What drink goes well with mini octopus and Thai vermicelli salad? How about an ice-cold Traveller's Wheat beer, spiced with tamarind, ginger and a pinch of lemongrass and Chinese orange peel?
The surprisingly refreshing brew is the star of a trio of craft beers recently introduced by Archipelago Brewing and brewed specifically to complement the unique flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine.
“It's not just that the beer goes well with the food, which it does, but there's an integral link in the ingredient to the food,” said Archipelago managing director Andrea Teo. “These are beers to match Asian lifestyle and Asian food.”
Teo came up with the idea for Asian-spiced beers while heading the innovations department at Asia Pacific Breweries, Singapore's largest industrial brewery. In May, 2005, she recruited American brewmaster Fal Allen, who honed his skills in Seattle and Northern California.
She outlined the concept, introduced him to the spices and tasted the test batches, giving advice that helped Allen adjust the recipes until they were ready to sell their products: Traveller's Wheat, Trader's Brown Ale and Straits Pale.
Archipelago, a business of Asia Pacific Breweries, opened its first pub in July in a popular bar district near the Singapore River. Its rough decor evokes 19th century adventure, with parchment map menus, coconut husk lamps, dark wood furnishings and cement floor with embedded wooden planks. Floor-to-ceiling windows open on an outdoor seating area.
Allen's 300-liter microbrewery takes prominent place behind the bar, and he plans to occasionally do onsite brewing.
On a recent warm afternoon, the bar was half full of young professionals, the majority of them drinking one of the three house draft specialties, though other local and imported beers are available.
Teo said Archipelago's target market is beer aficionados who want a new experience, business executives who drink socially and opinion leaders among university students.
“Singaporeans used to have just four words for beer: cold, fresh, local, imported,” Teo said. “But we could see the market demand coming up, the increasing sophistication of the Singapore market.”
Allen has spent hours shopping, tasting, chopping and sweating over the new brews. He does most of the work himself, including chopping the spices by hand until recently investing in a food processor.
He talks enthusiastically about the project, recalling his hunt for spices and his excitement at using tamarind in a beer. Already familiar with beer-food pairing, Allen was eager to try the fusion of Asian cooking and European brewing.
“Singaporeans are crazy about food. They are makan mad,” he said, using the Malay word for “eating.”
The Archipelago menu makes its objective clear. Food items are accompanied by logos advising which beer would taste best with that selection.
Trader's Brown Ale, a strong brew with coconut palm sugar and ginger, is paired with chicken masala or pear and citrus cream spring rolls, for example. Texas wings are best enjoyed with the smoother Straits Pale.
Finding the right pairs is an expanding process. Allen said the team periodically sits down with several plates of foods and several glasses of beer and tries to match the flavors.
“We thought beef rendang” — a spicy Malaysian dish — “would go perfectly with Traveller's Wheat,” he said, then shook his head.
“But rendang is sweet and spicy versus the sour and spicy of the beer.” The coconut palm sugar in Trader's Brown Ale turned out to be an ideal match.
Teo and Allen said they want to suggest the right pairings so customers don't make bad choices.
“If people have a bad reaction, it might turn them off the beer,” Allen said. “We want to make sure people get good pairings, not bad ones. And good beer, not bad beer.”
The Archipelago beers sell for 9.80 Singapore dollars (US$6.25) for 330ml, a dollar (US$0.64) more than local beers and about two dollars (US$1.28) less than imports.
Teo recognizes the new beers are an acquired taste but believes customers will come around.
“They're a bit more robust than you're maybe used to. They have more character,” she said. “But we don't intend to become a big brand. It's a niche market.”
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS