Seabrew 2022 is over and it was a blast! It is an annual brewer’s conference and trade fair with a focus on Asia. This year it was held in Bangkok, Thailand – just like the last one in 2019. In 2020 it was supposed to be held in Taiwan but the event got canceled because of the pandemic.
Many of the big names present
At this year’s Seabrew event, there were a considerable amount of attendees. It was said that around 500 people attended the event.
There were perhaps 30 different booths. We could for example see the yeast supplier Fermentis and hops distributor Yakima Chief Hops. Especially the Yakima Chief Hops booth was popular as they were serving a few different beers including ones from Carbon Brews which is a craft beer brewery from Hong Kong and Wizard Brewery, a craft beer brewery from Thailand. There were also some beers brewed with their new experimental hop the HBC 586.
The Asian beer distributor Beervana was also present with some of their best offerings.
Talking about non-alcoholic craft beer
To my surprise, one of the conferences was about non-alcoholic craft beer. I didn’t expect that because Asia is still not that big on the whole alcohol free beer thing. I know that Hoprizon from Vietnam is making an NA craft beer, but I haven’t seen many other brewers doing it.
However, here it was Fermentis that showcased their new experimental yeast which can brew beers of less than 0.5%. They also gave us a sample of one of the beers brewed with this yeast, which was Free Time from Bridge Road Brewers. Don’t forget to read our Bridge Road Brewers Free Time review.
There were also some interesting numbers. For example, Europe has about 30% of the non-alcoholic beer market at the moment. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, the Middle East is seeing a huge uptick in alcohol free beer production. Also, the market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% until 2024.
Later in the day, I got a sample of Nittenauer Freie Liebe non-alcoholic craft beer, but it was a very worty brew that I wasn´t really enjoying.
Seabrew day 2 was filled with workshops
The second day went as usual. People were drinking free beer and eating good food. Of course, people also attended the many interesting conferences that were being held.
There were also different workshops running throughout the day. There was for example one workshop where you could build your own beer. The one that seemed to interest the brewers the most was the one where they were learning to recognize different off-flavors. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get a ticket to that one.
Some great entertainment was also to be had. One of the most memorable ones was probably the bagpipe player. It was a pretty massive feeling when the sound of the bagpipe started to move through the room. We hoped they had brought in Dropkick Murphys but that was unfortunately not the case.
Changing its name to Brew Asia
The founder of Seabrew, Charles Guerrier, also announced that the conference will change its name. From next year when it will be held in Vietnam, it is going to be called Brew Asia. That means it will be called Brew Asia Vietnam 2023 next year. The reason for this is probably to make countries like China, Korea, and Japan feel more included. These countries have usually been well-represented in the Asia Beer Championships Awards.
Asia Beer Championships 2022 Winners
The grand finale of the event was the Asia Beer Championships. Everyone was gathered in one of the conference rooms cheering for their teams to win awards for the best craft beers in Asia. It was an intense atmosphere with many cheerful people, and I really enjoyed watching it. Hopefully next year they can include a category for non-alcoholic craft beer, or at least a category for low-alcohol craft beer too.
Here are all the winners from Asia Beer Championships 2022
1. Best Weissbier in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Original Wheat Beer | Haidilao International Holding Ltd | China |
| Silver | First-Wort Weissbier | URBREW | China |
| Bronze | Bavarian Madness | 7 Bridges Brewing Company | Vietnam |
2. Best Witbier in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Misty Lake | No 18 Brewery | China |
| Silver | Viet Wit | Pasteur Street Brewing Co | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Isekado Hime White | Isekado Brewery | Japan |
3. Best American Wheat Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Discovery | Spacecraft | Thailand |
| Silver | American Wheat | The Ranche Brewing | Korea |
| Bronze | Lost in Japan | Elias Wicked Ales & Spirits | Philippines |
4. Best International Lager in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Bia Saigon Chill | Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corporation | Vietnam |
| Silver | Mannheim Helles | Mannheim Craft Brewery | India |
| Bronze | Ice Ice Baby | EightX Brewing Co – SevenDaze | Singapore |
5. Best International Dark Lager in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Gangnam Style | Artmonster Brewery | Korea |
| Silver | Lovibond Dark Beer | China Resources Snow Beer | China |
| Bronze | Cheerday Dark | Hangzhou Cheerday Brewery | China |
