Taiwan 101: Widely Available Beers

Do I drink beer?  Yes, I do.  Do I drink a lot of beer?  It depends on who you ask.  For the record, I only drink if I don't have work the next day.

In terms of its beer selection, Taiwan can't compete with my hometown, but that's not always a bad thing.  Those living in big cities like Taipei or Kaohsiung of course have more beers to choose from, while those living in more rural areas get to choose from whatever 7-11, Family Mart, PX Mart, Hi-Life and OK Mart have to offer.

Let's begin our tour of locally available beer with 7-11.

7-11

7-11's beer is usually divided into two sections: the fancier beer and the beer you're going to see everywhere.  In the second category is Budweiser, Corona, Heineken, Bar, Asahi, Taiwan Beer, Busch, Kirin and variations put out by those same companies.  The 7-11 I visited didn't stock Orion and Sapporo.

The fancier beers are usually near the refrigerated sandwiches and microwaveable meals.  Of the beers I saw, I think the Brewdog IPA is OK but very overpriced.  The Stangen IPA and the "Hazy IPA" (a white can with red letters) are foul.  Worst of the beers I saw in that 7-11 was the Jack Black IPA.  I've seen some of the Sierra Nevada beers at other 7-11s, and even though they're good they're also overpriced.

2. Family Mart

The Family Mart I visited didn't have much of a selection.  No craft/import beers at all.  There are a couple brands of Kirin which are specific to Family Mart (the "Southern Star" and another kind whose name I'm forgetting), and they also sell Sapporo and Orion.

My reasons for drinking Orion are purely nostalgic.  I once visited Okinawa and had a great time there.  I often drink Asahi out of a similar sense of nostalgia.  A trip I once took to the Asahi Brewery in Osaka was very memorable.

3. PX Mart

I don't buy beer at PX Mart that often.  For a while they sold a pale ale from Iceland that I really liked, but that seems to have disappeared.  PX Mart has a row of euro beers, mostly strong ales and brown ales, and while I'll occasionally drink them at other people's parties I'm not a huge fan.

I should say, however, that PX Mart can be a good place to buy liquor.  A lot of their gin, whiskey and vodka is very reasonably priced, and for the longest time PX Mart was my main supplier of tonic water.

4. Hi-Life

This is where I get a little sad.  Up until last school year Hi-Life was selling a variety of Lithuanian beers, and one of these beers, the NEIPA (New England IPA), was one of my favorite beers ever.  Sadly they seem to have discontinued these beers, probably because Taiwanese people, who favor lagers and pilsners to the exclusion of almost everything else, just weren't buying them in large quantities.

5. OK Mart

I don't visit OK Mart that much.  The closest one to where I live is in Donggang, over an hour away.  I visited that OK Mart not too long ago, and if memory serves their beer selection was even smaller than Hi-Life's.

Related Entries:

Taiwan 101: Ten Important Dates

Taiwan 101: Both Kinds of KTV

Taiwan 101: Chain Restaurants

Taiwan 101: The Superstores