Japan, Vietnam, mainland China, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, all produce decent brews. What’s wrong with Taiwan? You used to be able to buy a nice Tsingtao on this island - back when it was imported from Shandong. But noooo, they had to start locally producing the stuff, and now it tastes like every other Taiwanese beer - piss. What is it, the chabuduo philosophy that turns out every product half-assed? Why can’t Taiwan produce one, just one decent beer? Why does everything of good quality have to be imported?
North Taiwan Brewery makes some nice beers–a white beer and an abbey, in particular.
You may think Chinese-brewed Tsingtao tastes okay, but I think it tastes like watery piss. And so do all the other Chinese beers, and all the foreign beers that are brewed in China like Kirin, Asahi etc.
It takes good water to produce good beer, and there ain’t much of that either in Taiwan or in China. At least you can get imported beer in just about any store in Taiwan. More than can be said for some places.
Absolutely, water is crucial and you don’t even want to wash your arse with most of the water in China.
HG
Taiwan Beer is bad?
Taiwan Beer used to be bad…around 1990. Things have improved of late.
Korean beer on the other hand…
Come on… anywhere that’s got a market for the raw rot gut sugar piss sold here isn’t going to invest in quality: there’s no need. It may even be counter-productive.
The Taiwan Beer, both brown bottle and green bottle, that I get and drink is very good beer.
Sorry for your luck.
I like the Taiwan draft beer in the bottle.
I found too many imports here are skunked by the time the one forienger out of 100000 gets around to buying it.
Rotate your stock and keep the beer cold, are you kidding.
At least the local beers keep rotated because it moves off the shelf.
If you live in Taipei, you may have better luck.
[quote=“bobl”]I like the Taiwan draft beer in the bottle.
I found too many imports here are skunked by the time the one forienger out of 100000 gets around to buying it.
Rotate your stock and keep the beer cold, are you kidding.
At least the local beers keep rotated because it moves off the shelf.
If you live in Taipei, you may have better luck.[/quote]
This is precisely what separates a good beer from a bad one. A good beer will survive frequent temperature changes and still taste fine. A poor one will go ‘off’ simply by being by heat-cycled once.
Imports typically endure a couple of weeks in a hot container before going into storage in a distribution center at ambient temperature for anywhere between a few hours and a few months. It may then be unlucky enough to go into a momma-poppa store’s refrigerator for a few weeks where the power may be turned off at night when the store is closed. The import beers usually survive this, especially those from Europe made with good water. Taiwan Beer, while it may taste good when treated gently, will never survive this sort of hot/cold/hot/cold storage, and 90% of the time you drink a bad one, that’s the reason for it.
Taiwan Beer drinkers are very resistant to change. According to market research they are used to the taste, and feel that anything that tastes different is unacceptable. Although there is a percentage that buys it because it’s their patriotic duty, a large percentage has tried imports and gone back to Taiwan Beer. That’s a very strong reason for the TWTMB not to change anything. TWTMB’s biggest problem is that it’s vendors don’t look after the product properly, but there is basically nothing they can do about it.
A typical pils beer will not survive many temperature changes and it’s brewed to be consumed within a year due to the low alcohol content
Tsingtao beer is brewed with water from a slightly saline well, therefor the typical taste … I suppose if Tsingtao is brewed under license in Taiwan it’ll taste different.
No it doesn’t. The worst beer in the Asia is Star
and some Vietnamese and Chinese beers are pretty bad too. but safer than drinking water in those places, so i not argue, no.
And cheaper than water too. Really!
HG
You almost had me until this point:
I’d rather chew on my own asshole than drink Tsingtao.
you can reach? or does it unscrew?
So now we know what you were doing while you were gone…
There’s no way I would say Taiwan Beer is bad. The bottles are better than the cans. Strangely, the tall cans seem worse than the short cans. I dunno.
Tsingtao is pretty awful. I find all the Japanese beers really tart. Korean beer? No thanks. I used to like Tiger, but don’t care much for it anymore either.
I"ll take a North American offering over any of these, including Taiwan Beer. I lament not being able to buy any Labatt or Molson products here (save for the odd time Jason’s in the 101 has some). I’d gladly swill either.
Really?
Even this?
Just so we’re sure that Asia doesn’t have the market cornered on shite beer. 
[quote=“Elegua”]Really?
Even this?
Just so we’re sure that Asia doesn’t have the market cornered on shite beer. [/quote]
I can’t speak for that one. Haven’t tried it. I’ll take your word for it though.
[quote=“Elegua”]Really?
Even this?
Just so we’re sure that Asia doesn’t have the market cornered on shite beer. [/quote]
yesh, indeeed!
The point being, one supposes, is that one crap beer is worth thrice in the bush.
It’s all about thirst/taste, roight?