For those of you who enjoyed my Thai wine review, I thought you might enjoy this little gem I found while recently on holiday. It might be a tad expensive to make the trip just to sup the beer but if you happen to find yourself in Phuket, Thailand can I recommend the Full Moon Brew Work near to Patong beach.
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| Phuket Microbrewery |
Most of you will be familiar with the main commercial beers in Thailand such as Singha, Chang, and Tiger beer. These lager style beers are just right for kicking back a cold “brewski” on the beach as you watch the sun go down. However, the choice for the real ale enthusiast is rather limited, in Phuket, to Guinness in the various Irish themed pubs (which doesn't really travel too well). I'm afraid those bottles of sweet apple and pear cider from Ireland have also started to slowly creep in.
As I can obtain all of these in the UK if I wish, I can see no reason to start drinking them at export prices in Thailand. However, I do hanker after something different to drink so while planning my holiday activities my eyes lit up when I stumbled across a new micro brewery that had recently opened up.
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| Quite clear what they do |
The Full Moon Brew Work is situated right in the middle of the modern Jung Ceylon shopping centre which is a tourist trap but it's very pleasant and if your other half isn't too keen there is plenty of shopping to keep them occupied. Look for the Chinese style Junk in the water and its just to the right of that.
They currently brew three beers, all served in cool pint glasses, brewery fresh straight from the tap and we weren't going to miss an opportunity to try them. The first I tried was their "Phuket Lager". Please don't confuse this with the beers mentioned above as it is completely different. It looks like a wheat beer (which they also brew on site) but is so soft and rounded that one would not call it a lager in a blind tasting. There are soft hints of citrus fruit and something like mango or apricot, combined with a mild malty aroma. Like all their brews the beer contains some Thai ingredients, this one having Thai Gaba rice from the King's Royal Project.
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| Phuket Lager was a treat |
The second one we tried was the Andaman Dark Ale which was reminiscent of a Green King IPA with a little extra kick from using Sao Hai black sticky rice. It had a good head which lasted nicely to the bottom of the glass and is as close to a pint of bitter that you will find in Phuket.
Just a small word of caution, I must admit the first time I tried it, it was early in the day and I think I must have been one of the first to order it. The pint was cloudy and tasted off. As I didn't know any better I did not complain as I thought that was how it came but it is clear, from a later second tasting that the serving staff are a little inexperienced and had not properly flushed through the pipes that day. If in doubt go later in the day or ask them to pour you a small sample first.
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| Andaman Ale: A Classic |
I don't know what the alcohol content of these beers were as there was nothing on the menus to tell me and I suspect that they will fluctuate with each batch as it's made, but they were not overpowering and there were no after effects from a good session there. Prices are more expensive than a normal bar but nothing outrageous for the UK and worth it for something unique.
Home brewing is illegal in Thailand without a licence but for those of you interested in beers in Thailand can I recommend the following link:-
The website is in its early stages but it is the only Thai specific site set up by an enthusiast rather than the industry and has some decent information on other micro breweries and beers in other parts of the country.
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