New Brews

For all those of you that are looking forward to new beers from Archipelago we have several treats for you in late 2007 and early 2008.

We will be bringing back the smooth and roasty Java (Black Lager beer). We brewed this beer last year and it was a popular addition to the Archipelago draft line up (plus it is one of my favorite beer styles). Silky smooth, round and redolent with roasted coffee flavors Java blends the best of old Bavarian brewing traditions, the original home of the black Lager, with a flair from the east. To give Java a hint more coffee flavor we have blended in a touch of special hill grown Kopi Bali (Balinese coffee) to the dark roasted malts. Aged (or lagered) for an extended period of time to develop the velvety character, the result is an even richer roasted, nutty, chocolate flavor in this already luscious dark beer. Since this is one of my personal favorites I am very much looking forward to its release in late December.

We have also just brewed a special beer for the DFS (Duty Free Shops). The beer is named Explorer. It is in the Belgian Saison style, but lighter and more refreshing than our Siason Sayang (Sayang was maybe a bit ponderous for some). Explorer offer a variety of aromas and flavours reminiscent of the fragrance of the outdoors. Explorer is lightly spiced with liquorishy Anise and coriander, it has a strong bready character and a hint of fruits and hardwoods, a note of fresh cut grass, and touch of acidity. Golden pale in colour, Explorer is smooth and complex, round and flavorful yet refreshingly dry and thirst quenching. We have a limited number of kegs to pour at our Archipelago signature pubs (Circular road or Far East Square) otherwise "Explorer" is available in bottles exclusively at DFS in Singapore.

To help ring in the new year Archipelago has decided to put our ever popular Samui into bottles so that you can enjoy it at home or (better yet) at the beach. Archipelago Samui was brewed to commemorate our first anniversary. We decided to go out on a hunt for that special ingredient to create something totally new for this exclusive birthday brew. We felt that the tangy taste of the calamansi lime would truly be complemented by the fruity flavors of wheat and the nutty flavors of malt. The use of imported German Saaz hops gives this beer a nice light floral note. We combined all that with a hint of the aromatic herb pandan leaf to create a concoction that is both zesty and refreshing and uniquely Archipelago.

Come on down to one of our pubs and try the new brews (or look for them at outlets around the island) - Cheers