Cold beers provide instant relief in Taiwan’s hot, muggy summers, the crystal golden brew the perfect way to cool off when the heat becomes too intense. 

A growing number of Taiwanese are opting for craft beers to quench their thirsts, finding them appealing because they go well with almost any foods and can be appreciated without knowing much about them.

In fact, beers and people are much alike; they all have their own distinct personalities.

The craft beer movement, committed to using traditional, natural materials, was born in the United States before crossing oceans and spreading to other countries. As the movement has spread, craft beers have taken on the flavors and styles of local cultures, helping spawn a variety of unique flavors.

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What Is Craft Beer?

The Brewers Association, an America trade group dedicated to craft beer and homebrewing, defines a craft brewery as small and independent and a “brewer.” 

Small means annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (though this does not apply to Taiwan); independent is defined as at least 75 percent of the craft brewery being owned or controlled by a craft brewer; and “brewer” refers to any brewery with an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) notice (in the United States).

Prior to December 2018, the third term was “traditional,” requiring craft brewers to have at least 50 percent of their production be all malt beers, but it was changed as some brewers were making greater volumes of other specialty beverages, such as cider or sake.  

The definition essentially tries to differentiate the spirit of the craft brewery from that of the big brands, says Cicerone-certified beer server Victor Chung (鍾偉凱). The goal of the global titans is to please the largest number of customers with a flavor that appeals to the masses but is not “special.” Smaller craft brewers, on the other hand, stress the personality and preferences of each brewery and its brew masters, and offer unique tastes. Whether consumers can accept the distinctive styles of their beverages, however, depends on the individual. 

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The boundless imagination of craft breweries have resulted in thousands of uniquely flavored beers, and Taiwan’s teas and fruits, nostalgic flavors such as smoked plums, dried tangerine peel, and roselle, or even its coffees all tempt the imagination, drawing entrepreneurs into this new beverage frontier. (Read: Taiwan’s Cocktail Scene Unveiled)

Creative Craft Beers                      

Taihu Brewing, which uses an international language to interpret tradition, was started by five owners who had never before been involved in the brewing industry. Having spent time in the United States, they found it hard after returning to Taiwan not to have easy access to their favorite brews and decided to go into business to make them for themselves.

Beyond producing craft brews, this upstart company hoped its beers could resonate in people’s lives, positioning beer as an easy, relaxing beverage suitable for all occasions.

Photo by Justin Wu/CW

That free spirit extends to the raw materials Taihu uses.

“We don’t limit ourselves in any way. We have tried many unusual ingredients, such as crumbling pineapple cakes to make a beer or experimenting with smoked plum and tangerine peel. We love to embrace challenges and explore all sorts of possibilities for our products,” says Taihu brand director Lin Shu-ling. Since 2013, her company has rolled out more than 100 different-flavored beers.

Certified beer server Victor Chung observes that Taiwan’s craft beer technology was initially brought in from abroad but has since evolved to create a distinctive Taiwanese “style,” notable for producing beers that are less bitter. Taiwanese breweries also use local ingredients, such as the country’s abundance of fruit, to give local character to their beverages. Add Taiwan’s relatively “soft water” to the mix, and you get beers that go down easy, Chung says.          

                       

Taihu has been a major proponent of fruit-oriented craft beers. One of them, its Lychee Fruity Lager (literally “Guifei Lychee” lager), was inspired by legendary Tang Dynasty imperial consort Yang Guifei, who loved lychees. The lager, which uses juice from Taiwan’s Yuherbau lychees, brings a bold, unrestrained punch of lychee flavor to the palate followed by a subtle bitterness and a shallow aftertaste that delivers the perfect finish.

Its Pineapple Gose uses ale as its base and adds pineapple juice along with dried fruit, Chinese hawthorn fruit, and coriander seeds. The slightly salty taste evokes the seaside, while the acidity of the pineapple stimulates the taste buds. Taking a sip is like being transported to a huge pineapple in the middle of the ocean, offering real tropical island flair. (Read: Taiwanese Fruit Beer – How to Sell 5 Million Bottles in 45 Days)

Building Exclusive Partnerships

Taihu’s creative bent has brought it recognition, and several companies have come calling looking to team up on a co-branded beer or develop an exclusive product they can call their own.

