Beer Review Friday - Tiger Beer

I recently got back from a trip to Southeast Asia and being the beer enthusiast that I am, of course I had to try all the local brews. However, throughout the whole trip, the one beer that was everywhere was Tiger Beer (the English translation of “Tiger Beer” is “Budweiser”). Tiger Beer is available for three prices: Stupid Foreigner/Tourist Trap Ripoff, “Happy Hour” Special Cheap or Thank-God-the-U.S.-Dollar-still -has-some-value-in-SE-Asia Cheap. Bottom line, if you were paying more than $1.25 for Tiger Beer, you were getting ripped off. With the exchange rate, we found it for as cheap as $0.18 in a bar on the coast of Vietnam.

Now, who am I to really complain about the taste of beer when it’s costing me less than a quarter? Plus the fact that it’s usually served ice cold and the only beer that’s regularly on tap. These little things matter when you’ve been sweating since you woke up and the humidity is taking away your will to live. So, yeah, I fucking love Tiger Beer!

Honestly, Tiger Beer is a very generic lager, and although the Web site likes to proclaim a “strict brewing process…taste testing over 10 different water samples…more than 200 quality checks…a brewing process which takes over 500 hours,” it’s going to remind you a lot of the mass produced beers of the States (read: Bud, Miller, Coors). They do have a trophy case of over 40 international awards and accolades, so you know it’s at least a quality product.

Tiger Beer has an extensive distribution across the world, so give it a try if you see it around. And if you venture into Southeast Asia, I highly recommend it…and the cheaper the better! They even have some funny/clever commercials.