I don’t drink much beer these days, but I used to consume my share, and even helped brew it way back in the day. But even if I do not drink it much now, I do still appreciate a good beer, and I appreciate a culture that can make good beer. Which is why I was so heartened to read that beer culture in Korea appears to be on the upswing.
Matt over at the great blog Gusts of Popular Feelings has a good overview of the current beer situation, particularly the appearance of 7 Bräu, a new brewer in Korea, the first to get a new bottling license since 1933 apparently. 7 Bräu apparently has an IPA (link shows an English story at the Korea JoongAng Daily) which is available in Home Plus stores around Korea. Nicely done!
Korean beer has long been pretty terrible—maybe not Michelob terrible, but still pretty bad, as I blogged about a few years ago. The Economist slammed Korean beer a couple of weeks ago; although, strangely, it did not mention 7 Brau or anything about the history of brewpubs in Korea. Still, the article upset many in Korea and inspired this retort in the Donga Ilbo—which was highly, uh, factually challenged (Koreans prefer lager while European prefer ale?) and completely missed the point.
Anyhow, great to see progress slowly being made. When brewpubs appeared in Korea about a decade ago, I had high hopes they might change Korea’s beer culture. Not that beer is so important, but variety and choice is an important part of life, and I’m happy that Korea is increasing its beverage choices.
