The brochure needs some mild spell-checking but over all a nifty piece of work
I took the time to read the brochure handed out to me during my Beer Lao brewery tour. From information I am gathering off the brochure this moment, seems to me I wasn’t too tipsy in previously noting that Beer Lao could very well be my favorite Asian beer.
International Awards won by Beer Lao include:
- Gold Medal from the International Beer Competition in Japan 2008 (My past Asian beer brands of choice includes Japanese-owned Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo. And of course I can’t write about Asian beers and not mention my love for San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Red Horse from the Philippines.)
- Gold Medal from World Selection in Prague, Czech Republic 2006
- Gold Medal from World Selection in Brussels, Belgium 2003 (A country which I personally believe produces the BEST beer in the world, hands down. Cheers!)
- Golden Bowl of Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry 2005 (Since Beer Lao is half-owned by the communist government, this shouldn’t really be a bullet point here. But as a quasi-journalist I have to report all I see when I’m not seeing double from drinking too much Beer Lao, right?).
Empty cans of Beer Lao ready for takeoff
50% of the company is owned by the government of Laos and the other half by Danish Carlsberg based in Copenhagen. According to the brochure, Lao Brewery was founded in 1973 and a deal was made between the government and Carlsberg Breweries in 2005.
What started out as a production capacity of 3 million liters of this wonderful brew in ’73 grew into a capacity of 220 million liters last year. This is almost a liter per person of the combined population of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. *
LaneXang, another beer brand by Lao Brewery Co.
If you love beer, especially free ones straight off the brewery assembly line like I do, talk to your tuk-tuk driver in Vientiane. Beer Lao does not post advertisements regarding tours of their factory but a simple walk-in along with my tuk-tuk driver was all it took.
The front desk staff was very accommodating. The receptionist served myself and the tuk-tuk man a few bottles of free Beer Lao and LaneXang, another brand they brew and distribute.
After 2 rounds, a female employee dressed quite sharply showed us around the brewery which I found to be very clean and safety looked to be a priority. I’m no expert on safety standards in beer factories (or safety in any sector for that matter. I was walking aimlessly around an exotic Southeast Asian country just a few hours previously after all…) but I took notice of a clinic in the compound and the machinery looked new and modern. All areas were definitely clean and one can tell the company is easily a source of pride for the government.
You can taste the quality in the product. Beer Lao goes down extremely easy and has a fresh, crisp taste to it.
The brewery is located directly under the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. Cheers to friendship and a gold-medalist of a beer!
One thing to note though is drinking with your tuk-tuk driver is not always the best decision. He was polite the entire time, don’t get me wrong, but the alcohol in his system was probably responsible in giving him the guts to ask me right before dropping me off my hotel,”Diana, do you want boom boom?”.
Beer, yes. Boom boom, uh, no thank you.
+++
* Population rates as reported by LonelyPlanet.com (in millions of people):
87.8 – The Philippines
65 – Thailand
5.6 – Laos
15 – Cambodia
86 – Vietnam
Elders are referred to in Thai society as as ‘pii’ (older sibling). While addressing elders and strangers, formal suffixes ‘kha’ (female) and ‘khrup’ (male) are always added.
There are plenty of tailor shops as well as and some go-go bars. Presence of Pattaya police station, and the Immigration Office makes the region important.