Beerfest Asia 2014 concluded with a bang, with several new beers launched in Singapore
The four-day-long Beerfest Asia 2014 exposition and festival recently concluded with plenty of new booze, rockin’ music and even comedy. There were performances from the likes of Queen cover band Killer Queen and The Comedy Club Asia (partnered with Magners).
As for the main draw, from beers with as high as 32 per cent alcohol to the coriander and citrus Obolon White beer from the Ukraine, there were many interesting brews to try. With more than 30 exhibitors present, there were bound to be a number of new-to-market treasures to be found.
Intriguing Brews
Summer Zest showcased the first Austrian beer in Singapore, Stiegl. It hails from the largest independent brewery in Salzburg, Austria.
The booth featured three main products, the Stiegl Goldbrau – a Salzburg specialty lager, Stiegl Weisse – a weisse beer rich in flavour and texture, and the Stiegl Grapefruit Radler – a refreshing and citrusy shandy.
Other interesting booths included Applehop’s, bringing in the new-to-Singapore Gamma Ray Pale Ale and Black Betty Black IPA, which was brewed by Beavertown. It was started by Logan Plant, son of legendary musician Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
Another intriguing one was TSA Wines with Brewdog Dead Pony Club, a Scottish brewery. Brewdog had the beer with the highest alcoholic content, in the Brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin. This potent bomb has an alcoholic volume measuring a whopping
32 per cent!
German Gold
Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café showcased a range of beers from the Stuttgart and Black Forest region of Germany.
Alpirsbacher Klosterbrau was a monastic brewery that was put back into operation in 1877 by Johann Gottfried Glauner. His son was sent to Weihenstephan, the oldest surviving brewery in the world, to be trained as a master brewer.
The Klosterbrau Kleiner Moench is bright gold with a stable foam crown. You’ll find a full and round body with a mild hop bitterness. It has a smooth finish with a slight touch of honey.
Engel Gold is a bright golden-yellow beer with a strong malt body. It is pleasant, bitter and light, with an underlying sweet touch. These are available at S-Café at Fortune Centre, and will be available in more places soon.
Little Known but Fantastic Italian CRAFT Beer
One interesting Italian beer showcased was Baladin. It is known for a range of craft beers, which do not use certain mass production processes, with unique characteristics. “Baladin” is a word for “juggler”, and its bottles come in the shape of a juggling pin.
The Baladin Wayan is made with five different cereals and nine spices, five of which are peppers! These make the Wayan piquant and aromatic. The Super, an amber ale, is one of its first beers and has been described as liquid honey.
Baladin beers are currently available at Da Laura and Garibaldi restaurants. They will be available in more venues in the coming months.
32 Via Dei Birrai also plied its wine bottle-like concoctions ranging from light and easy-drinking ales such as the Tre+Due (“three plus two”) with a fresh flavour, to slow-sippers with more hops such as the Atra with hints of yummy coffee, caramel, chocolate and locust bean.
Most of these and more will be new to market in the coming months. Look out for them!
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