The most important distinction you need to be aware of is
that between lager and ale. Both of these are beer.
Lager refers to beer that is fermented using yeast that ferments on
the bottom of the fermentation vessel. This yeast prefers cool
temperatures, and lager beer is then usually stored for a period of
time in cold temperatures (or lagered") in order to precipitate the
yeast (get it to sort of stick together and sink to the bottom) and
make a clearer, cleaner-tasting beer. Lager is relatively new on the
brewing scene, as it was not feasible to make in many climates before
refrigeration. Now, however, it is the most popular type of beer
throughout most of the world (a notable exception is in Britain, where
ale is still more popular; recently, however, lagers are gaining
popularity among Bruppies [Brit-yuppies], which just illustrates the
failure of the British educational system). Some local examples of
lager are Tiger and Tiger Classic, Anchor, and Carlsberg. My
favorite, however, is Carslberg Special Brew, which is pretty
flavorful (and strong!) for a lager.
Ale, on the other hand, is made with yeast that ferments
on the top of the beer, floating around and making a nice fuzzy white
pile. Ale yeast prefers warmer temperatures, and ferments more
quickly than does lager yeast. The resulting beer is generally more
flavorful and darker in color than is most lager beer. It is
generally less carbonated than is lager, but this is due more to the
way it is conditioned and handled than to the yeast itself. Some of
the world's best ales are British "real ales", which are conditioned
in wooden casks, then pumped by hand into a glass, often by a pretty
British barmaid who isn't wearing a brassiere, which just adds to the
experience. And let's get this straight right now: stout is
beer. It is an ale, and ale is beer, so stout is beer. So the next
time you read in The Straits Times something like "The foreign
workers were seen drinking beer and stout for several hours before
they ran naked down Orchard Road", write to them and tell them they
are misleading the reading (and drinking) public. By the way,
Singapore has some excellent stouts in ABC Stout and Carlsberg Royal
Stout (you know, with the posters of beautiful buxom Chinese babes
drinking stout in all the hawker centers).
Belgium also makes some damn fine ales. One of the more
unusual ales made in Belgium is known as lambic. Lambics are
fermented in wide, shallow, open fermenters which are left uncovered
to be fermented by wild, air-borne yeasts which are unique to a group
of farming villages known as Payottenland, which is in the western
part of the Brussels area (so don't try this at home!). The resulting beer has a slightly sour,
tart taste that isn't for everyone, but I really like it. Within the
style of lambic, there is a wide variety of different kinds of beer,
created most often by the addition of a number of different fruits.
Cassis is made by fermenting black currants with the beer;
kriek is made with cherries; muscat is made with grapes; peche
is made with peaches; and framboise, perhaps the most popular
of the lambics, is made with raspberries. Some Belgian breweries even
make strawberry and lemon lambics. Brigand is a brand of lambic which
is often available in Singapore. In addition to these fruit-flavored lambics, there is
also fox lambic, which is young (not aged) beer; faro,
made with blending lambic with candy sugar; lambic doux, which
is sweetened young lambic; vieux lambic, aged three years in a
cask and another year in the bottle; and gueuze, a blend of
young and old lambics, which is then refermented. And in addition to
lambics, Belgium also produces excellent Trappist ales (originally
made by Trappist monks; some still are!); the best-known example is
the truly excellent Chimay ale, which is sometimes available in
Singapore (Takashimaya used to sell it, but I don't think they do
anymore). Another excellent, and unusual, beer made in brewed in
Belgium is the van Roy brewery's Christmas Weize, an ale made with
malted wheat.
It may come as a surprise to some to learn that the best place to find a wide variety of really good beers these days in the United States, despite the domination of the market by such mega-swills as Budweiser, Miller, and Coors. The US has a thriving microbrewery industry, and they actually make more British-style bitters, brown ales, porters, and stouts than the Brits make themselves. Americans also make European style lagers and ales; in fact, the Celis Brewery of Austin, Texas, brews some of the finest Belgian-style beer in the world! Other microbreweries of note in the US are California's Marin Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada, both of which make a wide variety of beers; Wisconsin's Capital Brewery and Sprecher, both specializing in German-style lagers; and Boulder Brewery in Colorado, brewing a variety of excellent ales. In addition to these microbreweries are numerous brew-pubs, producing a staggering variety of unusual (and often excellent) beers, such as the Pumpkin Ale brewed by Buffalo Bill's BrewPub.
By now, you're probably wondering where to find some of these fine malt products. Unfortunately, Singapore doesn't have much of a beer culture (unless you count the guys hanging out on void decks dressed in singlets and shorts with about twenty empty Special Brew bottles sitting in front of them). However, if you look around you often can find something besides Tiger and Anchor. Yoahan's has a few Belgian beers, and the Tanglin Market Place has some American microbrews. Your best bet, however, is to take a trip; visit the pubs of Great Britain, the brewpubs of the US, or go to Germany's Octoberfest! And do what I do: drink a toast to Lee Kuan Yew!
By the way, if you want to learn more about beer, check
out The Real Beer
Page! It's great!