Casket Beer Around the World in 2019

I launched this blog one year ago simply as a way to shine a light on humble beer. The kind of beer that people don’t line up for, or trade online. There have not been as many posts as I would have liked, partially due PorchDrinking.com kindly asking me to contribute to their site about halfway through the year (many thanks to Tristan Chan and the crew over there for the opportunity. I am particularly grateful for the editors who clean up my mess). That has taken up some of the precious free time I have to dedicate to writing. That said, it has been a good year of promoting humble beer, both here, and on social media.

As someone who has had a lifelong interest and education in geography, my favorite part of having this site is seeing its geographic reach. As of the date of this post, Casket Beer has been viewed in 39 countries. I won’t exaggerate and claim it has been viewed in large numbers. That said, it’s still pretty cool.

While there are views in countries whose beer cultures I am familiar with, there are many more that I know little about. The map inspired me to look into some of these countries a little closer, particularly South Africa and Vietnam. My limited beer knowledge in these countries included 101-level awareness of bia hoi culture in Vietnam, as well as the Czech influence there, and I knew of Mitchell’s Brewery in South Africa. I knew this brewery solely because I recall seeing their plastic bottles in one of Michael Jackson’s books, and I was somewhat fascinated with them.

Overwhelmingly, the United States is influencing the majority of countries that I looked into around the globe. While that is unfortunate in some respects (with a focus on trendy over traditional), it still provides hope that the industry is flourishing in areas where it was stagnant or dead.

In many places, aspiring brewers have few resources to learn the trade. As a result, it seems that output is often inconsistent and/or flawed. Perhaps with time, these cultures will grow, revive some old traditions and/or create some new ones as well.

It’s also interesting to see familiar mistakes like the disdain for “lager” in these younger markets. As was the case here in the US, the intent is to reject the bland swill made by the big corporate breweries in favor of “craft beer” made by “independent” companies in a “microbrewery”. It’s a misused and misunderstood concept that leads many away from the world of lager, whether it be a light pilsner, a dark and complex rauchbier, and everything else in between. Hopefully, the young brewers will recognize the beauty of lager before too much damage is done. Our craft beer scene is still impacted by this ignorance. Even when brewers actually want to make bottom-fermented beer, the quality, more often than not, is lackluster.

South Africa

A hurdle for South African breweries is the need to educate consumers. In an article, unfortunately titled ‘Craft brewers attempt to win over lager drinkers in South Africa’, a board member of the Craft Beer Association South Africa noted “one of the craft beer industry’s greatest challenges in South Africa is getting South Africans to drink something other than lager.” They need to do a better job communicating to constituents. It leads to consumers that are poorly informed, and make ridiculous comments like the following, noted in the same article, “South Africa is lager country, and you grow up with that…The great thing about craft beers is it’s not lager. It’s ales, which is less bubbly, and you can drink more before you get drunk and it kicks hard.” Oof.

Contrary to the comment above, getting people to drink craft lager in South Africa is perhaps the real challenge. Modern consumers, like the one quoted above, are looking for hazy IPA’s, sours, etc. Traditional consumers don’t understand what the product is, and assume it is something quite different from the lager they’re used to drinking, even if it is a helles or a pilsner.

There is hope for lager in South Africa though, and some of it is coming from a brewer with ties to big beer. Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela, owner of Brewsters Craft, was quoted in an article from The Beer Connoisseur saying “lagers are much more interesting than many beer drinkers – and brewers – think, and our aim is to show South African drinkers that lagers can have the same variety in color, flavor and aroma [as ales]”. She does that as an educator, providing training at her facility, which also serves as a contract brewery (Brewsters Craft itself is not a brand of beer.)

Nxusani-Mawela has an impressive background in the brewing industry. According to the Brewsters Craft website “Apiwe has over 12 years practical brewing experience within both macro and micro brewing industries. She holds a BSc Honours in Microbiology from University of Pretoria, Master Brewer qualification from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and was the first person in South Africa to complete the NQF6 National Diploma in Clear Fermented Beverages.” That macro brewing experience included several years with SAB (South African Breweries, previously SABMiller, currently a subsidiary of ABI.)

