Beer, king of alcoholic beverages in the Philippines

Filipinos love them alcohol. Alcoholic beverages in the Philippines are creative and usually sweet. From the strong boozy taste of gin killed off by being poured into the sweet concoction of Pomelo (local grapefruit) juice, to the many cocktails created using native mangos and local rum, there are indeed many ways to enjoy alcohol in the Philippines. But something you can find everywhere and anywhere is beer. Here is a short guide to Philippine Beers.

 Amongst all alcoholic beverages in the Philippines, the Red Horse brand of beer, with its sweet-cereal taste, and antiseptic smell, is the most popular amongst all options. This is meant to be drunk when refrigerated thoroughly. Enjoyed by many, it is affordable and even comes in a liter bottle. If you’re lucky, you might find the bottle with the mythical happy horse on its logo, supposedly promising that the beer you’ve received is of a stronger variant.

 If Red Horse doesn’t quite do it for you, then you probably will be the man for the bitter-tasting San Miguel Pale Pilsen, arguably the drink of choice for many a father or brawny uncle in the Philippines. As stereotypes go, the San Miguel Pale Pilsen drinker has the sort of alcoholic equivalent of mystique that the Marlboro Man presents. This beer, with a good hoppy flavor, and decent head, can be found anywhere from the local roadside beer gardens in provinces to the top hotels in the country. A similar style would be the San Miguel Super Dry beer, a little harder to find but also well appreciated by many an educated beer drinker, good to accompany you through dinner.

 IF you’re just looking for something light to accompany you through your long night of partying, the San Miguel Light beer promises 0 calories, and none of that heaviness that you feel in your stomach that accompanies most wheat beers. Marketed using the sexiest and most popular local celebrities of the moment, this adjunct lager is also best served cold and will be enjoyed by people who enjoy the similarly styled Corona, Heineken, or Dos Equis beer.

 Now if you’re the kind of beer drinker that only partakes of this calorie-laden alcoholic beverage if it is prepared by Trappist monks in Belgium or small award-winning craft breweries in the US, fret not, as there are growing options for you all-around the Philippines –you just have to know where to look. A good place to find these handcrafted beers would be in Global Beer Exchange, owned by beer geek Jim Araneta, who sources Craft Beer from Japan and the US, while helping nurture local beer-making enthusiasts through monthly meetings with the Beer Club of Manila.

One of the local beers that is well-stocked at the Global Beer Exchange is by a local craft brewery called Katipunan Craft Ales. They brew a mean American Pale Ale beer that is slowly garnering the attention of beer connoisseurs everywhere.

 If you’re still under the notion that the choices for alcoholic beverages in the Philippines are limited, then, obviously, you don’t get out much.