Special Editions of the "Big Three"

In Thailand, there aren't that many options when it comes to beer.

There are a few newer brands, and you can get imported beers at the more high end supermarkets, but the market overall is dominated by the "Big Three", Singha, Chang, and Leo.

Recently, all of the "Big Three" have released special editions of their standard brews! I'm not sure if these are limited edition or not, but of course I had to try each one!

Singha Reserve Special Edition

Singha Reserve is a pale lager. It tastes nearly exactly like Singha Classic, but a bit smoother and made with higher-quality ingredients. According to the Singha website, this beer is "Made with the finest hops adding herbal and floral notes and a longer maturation process for a full-bodied flavor". It's definitely smoother and richer than regular Singha, but just as refreshing.

It would go especially well served in an iced glass with a spicy bowl of Tom Yum Goong!

Leo Number 8 Strong Brew

Despite being marketed as a "strong brew", Leo's new special edition beer is just 5.1% ABV as compared to the standard Leo's 5%. It has a bit of a stronger and sharper taste than standard Leo. It's big selling point, though, is that it is brewed with noble hops in the style of a continental lager.

Chang 25th Anniversary Cold Brew

Of the three, Chang is definitely the best at marketing. Popup beer gardens sponsored by  Chang are a fairly common sight in the city, and they have a huge presence on merchandising (especially when it comes to tacky tourist tank tops and t-shirts!).

For their 25th anniversary, Chang has rolled out a new special edition cold brew beer. According to its website,  "Chang cold brew lager is made with 100-per-cent malt using the cold brew process – beer filtration under sub- zero temperature. The process produces a beer with that’s very different in taste and fragrance from other brews."

The beer is remarkably clear, refreshing, and smooth. It's a crisper version of the standard Chang Classic, and I'm definitely a fan.

Chang Espresso Lager Asian Blend

Of all of the new beers, the Chang Espresso Lager is my favorite. This is because it's actually trying to be something unique. Across Asia, Thailand has the least creative beers and the poorest craft beer industry. Unlike neighboring countries (or especially Korea and Japan), most Thai beers are really nearly identical.

Not so for this one, and I couldn't be more excited! Not only is it a delicious beer (despite being a lager, the coffee that is blended in gives it strong stout notes), but it's a sign that the Big Three are testing the waters to consider branching out into more interesting and exciting beers. Excellent news!

According to the can, this coffee infused beer is "a blend of coffee beans selected from Thailand, Laos, & Vietnam" mixed into the standard Chang Classic. Good stuff!