind of beer. Maybe I will bring a tea lover and ask them to try it out for a better assessment of this beer.

Visit 2


(From Left to Right) Second visit was at lunchtime! And thus a lighter drink

(a) Samuel Adams Boston Lager: Typical lager and nothing really outstanding about this beer. It's just... nice. Honestly, Tiger Beer would had done it for me. But the Americans like their beer (and maybe that's why they love Tiger too?)

(b) Trappistes Rochefort 6: One of the three beers brewed by the Rochefort facility. This is the 'rare' offspring in that it makes up only about 1% of the production. Nice fruity taste with a very delightful raisin feel which finishes off with a spicy aroma. Delightful and personally I think it suits our local cuisine quite well. (It helped that we were eating char siew and sio ba with the beer.) For a heavier punch go for the Number 8 which is also available.

(c) Jungle Beer English Ale: The only beer on tap (due to space constraints) and locally brewed too. Love the slightly heavier malty taste. Go local. Drink this at least once. 

Visit 3

(From Left to Right) A weekday beer drinking trip happens quite rarely, but hey, with so many beers to taste, we gotta break the norm!

(a) Scheneider Weiss (Taps 1,6,7): A cousin of Erdinger. It taste a little like Erdinger but with a lot more flavours. If you like your Erdinger, this is the slightly more sophiscated that you may want to go for. There is a less filtered, cloudy version and a heavier hitter available. 

(b) Hitachino Red Rice Ale (Japanese): Made from Red Rice and supposedly a weird combination of sake and beer. The 'rice' taste in the beer, thankfully, wasn't too obvious, but it makes for a new taste. A nice cultured beer for the delicate tastebuds. Make this your first beer if you having more than a drink and have fun discovering the tastes.

(c) Green Goblin cider: A good cider but not great for me. I prefer my cider to be a little more fruity or heavy as some would describe it. Nice fruity flavours with a hint of wood, probably from the oak that it was aged in.

And yes, I had visited this stall three times and I am looking forward to more visits back there. I have this secret ambition of trying out every beer in the fridge but I think it is difficult with the rate that they are bringing in new beer every few days. Calls for more visit perhaps.

Prices for the premium and craft beers ranges from $8-$12 and oh, your beers come served in frozen glassware. With good local food available in the massive hawker center, this is the place to go to have good (cheap) food and great beer! With such a wide variety, I am sure you will find your favourite one!

Blk 335 Smith Street #02-58
Chinatown Complex Market,
Singapore, Singapore 050335.

1 comment:

  1. nice listings of bear. you can buy beer online and get free delivery in 1 hour anywhere in Singapore

    ReplyDelete

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