BANGKOK — Since the craft beer scene broke into the Bangkok drinking and dining mainstream last year, the bar has been rising with beer geeks thirsty for something bigger and bolder.
The early adopters over at Mikkeller are prepping for a sudsy shindig to get the craft beer scene buzzing – or at least seriously buzzed – again. To celebrate two years of getting people pie-eyed with rare beer from around the globe, Mikkeller will throw itself a weeklong birthday bash Feb. 1 to Feb. 7.
“We’re getting more beer into Thailand than we’ve ever had before,” said Mikkeller Bangkok’s Jakob Rasmussen. “Right now, there’s beer on boats from all over the world. Italy, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, Belgium, America … and then something special that we can’t reveal just yet.”
Rasmussen said he hopes it isn’t a shameless repeat of their first anniversary party last year, which got a little out of hand.
“Last year turned into a shit show. People were taking their sample cup, loading it up, and getting totally drunk early in the afternoon,” he said. “They missed the point.”
The point, he said, is to enjoy the rare stuff, not just get loaded on American Dream or any of Mikkeller’s everyday beers.
This year the birthday party will take place over an entire week with the taps occupied by a different brewery every day.
On Feb. 5, Chef Dan Bark will host a special dinner where the best beer from each brewery over the week is put on draft along with a dish designed around it. That’s five different breweries plus one from Mikkeller with six dishes created especially for the beer.
Saturday sees the bar bring out the big guns. Rasmussen said he asked each of his suppliers for something “really special” and in response they sent beers that sometimes are never kegged, like Birra Del Borgo’s range of ales brewed with specialty champagne yeast, which lends a unique dry taste to the beer. Hunter Coffee from 18th St. Brewery, which earned a 99/100 score on RateBeer, will also be available. This is a beer that Americans line up for on release days in Indiana, and it will soon be here, 14,000 kilometers away.
Mead, an ancient beverage that’s enjoying a modern resurgence in popularity, will also debut. Superstition Meadery will be released for the very first time in Thailand on Saturday afternoon.
And of course, there will be lots of free beer. Check out the details online at Mikkeller Bangkok.
