Stepping Up the Beer Game: Pinoy-made Craft Beers can go world-class too!

(As published on Hardware Zone Magazine's November 2015 Issue)

Pinoys are certified beer lovers. From simple hangouts to big parties, beers are always a part of almost every Filipino gathering. Typical beer drinkers consume highly commercialized local beers; but these days, the craft beers produced by local microbrewers are gradually changing the drinking scene.

With the emergence of locally produced craft beers in the local alcoholic beverage industry, the Filipinos are offered with a more diverse selection when it comes to flavors and beer profile.

As defined by the Brewers Association, craft brewers are those that are small, independent, and traditional. Craft beer may be produced in small volumes but it actually steps up the Filipino beer game. These local craft beers can actually go up against imported beers because of their world-class quality.

I recently got to visit the state of the art brewing facility of a new local craft brewer in Imus, Cavite. While other microbrewers do brewing manually and in small workspaces, Great Islands Craft Brewery uses high-tech equipment in a big work area, making it the biggest craft brewery in the Philippines.

 Great Islands takes pride on its Master Brewer, Allan “Baldis” Agala who graduated from the World Brewing Academy – Siebel Institute of Chicago. Another brilliant mind behind GICB is Mags Villafuerte, an importer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and one of the co-founders of The Beer Club of Manila, a beer enthusiast group that aims to educate Filipinos about beer and beer styles. To complete the team is Mario McDermott, a passionate American beer brewer who used to brew beer back in his hometown in Texas before moving to the Philippines as a microbiology scientist in a multinational pharmaceutical company.

Great Islands presents a wide range of beer flavors. Two of its seasonal flavors are the Halo-Halo Ale, inspired by the famous Filipino dessert that is perfect for summer, and the Bicol Express Wild Chili Ale, inspired by the famous spicy dish from the Bicol region. Its all-year round flavors are the 7107 Wheat Ale and its bestseller, the Pearl of the Orient Indio Pale Ale. The latter goes perfectly with Filipino “pulutan” such as Sisig, Crispy Pata, and Adobo.

You can now enjoy these interesting local craft beer flavors in the following establishments: The Bottle Shop, The Perfect Pint, Chihuahua, Buffalo Wings and Things, Big Bad Wolf, and Belle and Dragon.

Drink Up 2014, OneVibePH, The Chainsmokers in Manila

May 24 - Drink Up 2014 (Manila) at The Forum grounds

I didn't really know about this. On the day of the event I woke up to a message from a friend giving me free passes. Of course, I went with him to check it out. So there's a concert happening. It was Urbandub and other local bands on the earlier part of the night, then some DJs started playing EDM late at night. I've tried a lot of beer flavors and of course, my favorite stop would be my friend's own, Brotzeit. Our RFID bands were loaded with tokens worth Php 1500 I guess, and that's what we used to buy food and drinks within the event grounds. I was able to appreciate the event 'cause I got familiarized with different brands and types of liquor, particularly beer. I'm not actually a beer drinker 'cause I don't like its taste, but I liked the flavored beers that I've tried such as the strawberry beer of Xavierbeer from Baguio, and of course, my all-time favorite, Affensaft (mango-flavored) from Brotzeit.

strawberry beer!

the trial set

my Liquor 101 professor :))

Brotzeit's customers

me, Mags, and Edward, the man behind Brotzeit

June 11 - One Vibe PH at SM MOA Concert Grounds

It's the celebration of Philippine Independence as the clock struck 12. Bottles of beer were sold for only Php 1 and there were a lot of freebies from different booths of brands who supported the event. Besides having Apl.De.Ap, the event became bigger because of Laidback Luke. Got VIP access from Viber and extra free passes from Vans. It was fun because I got to see a lot of friends, and our "barkada" was almost complete that night. But since we're already feeling the signs of ageing, we left at 2am and had early breakfast at Rufo's Famous Tapa in Blue Wave, Macapagal. Of course, we all ordered tapa.:))

what's wrong in this picture? LOL!

food trip

June 13 - The Chainsmokers Selfie Tour in Republiq Club, Manila

Again, I didn't know about this. I got dragged by my friends who told me they already got me listed and there's no more backing out. And I was like, "Who are The Chainsmokers?" Then they showed me the music video of the "Selfie" song. HAHA! Anyway, they produced good music; and the concert was generally fun. However, there were some parts that I got a bit bored. Well, it's probably because I was too sleepy and not really prepared to party that night, most especially because I stayed up late the previous night as well. Anyway, after their set was a birthday celebration for DJ Ace Ramos. After the candle blowing, we left the event 'cause we were really sleepy.

please excuse the quality 'cause I failed to bring my camera

with my friends: Aris from Bacolod and Keigh from Iloilo

my guy friends: Dinand, Puch, Joshua

"but first, let me take a selfie"

done!

I sometimes feel too old for these parties and I can feel my body giving up as well. Now I really appreciate staying home and getting a lot of sleep. Haha.


xoxo,

city girl

The Week Started Right!

So it was Monday....BUT who would have thought that it would end right?!?:)

My officemate who was on a different department called me up at my desk and invited me to hangout after work to try the several brands of imported beer at Distillery in Jupiter St. So I tagged along my friends to make the night even more exciting. haha!

1st stop: Dinner at Som's Noodle House. It was my first time! I loved the food and the milk tea. Hehe. In fact, I was the only one in our group who ordered extra cup of rice!:))

photo grabbed from ivee.tabulas.com

I never thought a food stall like this would be found right outside the gates of Rockwell (Kalayaan Ave. side).

The best part of the night: The Distillery!

Lots of imported beer! I was able to sip a bit from the bottles of my companions, just to give me an idea of how those beers tasted hehe. But I influenced them to order a large bottle of Absolut Mandarin Vodka. haha! Really cheap. It only cost P800. However, they don't actually serve a bottle of Sprite...only flasks of it which cost P50. haha! Yeah, looked like we're doing a Science experiment on our table haha!


I think I have to mention that we had to walk a very far distance just to withdraw from the ATM. 'coz Distillery is not yet accepting debit and credit cards.

Anyway, I am officially tagging The Distillery as my favorite chill spot now. Besides the very relaxing ambiance, it also has a very nice crowd...plus no smoking inside! yey! My favorite part, an acoustic band starts to play a few minutes before midnight. They also encourage guests to jam with them through an open mic. They play the song while you sing or you can use your Ipod 'coz they have this device that converts your Ipod music into a minus one! Now, that's an instant karaoke! hahaha!=)) Oh, and jammers get a free tequila shot after singing with the band. Cool!

But the place is kinda small so it's hard to find seats if you'll come late. Also, there's no available food there....just purely alcohol. However, their staff still assist you when you wanna order food from the Portuguese resto beside it (but only while that resto is open).
Perfect Monday night!=)

jolliBEER? that's insane! haha

It's funny when my friend in Canada asked me this question, "Is it true that Jollibee there in the Philippines now sells beer?" And so I said "Are you crazy? Hello?!"

Then he sent me this photo, which was sent to him by another friend from the Philippines:

Haha it actually seems real. It's looks like something that's posted on the menu board of Jollibee. Then I told my friend: "Haha...the power of Photoshop!"

It's really funny how Filipinos get so much creative!=P