Playground Brewery comes from Ilsan, Goyang, South Korea, sitting northwest of Seoul. The brewery, which was started in 2015 by founder Chun Soon-bong and helmed by brewmaster Jaehyun Kim, is easily recognisable by its incredibly distinctive beer can labels that feature various characters and Hwahoe masks which are paired with various beer expressions, almost personifying them - the high ABV lager is matched with the character of suited gentleman, whilst the stout is given the character of a witch.

These Hwahoe masks are taken from a traditional Korean dance drama epic called Andong Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori ( 하회별신굿탈놀이) which the brewery believes is not just an homage to its Korean heritage (and would make the beers easily identified as being Korean), but is also an encouragement by the brewery to its consumers to have fun and embrace being playful with each brew offering a different perspective and persona - thus its motto "Drink Better, Play Better".

The brewery has produced over 50 expressions to date, and much of its success is owed to its perspective of creating beers that is missing from the market and that might interest Koreans. Founder Chun believes that Koreans aren't necessarily interested in simply any beer that is foreign, but that they fundamentally want tasty beers regardless of provenance. This led him to debut with the brewery's Gentleman Lager which was a standout at the time of its launch with a 7.6% ABV versus the 4% that most lagers sport - this was a big hit with many wheat beer fans who were used to the higher ABV but found Playground Brewery's lager to be maltier.

The brewery in true Asian style, also focuses on pairing its beers with food, and is said to have one of the best taproom food menus in South Korea. And so you can expect its beers to be created with select dishes and flavours in mind. The brewery even got a chef who trained in the Cordon Bleu institute in Australia!

Going back to its origins, Chun had initially found the South Korean beer scene to be incredibly challenging initially as much of the infrastructure was not well developed as South Korea had only recently then deregulated craft beer making, allowing craft brewers to produce and retail its beer directly to consumers nationwide. This meant that getting hands on ingredients such as malt and hops was difficult, and thus he had initially considered being an importer of American beers, but eventually felt that locally brewed beer would still be the freshest for drinkers in Korea. He had also sent the brewery's brewmaster to the US to learn beermaking, as well as being first to obtain a canning machine that made Playground Brewery the first craft brewer to sell its beers in cans as opposed to kegs.

Since its founding, the brewery has begun to increasingly focus on domestic sourcing of its ingredients, such as Korean black raspberry (bokbunja), which the brewery hopes can allow its beers to become even more reflective of its locality. This has boded well with locals, and as you might guess, the brewery's beers are incredibly popular with locals in the Ilsan area, although since its inclusion into nationwide convenience chains, has become a full Korean phenomenon.

With all that said, let's give the beers a go! 

Gentleman Lager, Playground Brewery, 7.6% ABV - Review

The Gentleman Lager is Playground Brewery's interpretation of a Czech Pilsner but with a high ABV which is what was the brewery's early claim to fame. In coming up with the expression, the brewery had looked to the popular Korean Somaek (beer and soju combo) and wanted to create something that would offer a similar experience. The mask on the label is called the Aristocrat.

Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Gold

Aroma: A good scoop of honey, deep notes of mangoes and apricots, with a faint scent of hoppy greenness residing in the back. There’s a substantial malty quality about it too.

Taste: Thick and rich with dense and heavy notes of honey and mango puree, really creamy, and then alittle more diesel from the hoppiness - it’s the hop oil! There’s a brief wave of bitterness.

Finish: The hoppiness evolves into a more leafy quality, alittle medicinal, before retreating back into the tropical fruit puree. Lingering touch of bitterness.

My Thoughts

I really liked how rich, dense and fruity this was, the flavours are big and heavy, while being supported by a good hefty texture. This gives it a very satisfying density!

The hoppiness really only hits towards the back of the palate but it does come in rather heavy, with a good deal of those hoppy greenness persisting through to the finish. It can be alittle high toned - think diesel fumes - so that does take some getting used to, but thankfully it stops short of being overwhelming.

This is a big boi lager that packs a whole lot of flavour.

The Madam Raspberry Ale, Playground Brewery, 5.6% ABV - Review

This is a raspberry saison ale that makes use of locally grown raspberry. The character here is that of the Punae which is a character with a white face with red rouged lips and cheeks that is said to possess super ordinary beauty.

Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Gold / Amber

Aroma: Lots of buttery wheat and honey, quite rustic, with a gentler side of fruit jam at the back. 

Taste: The fruit jams take a big step forward - raspberry and strawberry jam pushes forth first, and thereafter there’s Rice Krispies, wheat, a slight bit of foamy bitterness. A medium-bodied brew with full-bodied flavours.

Finish: A waft of uncooked rice, lightly nutty, but also some more chewy glutinous rice notes. Some slight bit of bitterness that’s typical of lagers. Finishes off with bigger berry jam notes.

My Thoughts

Very solid raspberry ale! On the nose, I was a slight bit concerned, but as it warmed up slightly, the fruit jam notes began to reveal itself alittle. Thankfully on the palate the fruit jams stepped up - quite substantially even - and was complemented with the Rice Krispies flavour to give a fully stacked flavour spectrum of lighter and brighter umami flavours alongside denser and richer jammy fruit flavours. Really lovely thickness to the body as well. 

The finish was just as well terribly enjoyable - almost like a rice lager with the nutty raw rice flavours with some chewy glutinous rice, you know I love these rice notes! And then more of those fruit jams - heck, bigger here even.

Overall, a really lovely well-integrated and rounded flavour that combines the raspberry notes perfectly with the hefty texture, and also a nice bit of complexity on the finish. 

Very, very nice.

Witch Chocolate Stout, Playground Brewery, 5.7% ABV - Review

Here we have a chocolate stout that is made with the addition of oatmeal. This has the character of Halmi which translates as an old woman that dons an expression showing her anguish from a harsh life. The idea here was apparently that the chocolate stout would be a "big boost in life with its sweet chocolate".

Tasting Notes

Color: Espresso Black

Aroma: Roasted, charred coffee beans, burnt toast, a light bit of marmite, earthy notes of soil, unrefined cacao, roasted nuts.

Taste: Lighter-bodied than you’d expect, still good integration, notes of mocha, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, with just a slight bit of oiliness and bitterness.

Finish: Almost feels alittle more gritty here - spent coffee grounds and cacao nibs. Pretty clean finish, leaving a more smoky mocha or hot chocolate aftertaste.

My Thoughts

Pretty enjoyable stout - what struck me first was how earthy it was. Even on the nose, it was incredibly earthy, more so than most stouts, almost like it was more unfiltered. That gave it a very uncut and raw quality that I really appreciated. 

On the palate, it was somewhat lighter than I had expected, a touch under medium-bodied, but the flavours were still very cohesive, and this time more of the chocolate showed up, and again a really nice earthy quality to it - and personally I liked that this wasn’t too dense or bitter. In fact, I found it very friendly - almost like the tail end of drinking a mocha.

This was perhaps the most earthy stout I’ve had so far - it’s not sweet, nor particularly bitter, but entirely earthy. Which makes it not just unique amongst stouts but also very approachable and friendly.

Hunchback Hazy IPA, Playground Brewery, 4.9% ABV - Review

This hazy IPA is designed as a low-alcohol session beer made in the NEIPA style.

Tasting Notes

Color: Hazy Orange Juice

Aroma: Already the classic pineapple tepache and cut grass aromas are coming through - entirely like freshly harvested and cut pineapple with both the fruit and the leaves tossed in.

Taste: Lighter than expected, and not nearly as bitter as feared! Here it’s more fruit forward, with more pineapples and orange juice. A good harmonious body that’s well-rounded and even alittle sweet! It’s got a nice vibrancy about it with a body that’s refreshing and not too dense.

Finish: Just a slight bit more bitterness coming through of cut grass. And then we’re back to the raw orange juice and pineapples.

My Thoughts

This was initially alittle fear-inducing because of how hoppy it was on the nose - I had thought this was going to rip through me with the bitterness of a field of hops, but surprisingly its palate showed so much more restraint! The palate was my favourite part as you can probably tell - it was much more fruit forward, with great roundedness and integration, but technicalities aside, it was really juicy and refreshing, with a body that didn’t come off too dense, but still flavour packed.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot