We arrived in Singapore back on our northern trail through South East Asia. We had heard that the place might be slightly out of our budget range so hopefully a few days would suffice. I had been intrigued for many years about how clean and efficient this country or city would be and it didn’t disappoint. Changi International Airport was amazing and from here we headed into the downtown area following Chris’s directions to the letter on the MRT train system. Chris worked for one of the big banks and originally from London had been living in Singapore for a while now. We met him at his offices at Raffles Place and we still hadn’t been at street level. It was like a city under a city. Eventually we saw daylight and again following directions before climbing onboard a public bus for the twenty minute journey to what would be our accommodation for the coming days. Again I couldn’t get over the public transport. It is cheap, efficient, clean and very quiet.
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| The Singapore Skyline- It never changes 30oC & Cloudy |
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| Clean & Organised Public Transport-Amazing |
We checked into the condo and WOW! The place was just amazing, a beautiful apartment with a swimming pool, gym, tennis court and balcony that overlooked the river. We even had a hot shower, a bed with an actual duvet and a sofa with satellite TV. We were in our element and might just have to turn into squatters. There was no chance Chris would ever get rid of us! Again huge thanks to Chris. A true gentleman and hopefully we can repay the favour one day. It was the closest we had come to couch surfing and it was the best present we could have wished for.
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| The view from our Condo balcony, Beats a Hostel! |
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| The joy's of Home Comforts, It's been a while... |
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| Flight bag destroyed but we have a Duvet. You are all so lucky to have a Duvet |
http://www.couchsurfing.org/ Living in comfort gave us a chance to get organised and again our plans changed going forwards. Our original idea was to head to Laos but after searching for flights the next destination would end up being Phuket in Thailand. This gave us a few days to enjoy Singapore and see what the place had to offer. It did take us a little longer than usual to leave the apartment each day when you can leisurely make rounds of toast and brews from supermarket supplies. I had actually forgotten what a kitchen was and how convenient the things actually are. It’s surprising what you miss and take for granted.
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| Marina Bay |
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| The Marina Bay Sands Hotel |
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| The infamous Raffles Hotel. Where is that Singapore Sling? |
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| Nearly there. Next stop bar |
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| $25 a pop. This is as far as we go. We don't pass the sea of Monkey Nuts |
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| How to make the Singapore Sling |
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| Still embarrassed in the Raffles Shop. My finishes Cocktail-Enjoy |
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| It always comes back to beer. The Raffles Beer Glass, Love It! |
BREWERKZ MICROBREWERIES & RESTAURANTS Brewerkz was founded in 1997 and is Singapore’s award-winning microbrewery restaurant, Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery. The initial concept was modelled on similar concepts found in the USA and Canada and was the idea of Devin Otto Kimble and Daniel Flores.
The venues feature high quality American-style food and a full range of premium beers handcrafted on-site from the 10 hl microbrewery attached to the restaurant.
Most notable attraction of the restaurant is the awesome on-site microbrewery built by Newlands Systems Inc in Abbotsford, BC Canada. It is equipped with specially fabricated fermentation tanks that have been designed to minimize floor-space needs, the brewing system produces over 2,500 hectolitres of beer per annum, nearly all of which is drunk at both
Brewerkz locations and their sister concepts Café Iguana and Garage.
We visited the Brewerkz venue at Clark Quay and below is a little more information about the actual beers, which are brewed by a team led by the Brew Master Scott Robertson. Brewerkz has a core group of four beers that can be permanently found on the menu. These include an India Pale Ale, a Golden Ale, a traditionally hoppy Pilsner Lager, and Hopback Ale (cask-conditioned bitter of true English pedigree).
In addition for six months of the year Wheat Ale and Kölsch alternate, alongside a dark brew that is featured on tap. Past beers in this last category have included an Oatmeal Stout, Nut Brown Ale and Dunkel Weizen. Other beers that have made appearances include Irish Red Ale, California Common (Steam) Beer and Oktoberfest. In all, over two dozen different beer styles have appeared on the menu. Refreshing isn’t the word for actually finding such a creation on our travels, and a great concept for beer lovers everywhere.
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| Outside Brewerkz at Clark Quay |
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| Bottled In-house Brews, IPA & Pilsner |
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| You can just make out the Craft Brewery in the background behind the bar |
More destinations on the never ending to do list took us to the Botanical Gardens and the Quays that included Robertson Quay, Clark Quay and Boat Quay. Boat Quay was where we visited the Asian Civilisation Museum which was such an interesting place and had on a special exhibition about the African Congo.
