It's not all that often that Thailand gets another big player to its beer market - since 1933 the Southeast Asian country has really only ever had two big players, Singha and Chang. And so when a third new player emerged - it was exciting news!

Who's Mr Big In Thailand?

Yet beneath that incredibly taxing threshold of being a "big" player, are a large number of smaller producers, many of whom are craft producers who have found it more economical to produce their beers outside of Thailand and import it back, as well as those that operate as a microbrewery, under whose license they are only able to brew and sell their beers on premise, and these beers can't be bottled, canned or sold off premise. Craft folks are typically hobbyists who are serious craft beer lovers, and thus typically don't aim to make big money out of producing craft beers, whereas those who operated microbreweries typically served more as a food joint or brewpub that simply produced beers as an accompaniment to its food and entertainment, and thus again, typically harbour little ambition towards being a seriously large beer producer.

Bangkok craft beer bar Duke of Beerington.

This is all important in establishing what "big" is. 

In Thailand terms, "big" would refer to a producer who first of all, endeavoured to make profits directly and materially from the sale of their beers, and then to that end, was able to produce at the sort of massive scale and could achieve countrywide distribution that would allow it to digest all of those millions of litres of beers that have to be produced annual to sustain a full fledged brewing license. That requires tons of capital, and thus is out of the reach of most craft beer producers, and simply not the line of business for brewpubs.

From Superstar Singer To Energy Drink Champ And Now Beer Maker

So who then is this big third beer producer staging an appearance in Thailand? It's none other than Carabao. Carabao is most famous for its Carabao Dang energy drinks that you can find pretty much anywhere in Thailand, whether it be convenience stores, supermarkets or even mom-and-pop stalls. The brand was named after its founder, Yuenyong Opakul (whose stage name is Aed Carabao), who had a found great success in the 1980's as lead singer of the Thai band Carabao. A pretty nifty transition from superstar singer to owners of one of the most successful businesses in Thailand (considering the country has one of the world's highest consumption rates of energy drinks)!

What's Carabao Up To With Those Beers?

The past decade had seen Carabao casually and very quietly inching into the beer scene - it owned several cafes and brewpubs, most notably a German-styled Brauhaus or beer hall called Tawandang, which served up not only its own beer, but also local stage performances and Thai-German fusion cuisine. Having gotten its start in 1999, it was one of Bangkok's first legal microbreweries, and had found some success in the business - yet unlike its peers, it had a massive backer in the form of Carabao that could finally help realise its true ambition of being a major beer producer in Thailand (Carabao even sponsors the English Football League, which is called the Carabao Cup, and sits just below the famous English Premier League).

Tawandang beer halls in Thailand.

And thus in late 2023, Carabao had decided to launch five beer styles across two brands, Carabao and Tawandang. Carabao states that the Carabao brand is designed to be more of a workhorse, and will include a lager and a dunkel, whilst the the Tawandang brand is positioned to be alittle more premium and features an IPA, a Rose beer and a Weizen beer, all of which are canned versions of what's available at Tawandang beer halls. The company further tells us that the thinking behind having five beer styles launched at once, as opposed to say just one or two to test the market, is because they recognised that beer drinkers today enjoy diversity and they'd like to offer some breadth to these fresh alternatives.

The beers will be made available across convenience stores and supermarkets, much as Carabao Dang the energy drink is, instead of on-premise, as Carabao wants to occupy segments not yet heavily competed in. The beers are all made according to the German Purity Law where only malts, hops, yeast and water is used during the brewing process, and so that establishes some standards, although it does mean we probably won't see too artisanal or craft sour beers anytime soon. The beers are produced in a German-styled brewery in the Chainat Province, that's able to produce up to a whopping 400 million litres of beer!

And so today, we're here to try out the five beers offered by Carabao!  

Beer Review: Carabao Lager Beer, 4.9% ABV

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: Initially alittle yeasty, with some wet dough and kombucha. It also has a rather clean and not so malty quality to it. With time this funkiness does fade to give an umaminess of marmite and also some white floral scents. It is a little peculiar.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's mellow with a good richness. There's a big honey and honeyed cereal note, alongside some rustic notes of wheat. It also has quite a bit of crispness to it. It's definitely much more malty and richer on the palate, with a nice fullness to it.

Finish: The honeyed richness carries through to the finish, letting up to some gentle savouriness. The richness persists into the clean finish.

My Thoughts

Initially I was alittle spooked by the yeasty funkiness on the nose, although thankfully with some time it did fade to give something more familiar of marmite, fresh laundry and some white florals. That said, getting past the nose, it was actually very solid on the body - it has alot more body than most lagers in fact. It has a big maltiness to it, and yet had a firm and refreshing crispness too. I really enjoyed the fullness of the body, that also was rich and honeyed, carrying that sweeter and richer bit all the way into the finish.

My Rating: 6/10

Beer Review: Carabao Dunkel Beer, 4.9% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Very Dark Brown Amber

Aroma: It's filled in with a dark, sticky sweetness of molasses and toffee, along with some umami savouriness of marmite. Alittle thin on the nose.

Taste: It's richer here, with more of that toffee and molasses coming through. Sweeter too, with more brown sugar and burnt creme brulee crust. The umami savouriness of the marmite is still present, yet it's much lighter here. That somewhat clean and sanitised quality continues to persist on the body.

Finish: Clean finish, the brown sugar and marmite carries through and keeps its richness. It's rich into the clean finish. 

My Thoughts

Much like the Lager, this shares a similar thinness and cleanness at times, that does make you question if it might be lower on malt, however, just as similarly, when I got to tasting it, it turned out thankfully to be much richer than feared. This did pack more richness of the body, with that nice bit of sweet molasses and brown sugar translating to the palate, with just a slight bit of umami savouriness of marmite. That richness again carries through to the finish, which is definitely a positive here. 

My Rating: 6/10

Beer Review: Tawandang IPA, 5.5% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Orange

Aroma: It opens up with quite a hefty bit of wet grass and pine - thats usually indicative of long boiling of the hops during brewing. It's coming off quite vegetal, with alittle bit of diesel too. There's some fruits in here, with some soft notes of apricots, along with some wheat as well. It has a good richness, yet with that big cloud of wet grass that takes the fore.

Taste: Medium-bodied, here it has a pronounced and perfumed hit of orange blossoms and apricots, it's surprisingly brighter and more fruity here, with not nearly as much of that hoppiness here. It's also lightly dry, yet with a good richness to it.

Finish: Abit more of that wet grass re-emerges here, yet the richness of the honey and apricots really carries through with just abit of diesel. That orange blossom note is persistent all the way through.

My Thoughts

This feels rather nostalgic to older American and British IPA's where the prevailing practice then was to boil the hops in during fermentation for quite some time to really bring out that bitterness and potentially more of those fruits - this is pre-dryhopping days where brewers rejigged the process to have the hops in after the fermentation instead. That said, I suppose in keeping to German Purity Laws this will have to do! It does have its merits nevertheless, it feels very old school, and beyond the nose, the hoppiness does fade, with the palate being way more fruit driven, with not all that much bitterness to it. I also particularly enjoyed the richness of it that powered through to the finish with that orange blossom scent.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Beer Review: Tawandang Rose Beer, 5% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Copper, Light Rose Tint

Aroma: It's giving raspberry gummies, raspberry jam, - it's very jammy and confectionary, with a very good richness. It's almost chewy as red licorice. Really nice concentrated and focused bouquet here on the nose.

Taste: A good richness here, medium-bodied, those gentle notes of raspberry gummies and raspberry jam come through again. It's got a nice depth and richness to it. More on those chewy red licorice candy. It stays pretty consistent to its aroma, with a robust fullness and richness of the body.

Finish: The raspberry continues on and on..., raspberry gummies and red licorice, of course. It's very aromatic, it's not so crisp here, with a clean and soft, chewy finish.

My Thoughts

This is really superb - it's fuller, distinctive, richer, really robust body, with the raspberry flavours expressed really well and forward. It's so consistently giving raspberry gummies, jam and red licorice, big and intense, with a full-bodied body to go along with it. It's incredibly tasty without being overly sweet, and is incredibly aromatic as well, with such great boldness, concentration and focus on those raspberry flavours. It's also incredibly drinkable and before you know it, the whole glass vanishes. I like how this isn't overly confectionary and still feels very much like a malty beer at the core of it!

My Rating: 9/10

Beer Review: Tawandang Weizen Beer, 4.9% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Gold

Aroma: Very aromatic with loads of citrus, some wheat, building up into more on candied oranges with lots of candied orange peel. There's some rice cracker at the base of it as well.

Taste: Medium-bodied, good richness here. More on those orange peels, rice crackers, some honey too, its not overly sweet, with quite a clean rice loaded body. There's abit of white pepper and coriander, yet the body is mostly filled by rice cracker. The white pepper is giving off great aromas.

Finish: Those crisp and fresh aromas continue on, really aromatic even on the finish. It's clean, light crispness, along with some honey, candied orange peels, as well as more Japanese rice crackers giving a light savoury touch.

My Thoughts

This was incredibly aromatic - big, intense yet cohesive aromas, they're rich, vibrant and juicy, with loads of those orange blossoms coming through. It comes off really well saturated, with a body that's really nicely filled in with a robust and malty body. It could be alittle richer and more supple, with more depth to it, however, it prioritises being refreshing, balanced and superbly drinkable.

My Rating: 7/10