Thread: Leo and Chang - Years First Brewed?

Greetings all. Does anyone know in what years Leo beer and Chang beer were first brewed and sold in Thailand?

Many thanks.

Chang, March 95. Leo I dont know.

yep, Leo around 2003

Originally Posted by Butterfly

yep, Leo around 2003

I had my first Leo in 1999.

Originally Posted by pickel

I had my first Leo in 1999.

you are confusing with Beer Lao, quite popular in the late 90s

^
I know what beer Lao is Butterball.

Late 80's and early 90's Kloster was the favorite with ex pats - what happened to it.

yes green bottle and always chilled nicely. It was the premium in most expats eyes as it was a bit different. Then it was Singha, or that basically. Dont forget until after Chang came into being Singha had a market share way above 50%. Amarit was the down market beer then, but in reality just as drinkable. Boonrawd diversified greatly and has been able to absorb the fact that Singha beers sales are very poor.

Originally Posted by pickel

Originally Posted by Butterfly

yep, Leo around 2003

I had my first Leo in 1999.

That sounds about right....
I recall 1997/1998, as I couldn't drink Chang domestic any more - went over to Beer Leo and Beer Lao....

Beer Lao which did have a push of great popularity in the 1990s.....when heavy distribution made it quite available - and seemed to peter out [not popularity but wide availability]. Find it now just throughout the larger markets.

There was a time when the beer Lao folks would deliver [cases only] to your door with a modest fee of course......something happened along the way - their business/marketing savvy or Thai-Lao politics [threatening the Thai beer industry].

I am always hopeful that Chang Export [a much better beverage than it's domestic cousin] might be distributed everywhere - even in the boonies, so one doesn't have to go out of his way to purchase it.

In the late 80's a lot of bars sold fosters (imported) - it was always a debate whether to get fosterised or klosterised.

Originally Posted by aging one

yes green bottle and always chilled nicely. It was the premium in most expats eyes as it was a bit different. Then it was Singha, or that basically. Dont forget until after Chang came into being Singha had a market share way above 50%. Amarit was the down market beer then, but in reality just as drinkable. Boonrawd diversified greatly and has been able to absorb the fact that Singha beers sales are very poor.

Can't imagine why Singha sales are down...
My piss is better tasting than this shit.

And Chang domestic...??
One never knows what your going to get - one bottle might be less than it's potency....the next, fused with commercial Lau Khow.

Mittweida was an early type of Federbrau mock German piss fro proles who can tel one chilled beer with ice in from another.If you drink Chang buckets with yadong chasers you wont be able to or care about the label Mable

Seems it was launched June 1998 if this Facebook page is correct.

Boon Rawd Brewery Co., Ltd.

Sounds about right - i remember it first being around at the time of the France world cup which was '98.

And beer chang maybe about four years before that?

Originally Posted by Rainfall

They have been making Singha for Europe since.

For germans so smitten by the memory of thai prozzies that, in a country that brews many of the world's finest beers, they opt to drink gecko piss instead.

How was that muck Leo when it came out? I think it was about 22 baht a bottle and somewhat looked down on as cheap rubbish. Now it's more than Chang, which at least is just about drinkable.

Originally Posted by Rainfall

Originally Posted by david44

Mittweida was an early type of Federbrau mock German piss fro proles who can tel one chilled beer with ice in from another.If you drink Chang buckets with yadong chasers you wont be able to or care about the label Mable

Boon Rawd bought two small formerly state owned breweries in Saxony during the clearance sale in the nineties, Mittweida and Hartmannsdorf. They have been making Singha for Europe since. The woman who played Zorg's henchgirl in the last Superman movie is from Mittweida.

Singha is no longer brewed in Germany. The stuff that is available in Europe is brewed in Russia.

There was a German Brauhaus inside DonMuang Airside at one time,I applied in my lederhosen but apparently a Bungmeister was already appointed.

There is also one in C mai which despite excellent but costly ales has Thai
"service' either totoally over the top attentive or invisible

Originally Posted by cyrille

Sounds about right - i remember it first being around at the time of the France world cup which was '98.

And beer chang maybe about four years before that?

Those days - 3 bottles for B100. Couldn't go wrong.
Marketing beer for average Thai drinkers was difficult because the every day folk didn't find it a very good value [Singha, Leo, Chang, etc] for their high.....outside of the targeted market, most stayed with their beloved varieties of lau khow.

Originally Posted by Iceman123

Late 80's and early 90's Kloster was the favorite with ex pats - what happened to it.

We were lamenting the loss of Kloster the other day!

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Originally Posted by Iceman123

Late 80's and early 90's Kloster was the favorite with ex pats - what happened to it.

We were lamenting the loss of Kloster the other day!

Following up with Vocal Neal's comment:
Is Kloster beer still available in Thailand?
Also, how about Federbrau? I tasted it three years ago in a shopping mall in Bangkapi, and I thought it tasted quite good! Somewhat light, but tasty!
Will be in Nan province later this year, and wondering where we could buy Kloster and/or Federbrau beer?
Amina

^AFAIK Kloster was being brewed by Boon Rawd (Leo/Singha) under supervision of InBev. Not sure if this is still the case.