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| The Botanical Gardens. National Flower of Singapore. The Hybrid Orchid (Vanda Miss Joaquim) |
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| Boat Quay |
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| Clark Quay |
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| Robertson Quay |
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| The Asian Civilisation Museum |
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| Mask from the African Congo Exhibition |
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| Reedy found the children's learning area. Feel the beat, feel the rhythm... |
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| Outside the Old Colonial Museum you find yourself in the centre of modern Singapore |
To put it simply our usual budget was blown out of the water in Singapore but what an amazing place to visit and apart of spending the days sightseeing we managed to enjoy what the city had to offer an night. We joined Chris with some of his work colleagues one evening where we had dinner at an amazing sushi restaurant on the waterfront and even managed to enjoy the Japanese cuisine with some authentic Japanese beers. Asahi Super-dry, Kirin Ichiban and Sapporo were ordered but again I am not in Japan so you will have to make do with website links. Further apologies but Japanese beer will have to wait until I get to visit Japan, one more beer nation to add to my list.
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| A great setting for Sushi down at Marina Bay |
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| Delicious Japanese Cuisine & the beers helped |
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| Japanese Beer with Japanese Food, Perfect! |
Following our delicious if not a little expensive Japanese feast, Chris was kind enough to introduce us to a micro brew-house called RedDot on Boat Quay.
RED DOT BREWHOUSE
RedDot BrewHouse has two sites in Singapore. The one that we visited was at Boat Quay and it is built inside a row of old Chinese shop houses, rich in commercial history of the early Chinese settlers. The original venue can be found in a historical building at Dempsey that is rich in military history. The old dilapidated barrack was restored and took the founder Ernest Ng nearly a decade for it to materialise.
The name RedDot traces back to 1997 when the founder had his first encounter with beer brewing in South Africa. He was on a family holiday at Kruger National Park, enjoying the open Safari, where he came across two South African soldiers while out in the bush. He was offered a beer with no name and was told that it was a home brew. After being assured that it was easy to brew the soldiers directed him to buy ingredients from a homebrew shop in Johannesburg.
The brewing ingredients were packed and marked with either one red dot or with no marking at all to differentiate the products. Ernest chose the packet with one Red Dot that began his journey into brewing. In a nut shell the RedDot name was born.
One thing that I love about beer apart from the taste is heritage and the passion that springs from the most unlikely situations. One thing that sets RedDot apart from the other microbreweries is the fact that it is Singapore's first locally owned, independent commercial microbrewery. Ernest Ng, the head brewer is not only the owner of the business but also the designer and builder of the brewery, a self-trained brewer who has only been a home brewer since 1997. The state-of-the-art equipment that you see as you step inside the bar was designed entirely by Ernest himself, done up in accordance to ASME standards (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) with a total brew capacity of 8,000 liters.
The beer that you drink is also unfiltered and unprocessed (straight from the fermentation tanks), and thus retains all the yeast nutrient, original flavor, and unique aroma. Each beer is a delicate composition of ingredients, and the product of Ernest's decade long home-brewing experiences and passion.
The beers available on tap are RedDot Lime Wheat, Weizen (Wheat Beer), Summer Ale and Kölsch. These are the beers we didn’t manage to enjoy, but if they were anything like our choices I am sure they are great beers.
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| It's all about the RedDot Story |
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| Spot the Copper Pots! |
Chris went for the obscurely named Monster Green Lager.MONSTER GREEN LAGER, REDDOT BREWHOUSE, SINGAPORE, 5.5% ABV
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| The Green Monster |
It’s not really a monster but as stated in the name the liquid is bright green in colour. The novelty makes it stand out alone but the taste didn’t disappoint. Brewed in a traditional Pilsner style it has an aroma of fresh fragrance with a subtle taste of hops. The magic ingredient is European Spirulina which besides providing the green colour also has apparent health benefits. Enough said. A great tasting beer that is good for you.
Kate’s choice was the Czech Pilsner.
CZECH PILSNER LAGER, REDDOT BREWHOUSE, SINGAPORE, 5.5% ABV
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| Delicious Czech Pilsner |
A classic pilsner, this has a pale straw colour and bubbly appearance, and a malty taste and pleasantly floral nose. Low on bitter flavours, a smooth and light hop flavour adds an edge to the Czech Pilsner. Clean finish and crisp on the palate.
Finally my choice went home with the English Ale.
ENGLISH ALE, REDDOT BREWHOUSE, SINGAPORE, 5.0% ABV
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| Very Excited not to be drinking yet another blonde lager! |
Getting a little tired of the blonde lager variety I travelled home in my mind at least and went for the English Ale. It was truly a treat and delivered the much more complex tasting beer I had been searching for. The English Ale had a deep amber colour with numerous flavours to match including smoky, spicy and bitter hoppy characteristics with a balanced caramelised sweetness from the malt.
On a separate evening we also met up with Tomek and his fellow Quantum Physicist in one of the many food halls in Chinatown and it was a riot. Tomek was one of the guys we had met back in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra while visiting the Orang-utans and it was great to catch up over a few Tiger beers and some amazing food. The Chinese locals were also enjoying the beer and it is the first time I had come across Beer Girls who pretty much forced you to by a certain beer brand from Tiger to Singha in full lycra embossed cat suits. Now there’s a promotional idea for some of you guys at home. The night really was a blast especially when you imagine Kate and I talking Quantum Physics Theory over noodles. I still have no idea what was going on but we found out that we were in the company of geniuses and famous scientists. These two guys had actually been published in the Nature Magazine? Now this is a huge deal by all accounts, like winning an Oscar for an actor.
