A Life Less Ordinary vs. SEA Craft Beer Mobsters.
The Better Beer Fest at Taps means something to me. Because on that fateful day, I was introduced to hops. I tasted hops in my mouth. I ate it. I was enlightened, I saw the light, and it was probably from the ceiling. It was bitter as fuck, and I highly do not recommend anyone to try it out. So it’s officially my first anniversary with craft beer. Or rather, just Ales. Unfortunately, due to some commitments to a certain house warming party, the Better Beer Fest this year became just, a touch-and-go event for me, bloody hell.
Anyhow, on the next afternoon, the big boys of South East Asia craft beer had this secret meeting in an undisclosed location, a tiny craft beer retail shop in Publika. I invited myself there, because I got no shame like that. Well, James Bond never had any invites to secret meetings and he doesn’t seem to have an issue with just showing up!
The topics of dialog at the beginning were the usual ‘trading wars stories’ about beer and hops. A few words like Penguin, Tokyo, Pannepot (which oddly comes with occasion song, a theme song, I presume!) were mentioned repeatedly. If you have been drinking craft beer as long as I have, those words might as well be languages of Neanderthals. Not too painfully long after, refreshments were served, rather appropriately. It was an evening of heavy rain, dirty racist jokes and many many beers from the dark side. Lord Vader would have been proud of us, but we were not contend, we were still rather thirsty. And very bloody hungry too.
Shortly after, secret gathering number one adjourned to another secret dinner location in Kuala Lumpur, this time a nocturnal diner in the gutter of the city with roaches and geckos as live wall decorations. Such class! The recess didn’t last very long as thirst doesn’t quench itself. We retreated to another craft beer bar in Jalan Nagasari and many more beer fell victim to our insatiable demand to binge sample more beer.
When I woke up this morning, I tried to recollect on the different types of beers we tasted, I gave up after 20, but there is an undeniable certainty we had more. None of us managed to outlast the dusk; we left with the memory of a great night with acquintances of the same interest, to unselfishly share a valuable knowledge and a few bottles from their (both individual and retail shop owners) own private collection. After all that, I still have no bloody idea what awesomeness lies within the brown paper bag with a penguin on it.
Well, all great adventures needs a rosebud.
Here are some of the drinks consumed throughout our 12 hours sampling programme; Dog A, Dog B, Red Horizon, Wallop, Mountain Goat IPA, Tricerahops, Goliat, San Diego South Ale, Paradox Jura, Black Maria, Mikkeller 黑, Old Engine Oil, Texas Ranger, NØGNE Spice Ale, To Øl Respertationbajer, First Frontier, Nevermind the Anabolic, Tokyo Rising Sun and a couple of home brewed beers.
