Phuket Days Three, Four and Five: Leo; Singha vs Chang; and stick to Singha

Leo and Chang

Eventually, I had opportunities to try Leo and Chang beer, in two separate occasions.  To be frank, they taste quite similarly.

I don't like Leo beer.  Not crispy at all to be any kind of suitable lager in a hot country.  I checked info at the website and know that Leo is by the same brewery of Singha.

Then I tried Chang, which tasted a bit better than Leo.

To figure out more clearly what difference there is between Singha and Chang, the two most popular beer in Thailand.  I bought a bottle each and bring them back to the villa and did a tasting comparison again.

Singha vs Chang

As you could see from the photo, their colours are actually very similar, with Singha a bit paler and Chang a bit more golden yellow (although both are pale lager already).  Bubbling also very similar.

I tried them very chilly in the first place.  When forced to tell their differences, I could say that Chang has a taste more like biscuit and Singha offered a bit flowery aroma.  Given that they are cold for drinking, you could not really tell much about their differences.

I wait for half an hour, and tried them again then.

The comparison is much easier.  Chang reminded the old days when I was young and was quite disgusted by the "bitter" taste of local San Miguel (when the brewery was still along the Castle Peak Road.  I remember those construction site workers pouring down bottles of San Miguel during lunch in those days because the beer is "tasty (or actually "bitterly") enough".  The taste of San Miguel is very different nowadays and therefore cannot be used as comparison in this case.)

On the other hand, warm/not chilly Singha was still drinkable.

As a conclusion, Singha is much better, to me.

Singha from bottle

On our final day in Phuket.  We walked along a beautiful beach in the morning and stopped at a cafe just beside the beach.  As my last bottle of beer for the trip, I ordered Singha (don't be cheated by the outside cover of Chang logo) and drank it straightly from the bottle.  That's the way all the tourists in Phuket drink beer: Singha directly from the bottle.  Cheers!!

Phuket Days One and Two: Singha, Full Moon Brewery

The five-day trip to Phuket, a new place to me, was relaxing, especially when I had no planning at all before departure.

Singha in a glass

When did I have my first glass of beer upon arrival?

It must be either Singha or Chang beer (everybody drinks either Singha or Chang in Phuket.  As I recalled, just one guy I saw drank Heineken in those five days.  And I found no sign of Carlsberg in the whole trip), during our first dinner in Phuket.  I had quite a poor memory now and I have to work it out from the colour of the beer halfly shown in the above photo.

I made a guess: it should be Singha, as Singha is always listed at the top of the beer list.  Always above Chang.  I don't know why (I guess I know later when I tried both a few days).

So just assume it was Singha.  Frankly speaking, I did not appreciate it as I should in that first time, because I didn't appreciate it against the local hot weather, the way people drink it, and its easy accessibility.

I have not tried Chang until our third day in Phuket.

Full Moon Brewwork

I did some internet research and found out this (the only one) microbrewery in Phuket.  It is located at Jungceylon, a very big shopping mall in Patong ("behind the ship", as it advertises itself).  So the first thing I got to Patong was to check the place out.

Three types of craft beer were available: Phuket Lager, Andaman Dark Ale and Oriental Wheat.  This time, I worked against the order of listing shown on the menu and chose Andaman Dark Ale.  No problem, it came chilly, but the taste was something between porter and bitter: not bitter enough for a ale-drinker like me, and not stout enough as I think a dark ale could do.  Maybe next time, I should try the Phuket Lager.  And I really appreciate the effort paid by the company to brew lager in such a hot place like Phuket.

Eventually, I finished half of the pint of beer (50% discount promotion for a pint: 85THB, and it is even cheaper than a half-pint (110THB as shown on menu)!).  That's enough for a tasting session, I think.

Belgian Beer Cafe

In the same internet research I did, I found out there is one cafe in Patong specialising in Belgian Beer.  What a great news to me.  I did not jot down its address as it was placed in some kind of luxury hotel and I did not think I would take a taxi especially for the place.

BUT you never know in what specific way our Lord loves us.  When I walked out of the long Patong beach back to the Beach Road because of the shower, I found a sign written as "Belgian Beer Cafe" just ahead of us.

I am in love of Kasteel beer recently (especially its beautiful glass) and I tried Kasteel Hoppy (for the first time) and Veronica ordered Kriek by St. Louis.  After a few minutes, I just took off my England shirt and put on my Chang beer vest (just because of it design bettering Singha, not its taste).

After some time, both of us were in Chang beer vests!!

A very cozy atmosphere in the beer cafe: friendly while elegant.  That was the attractiveness of Belgian beer. Such was that wonderful night!

(to be continued)