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| Singaporean Cuisine, Tiger Beer & Quantum Physics. What more could you ask for? |
Before bringing Singapore to a close I have to tell you about another micro brewery that Chris introduced us to. Level 33 which overlooked Marina Bay and you guessed it from level thirty three.
LEVEL 33, THE WORLD’S HIGHEST URBAN CRAFT BREWERY, SINGAPORE
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| Time for the Elevator |
I have come to realise that opening a successful establishment in Singapore is no easy task. The City or Country is awash with wealth and cool, modern drinking, eating and entertainment hangouts.This is why Level 33 brew house aimed to stand out from the crowd, and achieved this by opening the ‘World’s Highest Urban Craft Brewery’. Located on the thirty third floor of the Marina Bay Financial Centre and accessed by a private lift you are transcended into a new world of beer drinking with magnificent views. We were lucky enough to visit in the evening where we could happily and slowly sip our beers while looking out over the dazzling lights of the Singapore sky-line. Opened for only one month the place was immaculate if not a little expensive for the backpacker budget. At £9 per pint you would have to agree.
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| Not a bad view for a beer |
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| A Craft Beer in Singapore truly is an Experience |
Level 33 is the brainchild of a few enterprising Austrians and Germans who aim to create a beer guzzling experience that is second to none. And from my first experience there, they seem to be well on their way.
Not only are the views great, the beers they brew are amazing as well. There are four signature brews on tap—33.1 (Blond Lager), 33.2 (Pale Ale), 33.3 (Stout) and 33.4 (Pale Ale)—all true to old, authentic recipes and original brewing methods, some even centuries old and they're all brewed on site using some really fancy brewing equipment. Some of which are made to order due to the spatial constraints of the space.
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| 33.4 Pale Ale |
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| 33.3 Stout |
The beers, in a nutshell, are delish. All thanks to Brew Master Christian Knoch. Of all the beers I tried, I particularly liked the Blonde Lager a refreshing beer with fruity notes and a mild hoppy finish.
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| 33.1 Blonde Lager |
There's also a decent pub grub list if you've got the munchies. With things like the cubed 120-day aged Angus beef, the fish and chip done hors d'œuvre style and the Blonde Lager marinated crispy whitebait. The bar also has a full-dining menu.
With being in Singapore it left us with one final objective, to visit the home of Tiger Beer.
ASIA PACIFIC BREWERIES (TIGER BEER)
Asia Pacific Breweries is an Asian brewery company founded as Malayan Breweries Limited (MBL) in 1931, in a joint venture between Heineken International and Fraser and Neave, and given its present name in 1990. It currently controls 30 breweries in 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, selling over 120 brands of beer and beer variants. Heineken is the majority shareholder with a 42.5% stake. The company is listed on the Singapore Exchange.
Launched in 1932, Tiger Beer became Singapore's first locally brewed beer. It is a 5% ABV bottled pale lager. As the brewery’s exclusive flagship brand, it is available in more than 60 countries worldwide including USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and various countries in the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
In a couple of pretty short sentences due the immediate need to catch up and move onto Thailand, Tiger Beer Lager is golden in colour, refreshing but pretty bland in taste. It is normally or should be served chilled. In fact chilled to a level where the taste and aromas are largely masked.
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| Singapore's Very Own |
http://www.tigerbeer.com.sg/
Kate and I headed out to visit the Asia Pacific Brewery after booking our place on-line with the official brewery tour we set off on the two hour journey close to the Malaysian border by MRT and then a bus. We arrived and you could see the huge sign. The excitement however didn’t last long. We managed to find the check in desk only to discover that the tours would not be running until May 2011 due to refurbishment. We couldn’t believe our luck. Surely you would add that little detail to your website. Pretty disappointing and what do I have to do to gain access to a brewery on these travels. If anybody has any contacts please could you let me know!
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| Finally a Brewery on the World Adventure |
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| Nice |
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| No journey then what a surprise! Quite a depressing lunch |
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| I am afraid this is as close as we'll get to go inside and take a look around. Should be open in four months though... |
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| So long & thanks for the memories Tiger Beer |
We did come across Archipelago Brewery Company which was in brewery grounds and was the first commercial brewery in Singapore established in 1931. With its small batch brewing techniques and excellent product, it was the pioneering and most influential brewery in Singapore.
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| What do we have here? |
http://www.archipelagobrewery.com/ This left us to head back to the city. Well at least this time we got to see a brewery from the outside. Better luck next time. So far on the adventure we have struggled to actually find the brewery in Bangalore, India, and seen one from the outside. Third time lucky...
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| Bus back to downtown Singapore |
A great few days in Singapore and again cheers to Chris and the amazing brew houses. Singapore is a little hidden beer treasure which I think is thanks to the expats so keep up the good work. Next stop Thailand...
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