Siem Reap, Cambodia
A few months ago, my best friend and fellow beer buddy, Beckie and I, traveled to Siem Reap to check out Angkor Wat. This was mostly a thank you present for watching Bullet for three months and a little bit of a birthday present and a professional congrats to her being kick ass at her job celebration. Like all best friend trips, I googled breweries in Siem Reap and stumbled across the only brewery in the area. Siem Reap Brewpub is a microbrewery with own restaurant and bar in the heart of Siem Reap. You can walk to it from the Night Market / Pub Street. The restaurant provide relaxing atmosphere for you to enjoy fresh beers. All their beers are produced in this microbrewery using the finest Malt from Germany, Hops from Australia, Craft Yeast from New Zealand and Clean Local Water. (I thought it was interesting that they openly advertised this last fact. Since most tourists are nervous about the local drinking water. However, beer brewers know that most impurities are killed in the process of making beer).
Their Brewmaster, Neo Say Wee, was a hobbyist turned professional brewer. Neo has been brewing crowd favorites and award-winning ales and lagers for both locals and foreigners alike for the last 10 years, satisfying hundreds of thirsty customers daily. Neo setup Singapore’s first Homebrew store in 2004 becoming the go-to source of all brewing ingredients and equipment to help local hobbyist develop their home brewing craft. Being a brewer and owning Singapore’s first Homebrew store didn’t stop Neo from setting up the first Homebrew Club where he conducts beer tasting and brewing sessions, beer related discussions and even regional microbrewery tours for members. Always the market leader in the local beer industry Neo continued to fine-tune his skill and became Singapore’s first and only accredited beer judge certified under the Beer Judge Certification Program in 2010.
Siem Reap Brewpub
Here is what we tried:
- Blonde Ale – Light and delicate maltiness. Low level of bitterness. Floral hops aroma.
- Golden Ale – Malty with a touch of toastiness. Medium level of bitterness. Piney hops aroma.
- India Pale Ale – Rich and rounded flavor of malt. High level of bitterness. Fruity hops aroma.
- Dark Ale – Complex malt body. Low level of bitterness. Intense dark chocolate aroma & flavor. Brewed with 100% local organic Palm Sugar for the unique Cambodian taste. While it was a little too hot to be drinking a dark beer. I really enjoyed this beer, the story about the palm sugar and the taste.
- Honey Weiss – A naturally cloudy Hefeweizen (Wheat Beer).Low level of bitterness. Rich honey aroma and flavor. Brewed with 100% local organic Wild Honey from Mondulkiri for the unique Cambodian taste. This beer was a close favorite of mine. I loved the taste of the local honey, which is definitely something to taste when you come to Cambodia.
- Saison Ale – A touch of Rye malt. Medium level of bitterness. Delicate lemongrass aroma with pepper corn aftertaste. Brewed with 100% local organic Lemongrass and Pepper Corn for the unique Cambodian taste. This was both Beckie and my favorite beer. The gentle spice from the pepper corn gave it an impressive saison feel without being overwhelming.
Have you been to Siem Reap? What was your favorite beer there?
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