Eastern promise

Forget all the tea in China - there are plenty of genuinely-imported Asian brews to give your beer offer a taste of the Orient, says Adrian Tierney-Jones

You are what you drink - and in the case of those who specialise in premium beers the world keeps turning up at their bars as the imported speciality beer phenomenon shows no sign of abating. Belgian beers and Polish pints, take your pick. Lithuanian lagers and American ales, step this way.

Now, drinkers can turn their time in the pub into one long gap year as the beers of Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and China make their pitches for space at the bar.

Old stagers like Singapore's Tiger have been regular visitors for years, but they are increasingly joined by newcomers from all over south-east Asia - drinkers who've spent their holidays on the beaches at Bali or swimming in the crystal clear waters off Phuket Island can chase away the winter blues with a glass of Bintang or Singha.

What's more, the prospect of the Beijing Olympics this summer and an interest in all things Chinese means that canny licensees can look even further east if they want to provide their global beer travellers with something different.

Asian authenticity

The British have long had a love affair with Asian food, whether it's the corner chippie serving sweet and sour alongside its saveloys, or the increasing number of pubs that major in ethnic dishes - good Thai-dins indeed.

For years, it was any old lager that washed down the dim sum - more often than not, one that was brewed in England. But today, pubs looking for a hint of authenticity and provenance are turning to beers brewed

in south-east Asia - and there is no shortage

of them.

Beer and wine importer Pierhead has products from Vietnam, Indonesia and South Korea on its books - the likes of Hue and Max might not be as ubiquitous as Tyskie yet, and they might be largely sold in restaurants serving dishes of the home country, but their presence in the UK gives them a potential to make a crossover into the pub trade.

The company's continued faith in beers from this part of the world has been recently strengthened by the announcement that it will be stocking South China's top beer Zhu Jiang, a light and crisp Pilsener.

According to director of imported beers Michael Cook, Pierhead's portfolio of Asian beers is currently enjoying great success in the UK as consumers continue to be experimental and adventurous in their beer selections.

"We decided to launch Zhu Jiang to capitalise on the surge of interest in Chinese beer from multinational drink companies and consumers," says Cook. "With Beijing hosting the Olympics in the summer we

expect this interest to increase.

"Zhu Jiang's position as the most popular beer in southern China and its excellent food-matching qualities meant we felt that it would prove extremely popular with restaurant and bar owners."

Something different

Another company keen to capitalise on the growing interest in all things Asian and especially Chinese, is Anheuser-Busch, which bought Harbin Brewery back in 2004.

Again this is a Pilsener, but because it comes from the oldest Chinese brewery, Anheuser-Busch's marketing team have gone to town on the provenance of the brand.

"The brand is different from others," says the company's import brands

manager, James Whiteley. "This is because it is from the oldest brewery in China - established in 1900, so it has a long heritage.

"It also comes from an intriguing geographical area, Heilongjiang, which is the most northerly and coldest province. It is famous for its ice festivals - and is also an area that has come under the influence of many different cultures and not a lot of people know about it."

That's all very well, but what about the beer? Whiteley says the taste reflects its colourful past - there is a blend of European and Chinese hops, which he believes gives it a sense of mystery.

"We see this brand as one of

the top premium Asian beers -

you are more likely to find it in style bars rather than high-street bars,

as a lot of those bars look for something different."

Amid all this excitement, you don't have to travel back too far in time to recall when beers from the region were saddled with a dubious reputation.

Author Pete Brown, in his excellent beer travelogue Three Sheets to the Wind, tells the tale of how he tasted three separate bottles of one brand - in China - and they were all different, including one that had the character of a Belgian lambic.

He also recounts the tale of the investors looking to put money into a Chinese brewery and discovering beers in old soy sauce bottles, complete with a layer of the liquid that had once been in it.

Availability of styles

But that is all in the past and beer quality will be uppermost in the mind of the brewing giant that is China. Even so, it is not an easy route to market, which means that for the moment we will only be seeing Chinese lagers, as opposed to the dunkel styles and wheat beers that are also produced out there.

Perhaps the increasing availability of Japanese dark lagers from the likes of Asahi might concentrate minds? Or maybe not.

Cook says the huge cost of importing to the UK from Asia is another factor that makes it difficult for different beer styles from Asia to break into the UK market.

"With many Asian brands being brewed

under licence in the UK at a fraction of the cost, these smaller Asian brands can't compete unless they move production to the UK and forfeit their authenticity and provenance, which are two of the main selling points to the current UK beer drinker," he says.

Over at Anheuser-Busch, James Whiteley acknowledges that Harbin produces a variety of beer styles, including a wheat beer, and at the moment "we are focused on the Pilsener, but on the other hand everything is possible".

Even though it seems that all the news about beer is doom and gloom, there still remains an all-consuming interest in the world's best-selling long drink - otherwise beers like Harbin, for better or worse, wouldn't be over here.

The latest entrants into the imported speciality beer market might be straightforward lagers, but at least their presence means that there is the chance to maintain people's interest in beer, so it has to be good for licensees, brewers and beer-lovers. Just keep looking out for that Shanghai-brewed dunkel.

Go east: FIVE beers to try

Harbin - crisp, refreshing Chinese Pilsener

Max - South Korean brand with a fruity nose

Asahi Black — Japanese dunkel style

Singha — bittersweet Thai lager

Bintang — Indonesian lager, easy-drinking and slightly sweet