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.”
Following the rollercoaster ride of 2025, next year is already shaping up to be dramatic. The ongoing constitutional crises and the nine-in-one local elections are already dominating the landscape. The constitutional crises are the ones to lose sleep over. Though much business is still being conducted, crucial items such as next year’s budget, civil servant pensions and the proposed eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (approx US$40 billion) special defense budget are still being contested. There are, however, two glimmers of hope. One is that the legally contested move by five of the eight grand justices on the Constitutional Court’s ad hoc move
Stepping off the busy through-road at Yongan Market Station, lights flashing, horns honking, I turn down a small side street and into the warm embrace of my favorite hole-in-the-wall gem, the Hoi An Banh Mi shop (越南會安麵包), red flags and yellow lanterns waving outside. “Little sister, we were wondering where you’ve been, we haven’t seen you in ages!” the owners call out with a smile. It’s been seven days. The restaurant is run by Huang Jin-chuan (黃錦泉), who is married to a local, and her little sister Eva, who helps out on weekends, having also moved to New Taipei
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) told legislators last week that because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) are continuing to block next year’s budget from passing, the nation could lose 1.5 percent of its GDP growth next year. According to the DGBAS report, officials presented to the legislature, the 2026 budget proposal includes NT$299.2 billion in funding for new projects and funding increases for various government functions. This funding only becomes available when the legislature approves it. The DGBAS estimates that every NT$10 billion in government money not spent shaves 0.05 percent off
Dec. 29 to Jan. 4 Like the Taoist Baode Temple (保德宮) featured in last week’s column, there’s little at first glance to suggest that Taipei’s Independence Presbyterian Church in Xinbeitou (自立長老會新北投教會) has Indigenous roots. One hint is a small sign on the facade reading “Ketagalan Presbyterian Mission Association” — Ketagalan being an collective term for the Pingpu (plains Indigenous) groups who once inhabited much of northern Taiwan. Inside, a display on the back wall introduces the congregation’s founder Pan Shui-tu (潘水土), a member of the Pingpu settlement of Kipatauw, and provides information about the Ketagalan and their early involvement with Christianity. Most
RSS