We wrote that 2009 was the year of the cocktail. Well, 2010 is the year of the humble brew. And we’re talking about beer here. A heady list of specialty beer bars, each with its own unique concept have opened up these past months adding more foamy goodness to the drinking scene here.
One of them is Malted Milk located at Studio M Hotel. Opened by Timbre Group Asia, Malted Milk was born following the success of the group’s Beerfest Asia. Held for the second time this year in June, the beer festival featured more than 250 types of beers from 30 countries were available for festival goers to sample. They ranged from mainstream brands such as Fosters, Carlsberg and Tiger to exotic seasonal niche brands from Armenia, Poland and Vietnam.
Another interesting bar concept involving malted brew is Just Beer and Beer Market. The latter, Located in Clarke Quay is inspired by a similar concept bar in Barcelona called La Bolsa, which literally means “stock exchange bar.” The bar stays true its motto “Buy Low, Drink High” throughout. The more a particular alcoholic beverage is purchased, the higher its value gets.
Red Dot Brewhouse is one more watering hole that has made news in the scene with its recent expansion. First launched in 2007 at Dempsey, it is the first and only homegrown independent microbrewery helmed by a local head-brewer. It opened a new outlet in Boat Quay in June this year, bringing its popular array of hand-crafted beers closer to the city.
The amount of beer imported here in 2009 was up by over 40 percent from 2003 going by the numbers from Singapore Customs. To put it in perspective, beer-drinkers here chugged approximately 93 million liters–about 37 Olympic-sized swimming pool–over 12 months from April 2009 to March 2010. It’s safe to say that the amount since then has grown. That said, the global beer market is looking rosy and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.8 percent to reach a value of $810 billion by 2014, according to analysts, Business Insights.