EVA Airways’ Jasmine Tea Ale made by Taihu Brewing using jasmine flowers and green tea is one example.

“The inspiration came from the idea of a popular yogurt green tea drink. Don’t you think that EVA Air’s brand color is similar to that of green tea,” Taihu’s Lin says with a laugh. 

The ale is made by repeatedly steaming and baking the jasmine flowers and green tea and then using a cold brewing process to extract the aroma, which is then infused into golden ale. The result is a fresh, elegant and layered taste that perfectly balances the tea and ale flavors, but the beverage is only available in EVA Air lounges and in its business class cabins. 

The Regent Hotels Group has also embraced a tea theme in its Taiwan Premier Oolong Craft Beer made by Taihu Brewing that extracts the flavor of charcoal roasted mountain oolong tea. The beer’s elegant and refreshing tea flavor lingers on the palate, almost as though one is drinking tea rather than an alcoholic beverage, and concludes with a warm and sweet aftertaste. Its packaging echoes the hotel’s décor. This exclusive product can only be enjoyed at Regent Hotels Group properties. 

Regent managing director Simon Wu said the collaboration with Taihu to create an exclusive tea-infused craft beer was an extension of the Regent’s long-term promotion of the “tea-pairing” concept (pairing teas with foods), while also wanting to give Taiwan’s high-quality oolong tea and its leading craft brewery important international exposure. (Read: Taiwan Tea in Starbucks)

The widely praised Kenya Grapefruit India Pale Ale that Taihu makes for Starbucks fuses Starbucks’ coffee beans from Kenya and a honey and pomelo mixture. The tell-tale grapefruit and tart orange flavor of the coffee beans and the ale’s tropical fruit notes result in layers of sweetness and bitterness.

The most unusual of Taihu’s collaborative efforts has been with the Xiahai City God Temple in Taipei, known as the place to go for people who need divine intervention in finding a mate.

“It wasn’t us who went looking to develop a tie-in with the matchmaker god!” Lin jokes when recalling how the partnership came about. 

The brewery rolled out a Hibiscus Peach Cider, and when it thought about how to market the beverage, the immediate word association was with the phrase “pray to the matchmaker god and ask for a good match” (literally “ask for a peach blossom”), and they decided to shoot an ad at the Xiahai City God Temple to accentuate the theme.

“We never expected that people at the temple would thank us for this alternative form of marketing. We later made an offering at the temple of five cartons of the peach cider to thank the matchmaker god for helping our brand, and creating word-of-mouth buzz and recognition,” Lin says.

Suitable with any Foods, Cuts through Grease

Beer can go with almost any food, and as Victor Chung explains, beer bubbles are very effective in cleansing the palate. 

“There’s a reason why people tend to drink beer when eating at stir-fry restaurants or enjoying American-style deep-fried food. It’s because the beer can make the food feel less greasy,” he says. (Read: Popular with Women, Dining Pubs Are the Latest Fad in Taiwan)

Photo by Justin Wu/CW

Taihu Brewing runs its own Taihu Craft Beer Tasting Room to give people the chance to experience different types of craft beer. A single row of 24 draft beer taps await customers, offering a range of selections that vary every day and as the seasons change.

The classic dishes on the food menu all go ideally with Taihu’s creations, such as its exclusive crispy but not greasy deep-fried pork skin. The fatty layer on the inside of the skin is first removed by hand, and then the skin is baked to remove excessive moisture. It is then deep-fried and seasoned with cheese powder for extra flavor, resulting in a snack that’s addictive.

Another dish that goes well with beer suddenly appears – a bowl of typically Taiwanese braised pork on rice. Matsusaka pork and pork bellies are combined to make minced pork with even amounts of fat and lean meat that is draped over a bowl of Koshihikari rice. Add to that a runny sunny-side up egg and an enticingly fragrant sauce, and you get a dish that outshines everything else in the tasting room. 

These are the favorite comfort foods of Taihu Brewing’s five owners, and they typify the fundamentally relaxed and open-minded spirit of their enterprise – beer limited only by the imagination accompanied by any kind of food that makes you feel good.

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Translated by Luke Sabatier
Edited by Sharon Tseng