Beer is civilization! So says Beertopia’s Chris Matthews, the guest speaker at the July 12 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club. Chris owns and operates Beertopia here in Pattaya which has imported many craft beers for both wholesale and retail sales. His shop also offers food that goes well with beer.
According to Chris, beer dates back at least 9,000 years, and the oldest written recipe is for beer. Agriculture, writing, and cities developed around beer production. Today, beer is the third most consumed liquid, and the most consumed alcoholic beverage on Earth.
Chris Matthews from Pattaya’s Beertopia explains to his PCEC audience the rapid growth in export of craft beers, which continues to grow today as these beers gain wide acceptance in other parts of the world.
And now, he says, there is a global trend toward “craft beer.” In 2013, there were more than 3,400 breweries in the USA, and more than 2,700 of them were craft breweries. Further, in order to qualify as a “craft beer” it must meet three criteria: First, the brewery must be small, producing less than 6 million barrels a year. Second, the brewery must be independent, and the investors must be directly involved in production. Third, the beer must use 100% natural ingredients – no flavoring, adjuncts or preservatives.
Chris says his passion for Craft Beer started with his father always giving him a sip of the fresh draught beer he had in his homemade keg fridge in the basement. His father always explained to him how draught beer is far superior to bottled beer because it is not pasteurized. That never really made sense to him until he became an adult and spent significant time tasting all these different beers, and recognizing that a non-pasteurized, all natural, preservative free beer is consistently better than anything else, regardless of style or brewery. That’s why Chris decided to open Beertopia, a “bottle shop” in Pattaya that imports American, European and Japanese Craft Beers.
Chris Matthews accepts the PCEC’s Certificate of Appreciation from MC Richard Silverberg for his interesting and informative presentation on craft beers of which many are now available in Pattaya.
Chris gave a description of the brewing process, which takes about three weeks and involves four basic ingredients: Yeast, barley, hops, and water. Hops give beer the flavor and aroma. Hops flavors include tropical fruit, citrus, pine forest, floral, earthy, and spicy. At least 90 percent of beer is water, and regional water creates different beer styles.
He said all Thai beers are lagers, and good ales are hard to find here. That’s why he decided to import mostly ales. “We’re picking the best beers we can find,” said Chris. In Thailand, he said, keg beer is usually warm, and then when the keg is tapped the beer goes through a cooling mechanism so it’s cold by the time it gets to your glass. But all the beer at Beertopia is fresh because it never gets warm. It leaves the brewery cold, is shipped to Thailand in refrigerated containers, and stays cold “all the way to my refrigerator.”
PCEC’s Ren Lexander interviews Chris Matthews about craft beers after his presentation. The video is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wNwya4rNgQ
Just as in wine tasting, Chris said there are professional beer judges, and explained that there are five criteria for judging a beer: (a) Aroma – has notes of grain, corn, fruit or spice, bread; yeasty or sulfurous? (b) Appearance – hue, color, clear or cloudy, hazy, effervescent, color and size of foam; (c) Flavor – sip 3 times, using your full palate, and sense the taste and acidity; is it sweet, bitter, acidic, balanced? (d) Mouthfeel – swish beer around to perceive how it feels in the mouth; is it silky, creamy, thin, fizzy, or chewy? and (e) Finish (aftertaste) – What lingers – bitterness, sweetness, acidity, dryness? Do you want more?
PCEC Member Ian Frame updates everyone on his Genealogy special interest group for those that want to learn more about tracing their family tree.
And did you know that there are eight different types of beer glasses? Chris identified them as Pint, Weizen, Snifter, Stange, Pilsner, Goblet, Tulip and Mug. The snifter is best known for cognac, but these wide-bowled and stemmed glasses with their tapered mouths are perfect for capturing the aromas of strong ales.
Beertopia carries about 40 types of beer, which are constantly changing. Chris mentioned they get a new shipment every 2 – 3 weeks. Further, most of their sales are wholesale, but they also sell by the bottle. Although they are primarily a bottle shop, they also have beer on tap and a variety of “other libations,” as well as a menu of foods that go well with beer. Judging from the reaction of the crowd at the meeting, the most popular item on the menu is what Chris promised is an authentic American beef hot dog!
Chris Matthews showed this picture of some of the craft beer on tap at his shop where you can order a “sampler” consisting of small glasses which allows you to try several of the different beers.
Beertopia is located on Soi 17 off of Third Road (Soi 17 is between South Pattaya Road and Thappraya Road). For more information, visit their website at http://www.beertopiathailand.com/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/beertopiathailand/timeline.
After Chris’s presentation MC Richard Silverberg brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the PCEC’s many activities, visit their website at www.pcecclub.org.
This chart was shown by Chris Matthews to illustrate the different brewing process between ales and lagers.
