Chicagoist's Beer of the Week: Taiwan Beer

By Kevin Robinson in Food on Feb 3, 2012 8:20PM

A few of us met up last Sunday to watch the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown on the city's South side. As the festivites marking the Year of the Dragon wound down, we headed off toward the "new" part of Chinatown, seeking coffee or tea, a respite for the cold day. Walking through Chinatown Square, a hot cup of coffee in hand, we stumbled across China Place Liquor City. Although well-stocked with Chinese liquors and more sake than you can shake a stick at, there is a lot of of beer in the back. And if you can elbow past the Miller Lites and Budwisers, Tsing Tao and Sapporo cans, you'll find plastic-wrapped six-packs of Taiwan Beer.

Brewed in Taipei by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation, this local standout is, ironically, a holdover from the days of Japan's rule over Taiwan. Founded in 1901, TTL held a monoploy over the production and sale of all tobacco, liquor, salt, opium and camphor sold on the island. When Chiang Kai-shek led his nationalists to Taipei to form their government-in-exile they preserved the monopoly system for alcohol and tobacco, assigning beer production in 1945 to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau, which adopted the name Taiwan Beer the following year. In 1960 locally grown Ponlai rice was added to the fermentation process, giving the lager a distinctive local flavor

Unlike other Asian exports, light and forgettable, Taiwan Beer has a pure, clean taste, with a quick, fluffy head and a crisp flavor that compliments spicy foods. The Ponlai rice adds a dry maltiness to this clean-tasting lager. Sure, it's not as complex as a local microbrew, and it lacks the fullness of a Central European import like Stiegel or Urquell. But that's OK - Taiwan Beer tastes good, and you can drink a few of them in a single sitting. That's not a bad thing; sometimes beer should be enjoyed as something you drink for the sake of drinking beer.

Nobody will accuse TTL of blazing any trails with their brews, but that's what's made Asia great - a dedication to being good enough, every time. Taiwan Beer remains the island's number-one selling beer and one of the most recognized brands in the island nation's business world. And like so much of what Asia exports to the West, it's not bad.