Written by The first draft of this beer review started ‘Little did the good burghers of Pilsen realise the global implications when they hired Joseph Grolle to develop the first Pilsner lager…’.
And then I sat back and thought for a while, sipping on a glass of Singha, a great Asian lager brewed in Bangkok. After a couple of sips I spotted my error. Singha is a great lager, but not necessarily a great Pilsner. After all, Joseph Grolle was employed to replicate his German experience in what was then Bohemia.
So, while tasting lagers from around the world – and I have a few lined up – the question comes, is it in the style of a beer from Pilsen, or from Budweis, or Bavaria, or even Holland?
In the case of Singha, it is clearly in the style of German lager, rather than Czech.
So, a little background… Singha (or Beer Singh as it’s sometimes known) is the most popular beer in Thailand, and the most popular Thai beer globally. It’s brewed by the Boon Rawd brewery in Bangkok, Thailand. The brewery was founded in 1933 by Boonrawd Srethabutra, and the brewery is still owned by his descendants, now the 3rd and 4th generations.
Singha beer is brewed in Bangkok using malted barley and hops, with no added rice or maize, keeping it closer to the German ideal. Until a few years ago it was brewed to 6.2% – which is why, when visiting Thailand on vacations I used to complain to my wife that the beer seemed to evaporate rather too quickly for my liking. At least I used to blame the rapidly emptying glass on evaporation, I don’t think she believed me.
In recent years the strength of Singha has been reduced to 5% ABV – this is a common trend – but the brewery continues to brew a 6.2% ‘super strength’ Thai Beer – but sadly not for export.
I’ll say it now, at the risk of being locked up by the British thought police – I LIKE THE TASTE OF STRONGER BEERS. There, I feel better now, and rest assured I have some stronger beers in the rack for tasting sometime soon.
As you can see from the picture, Singha pours a golden amber with a bright white head that subsides gently. There is hardly any lacing, and I wonder if there was any in the old days. There’s a hoppy nose with an underlying hint of the alcohol lurking in this innocent looking lager.
What stands out on tasting is the flavour, this is very much a German style lager – probably first cousin to a Warsteiner. It’s not too light and not too full bodied, well balanced, but the underlying flavour is hoppy, dry and robust – enough to stand its own against a fiery Thai curry.
Even without a curry this goes down really well, it took some considerable restraint to hold the second bottle back for another evening.
All in all I’d give Singha Beer three and a half stars, it’s still a great Asian lager, but I’ll reserve at least half a star for the full strength stuff I remember so fondly.
Rating: 
I like stronger beer too. I am baffled by the fact they don’t export the 6.2. Seems like a no brainer. I would think they would sell more of the brew in the US than in Thailand. Oh well, guess they need keep something for the tourists.
.-= Don´s last blog ..Of Birthdays and Beer and Bourbon =-.
Don, yeah, that is odd. Usually export brews are higher in alcohol, right?
As it happens, I have a bottle of this in the fridge that I’m going to have tonight and I’ll see if I can pick up on what Bob did. I’m also amazed at how far the German beer concept has traveled!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Lucky Beer and Bintang Beer Reviews =-.
OK, I just finished my 5% Singha and I can see what Bob is talking about. Not too light, hoppy, light and robust. Well balanced, quite enjoyable to drink. Still, I need to have more lagers because I’m having a real hard time differentiating this lager from some lesser ones. It just tastes ‘lagery’ to me! More palate development is on tap I think!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Beer Review-Tusker Kenyan Lager =-.
It might be that you’re usually exposed to pretty good lagers. Over here we’re swamped by crap supermarket fodder and you have to seek out the quality stuff – still in supermarkets, but on a different shelf!
I guess a good way to try differentiating would be to try a good German lager (say Becks for instance) and a Czech lager (Staropramen or Budvar /Czechvar) side by side, and then a Tsing Tao or Castell Cru to finsh off.
That sounds like a plan!
.-= Bob the Brit´s last blog ..Bakewell Tart =-.
Thanks Bob! That’s a good point actually to try some side-by side. I’ve had the Staropramen, Tsing Tao and now the Singha, but its been months between them. Mostly an ale guy I guess, but I know there are good lagers out there too that I shouldn’t ignore either.
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Bard’s Tale Gluten Free Beer =-.
generally speaking, i prefer bold strong beers & ales & i hate the whole concept of “lite beers” – my favorite style is hefeweizen. I usually don’t drink Oriental brews @home, but whether in a Thai, Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese eatery, i do enjoy “their” beers, be it Tsingtso, Singha, Ashai, Sapporo, etc. I strive to eat & drink as authentic as possible, i.e. no chop suey, chow mein, egg foo yung or other American creations of the real deal.
@jeff – thanks for stopping in and sharing! One of our #1 Facebook fans!
You make good points, and I’ll add that sometimes if you want a beer at a Thai place or whatever, they usually seem to try having a Thai beer on hand etc. It occasionally forces the authentic thing, (even though the beers are German originally!)
SIMPLE QUESTION HOW AND WHAT IF ANYTHING CAN WE DO TO GET THEM TO START EXPRTING THE 6.2% LAGER BACK TO THE UK
I wish we could @Phil, but given the prevailing trend towards ‘down-strengthening’ beers it won’t happen. And with the UK Government doubling tax on beers over 7.5% ABV, what’s the betting they won’t bring that down to 6% in due course?
Shame, the ‘real’ Singha is a classic IMHO.
I wonder if we can get the ‘real’ stuff here in the States? Seems I’ve tried the 5% so I’m guessing ‘probably not”.
I recently switched to drinking Singha in Thailand after years of avoiding it, largely due to a nasty rumor(?) that in the old days it had formaldehyde in it..tastes better than the other stronger Chang beer IMHO and if I do have a ‘few’, there seems to be far less effects the morning after, a definite bonus!
Welcome aboard @John
I never really looked for Chang on my trips to Thailand. I encountered Singha 6.2% when I first arrived on my first trip to Bangkok, hadn’t heard the formaldehyde rumours (why on earth would you want to add that to a brew?) and stuck with Singha ever since.