According to Nxusani-Mawela, from the same The Beer Connoisseur piece, “what I find interesting is that a lot of beer drinkers still refer to our beers as ales,” explains Apiwe. “Most South African beer drinkers consider a lager to be ‘what SAB and Heineken make’ – everything else is considered an ale, so I have to do a lot of educating and explaining.”

Nxusani-Mawela has maintained a good relationship with her former employer, and they retained her services to contract brew a beer in honor of Women’s Month earlier this year. Bold Brew was designed and brewed by women. The project was particularly important to her as the first black woman owned brewery in the country who wants to make it clear that women have historically been the ones brewing beer in South Africa. Largely, that beer is a homebrew called “umqombothi”, a native drink brewed with sorghum. (The same type of beverage is made elsewhere in Africa, and may go by other names. When produced commercially, it is sometimes referred to as “chibuku”.)

While sorghum is grown elsewhere around the world, it is only in Africa where it has played a significant part in brewing culture (that may be changing in places like the US, as sorghum produces a gluten-free beverage that caters to those with celiac disease and others on a gluten-free diet). Umqombothi is a cloudy and sour beer, and it seems it is a matter of time before this becomes a hip new fad here in the US.

Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the largest consumers of beer in Asia, and it has one of the most active craft beer scenes on the continent right now. Starting in the 90s, then picking up steam in the 2000s, activity began largely with a Czech/German influence due to the country’s historic connection to Czechoslovakia from the communist era. Czechoslovakia was welcoming to Vietnamese immigrants, and when communism fell, some returned to Vietnam, bringing with them their taste for good lager. The growing economy in Vietnam continues to bring people back, and the connections between the two countries remain, leading to training for the Vietnamese from Czech brewmasters, as well as access to some of quality brewhouse equipment. The most notable is Hoa Vien Brauhaus, a brewery, beer hall and the Czech Embassy.

This decade has seen greater influence from American trends. Some of the leaders include Pasteur Street Brewing and East West Brewing Company, the latter founded by a former ABI business and sales manager. Another, Heart of Darkness, has had great success, recently expanding into Singapore, which is seeing a growing interest in craft beer.

Perhaps a more interesting, and concerning trend is the decline of bia hoi culture. Bia hoi is a very light, low-abv lager that is consumed fresh on draft. A glass is incredibly cheap (about 30-cents), and typically enjoyed at sidewalk cafes (also called bia hoi) in copious amounts. The beer itself may not be much to write home about, but the culture around it is rich.

Given its sessionable ABV, perishable quality, and social attributes, it reminds me of cask ale and pub culture in England. Unfortunately, like cask ale, bia hoi’s future is uncertain.

In his latest book, A Brief History of Lager: 500 Years of the World’s Favourite Beer, Mark Dredge discusses the changing bia hoi culture, with establishments essentially being bought by “Big Beer”, preferring to sell bottled beer, in part, catering to tourists. But, as Dredge notes, bia hoi was not created with tourists in mind; it has served local communities that did not have the resources to pay for premium beer, and were in need of places to socialize outside of their hot and humid homes.

With the continued growth in Vietnam’s economy, and improvements to the quality of home life, that market may be shrinking as people can afford to add air conditioning in their homes, where they can engage with others through social media. They can also afford beer that is more expensive. That said, there remains a portion of the population that cannot afford these luxuries, and is losing a valuable third place.

Dredge attempts to offer hope for the bia hoi culture by noting that it may not disappear so easily as the Vietnamese greatly value tradition. Given country’s evolving economy, it’s tough to see a scenario where tradition will outweigh money, but I hope I’m proven wrong.

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Like any good beer, a good beer culture should be balanced. The world has seen so much growth with modern beers, and I am generally not opposed to that as long as there is balance with traditional styles. Happy New Year!