Taste Test: Who makes Bangkok's best convenience-store "craft beer"?
When convenience calls.
5 years ago
It’s Friday night, you’re gagging for a cold one but you can’t bear the idea of dragging yourself out to a pretentious craft beer bar. What do you do? Go to your condo lobby’s trusty 7-Eleven/FamilyMart, that’s what. We’ve dug deep into the fridges to find out what you should be drinking.
Snowy Weizen, ABV4%
From: Est.33 by Boonrawd Brewery, the producers of Singha and Leo.
Taste: After catching a pleasantly hoppy whiff,
we thought our mission was complete. Then, disappointment struck. Though the taste verges on wheat beer, it’s almost synthetic as if it’s been flavored to simulate the taste.
Verdict: Hop off.
Price: B55
Get it at: 7-Eleven
Black Dragon Red Beer, ABV4% RUNNER UP!
From: Cosmos Brewery by ThaiBev, the people behind Chang.
Taste: The powerful red-brown hue had us gearing up for a heavy beer, but it turned out to taste crisp and fresh, making for easy drinking that’s a cut above your bog-standard lager.
Verdict: Not just another lager.
Price: B55
Get it at: FamilyMart
Taste: The powerful red-brown hue had us gearing up for a heavy beer, but it turned out to taste crisp and fresh, making for easy drinking that’s a cut above your bog-standard lager.
Verdict: Not just another lager.
Price: B55
Get it at: FamilyMart
Kopper, ABV4.5% BK PICK!
From: Est.33
Taste: Well, well, it seems Singha corporation is able to put out nice beer after all. This one tastes just as a beer should: nicely caramelized, savory but balanced, fizzier than the rest of the bunch but overall, very tasty.
Verdict: Stock up.
Price: B58
Get it at: 7-Eleven
Huntsman Cloudy Wheat Beer, ABV4% YUCK!
From: Cosmos Brewery.
Taste: Looks insipid, smells like something between perfume and drip-tray dregs, and tastes nasty too. Best leave this one on the shelves, unless you're desperate.
Verdict: Febrezey.
Price: B53
Get it at: FamilyMart
U Beer, ABV4.5%
From: Another Singha Coporation product.
Taste: This artificially yellow beer tastes like the one you drank at house parties as a teenager: watery, overly sweet and guaranteed to give you a stonking hangover.
Verdict: Sweet nothings.
Price: B50
Get it at: FamilyMart
Taste: This artificially yellow beer tastes like the one you drank at house parties as a teenager: watery, overly sweet and guaranteed to give you a stonking hangover.
Verdict: Sweet nothings.
Price: B50
Get it at: FamilyMart
Tapper, ABV6.5%
From: Beer Thai (1991) by ThaiBev.
Taste: This neutral-tasting beer plays it safe, meaning it lacks character but at the same time is drinkable by almost anyone’s standards. The aroma is fresh and fruity, a little like cider.
Verdict: Play it safe.
Price: B53
Get it at: 7-Eleven
BK’s Taste Tests are conducted blind by a panel and are intended as entertainment not rigorous scientific analysis.
See more of BK's Taste Tests here
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