Premium Beer: an Attempt at Development
Did you know that there are beers like Westmalle Tripel, Gulden Draak, Bush de Charmes, and Lefebvre Hopus in the Philippines? Only Belgian beers, but still… This implies that the customer base exists for this type of quality beer. Because it must be said that the zythological situation in this country of nearly 105 million leaves something to be desired.
Not surprisingly, beer is the most consumed beverage in the country, where the drink first appeared in the late 19th century. Overall, two breweries share the national market: San Miguel and Asia Brewery.
Here is the Pale Pilsen produced by San Miguel, based in Manila, imported to the US under the name San Miguel Premium Lager. We’re continuing with our approach to so-called “premium” beers – see our post “Premium Beer: Some considerations.” The beer we discussed in that first post was righteous. But this one left us frankly dubious.
Not a Premium inside the borders, but a Premium outside… Which confirms that the word refers first and foremost to a market segment. In addition, “Pale Lager” is a pleonasm… And the beer, finally, is well below average. Crispy, but metallic. We will leave it at that.