Beer is the world’s great networker. Even if you don’t speak the language or understand the culture,
bonds are formed over sharing brews and it has been one of the major facilitators in allowing me to
travel deeper around the world and meet locals.
Asia is a place rich in tradition and serious about their beer. While European countries like Germany
and Ireland are more commonly associated with beer drinking, it is the Asian nations of China, Japan
and Vietnam that are seeing a large amount of beer consumption growth, as well as a big boost in
popularity for their respective national brews.
Some analysts predict that the earnings of Asia’s beer market will reach more than $144 billion in
2012 and Last year, one Asian country, Vietnam reported beer consumption of 2.38 billion liters, an
increase of 19.8 percent from 2009, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
This increase is credited to the purchasing power of middle class, the move from hard liquor and the
consolidation of major breweries around the world.
In 2010, the Economist reported that “in the space of a couple of decades the country has gone from
barely touching a drop to become the world’s biggest beer market, a considerable distance ahead of
America. And beer drinking in China is growing fast, by nearly 10% a year.
In the next few years I plan to Travel Indochina and experience all the great beers that are being
produced and drank around the region. My goal is to fly into Bangkok, Thailand and explore the
beautiful islands while drinking Singha and then venture to India to experience the rural countryside
and curry while downing some Kingfisher brews.
From there, I dream of motorcycling through Cambodia and Vietnam, stopping in small villages and
cities to enjoy local culture over Angkor and Saigon before flying off to China to visit the ancient ruins,
great wall and Tsingtao for the first time.
Then it’s off to Japan, Asia’s highest beer consumption country. Beautiful old Japan, fresh sushi and liters of Sapporo have been calling my name for years.
One day I’ll make the trip. One day I’ll experience the entire world and all the great beers that bring it
together. Until then, I’ll study the magic beverage with the help of this infographic below. Cheers!
