Beer, called maekju (맥주; 麥酒) in Korean, was first introduced to Korea in the early 20th century. Seoul's first beer brewery opened in 1908. Two current major breweries date back to the 1920s. The third brewery established in Korea, Jinro Coors Brewery, was founded in the 1990s. It was later acquired by Oriental Breweries (OB). Hite Breweries's former name was Chosun Breweries, which was established in 1933. The company changed their name to Hite Breweries in 1998. OB Breweries established as Showa Kirin Breweries in 1933. The company changed their name to OB Breweries in 1995.
The South Korean beer market is currently dominated by two major manufacturers, Hite-Jinro and OB, with several brands being sold in the local market. Most restaurants and bars in Korea only have one of these beer brands on tap (Hite or OB's Cass), as they are largely regarded to be similar in taste and price (they are mostly brewed from rice)
1. Hite
A pale lager beer launched in 1993.
Hite is 4.3% abv.
2. Max
Launched in 2006 as the first all malt Korean beer. A special edition of Max beer is made annually.
Max is 4.5% abv.
3. Dry D
Launched as a dry type beer in 2010. The brewing method was made in cooperation with the Danish brewing company, Danbrew. It is made using a select dry yeast.
Dry D is 4.8% abv.
4. S
A low calorie beer produced by super attenuated brewing. It contains 0.5g of fiber per 100ml.
S is 3.8% abv.
5. Stout
A dark beer launched in 1991. It is a lager-type black beer made with German black malt.
Stout is 5% abv.
6. Cass
There are several different beers for sale under the Cass brand name. Cass is a non-pasteurized lager.
At 6.9% abv, Cass Red is the strongest variety currently sold.
7. OB Golden Lager
An all malt beer made primarily from Perle hops.
OB Golden Lager is 4.8% abv.
8. Cafri
Launched as a premium beer by OB in 1995. It is the first Korean beer to have a transparent bottle and a twist-off cap.
Cafri is 4.2% abv.
9. Cloud
An all malt beer launched by Lotte Chilsung in 2014. It is made with German hops and brewed using original gravity. Kloud is 5% abv.
Comments
Post a Comment