6. Best Pilsner in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Tuas Factor Pilsner | District Brewers | Singapore |
| Silver | It’s My Life | EightX Brewing Co – SevenDaze | Singapore |
| Bronze | Ultimate Luck | Artmonster Brewery | Korea |
7. Best Pacific Pilsner in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Sunny Pils | Himawari Microbrewery | Cambodia |
| Silver | See What Hoppens | Dead Man Brewery | Hong Kong |
| Bronze | Pacific Pilsner | East West Brewing Co. | Vietnam |
8. Best Gose in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Haihe River Rose | Trueman Brewing Co. | China |
| Silver | Summer Breeze | Barth Haas Campus Asia | China |
| Bronze | Cha Chaan Teng Sour | Young Master Brewery | Hong Kong |
9. Sour Beer
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Imperial Gose | Gorilla Brewing Company | Korea |
| Silver | Barrel Collection Not So Spicy | Gorilla Brewing Company | Korea |
| Bronze | Days of Being Wild – Luna | Young Master Brewery | Hong Kong |
10. Saison
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | |||
| Silver | Saigon Saison | Pasteur Street Brewing Co. | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Parisian Saison | The Ranch Brewing | Korea |
11. Golden Ale
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Happy Valley Golden Ale | Hong Kong Beer Company | Hong Kong |
| Silver | Always Birdie | Artmonster Brewery | Korea |
| Bronze | Beach Boys | Smiling Mad Dog Co. | Thailand |
12. European Pale Ale
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | #ITAEWON | Artmonster Brewery | Korea |
| Silver | Bee’s Knees | Deadman Brewery | Hong Kong |
| Bronze | Proppa Pale Ale | Elias Wickes Ales & Spirits | Philippines |
13. Best American Pale Ale in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Dream Alone Pale Ale | Heart of Darkness Brewery | Vietnam |
| Silver | Isekado Pale Ale | Isekado Brewery | Japan |
| Bronze | Pasteur Street Pale Ale | Pasteur Street Brewing Co. | Vietnam |
14. Best English Style IPA in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | India Pale Ale | Brewerkz Brewing Co. | Singapore |
| Silver | Classic IPA | Specific Gravity Beverage Co. | Singapore |
| Bronze | Little Bastard IPA | Yardley Brothers Craft Brewery | Hong Kong |
15. American Style IPA in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Raven IPA | The Brewing Project | Thailand |
| Silver | Mosaic IPA | Outlaw Brewing Co. | Thailand |
| Bronze | Backyard Harmony IPA | Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery | Philippines |
16. Best New England/Hazy IPA in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Newing IPA – Spectrum Edition | Gorilla Brewing Company | Korea |
| Silver | NEIPA | Samata X The Brewing Company | Thailand |
| Bronze | Hazy IPA | Isekado Brewery | Japan |
17. Best Double IPA in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | 4:00AM | Brewerkz Brewing Co. | Singapore |
| Silver | Imperial IPA | 7 Bridges Brewing Company | Vietnam |
| Bronze | 1842 Island | Young Master Brewery | Hong Kong |
18. Best Dark/Brown Ale in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Mildly Dark Mild | Brewerkz Brewing Co. | Singapore |
| Silver | Dark Horse | Steersman Brewery | Vietnam |
| Bronze |
19. Best Porter in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Yeongdeung Porter | Beervana Brewing Co. | Korea |
| Silver | Rye In Peace | Brewerkz Brewing Co. | Singapore |
| Bronze | Vanilla Porter | Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery | Philippines |
20. Best Stout in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Deer Kick | Brewerkz Brewing Co. | Singapore |
| Silver | Rooster Stout | Rooster Beers | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Seven’s Stout | Hong Kong Beer Company | Hong Kong |
21. Best Imperial Stout in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Add Oil 2022 | Young Master Brewery | Hong Kong |
| Silver | Yunnan Imperial Coffee Stout | Jing-A Brewing Company | China |
| Bronze | Elevator To Abyss | Ducky Fly Brewing X Look Krung Brewing Co. | Thailand |
22. Best Strong Ale in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Show Hard Man Dark Strong Ale | URBREW | China |
| Silver | Extreme Pride | Artmonster Brewery | Korea |
| Bronze | Maka Di Belgian Tripel | Maka Di | India |
23. Best Wild Ale in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Kriek In The Barrel 2022 | Far Yeast Brewing Co. | Japan |
| Silver | Mac Mat | Furbrew | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Dark Forest | Carbon Brews | Hong Kong |
24. Best Fruit-Flavoured Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Big Bird, Big Moon | Beervana Brewing Co. | Korea |
| Silver | Tropical Nectar | Jing-A Brewing Company | China |
| Bronze | YUZU | 7 Bridges Brewing Company | Vietnam |
25. Best Spice/Herb-Flav. Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Mannheim Tamarind Chili Sour | Mannheim Craft Brewery | India |
| Silver | Fire Eater | 7 Bridges Brewing Company | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Sơn Sette | Overmorrow Brewing Company | Vietnam |
26. Best Wood/Barrel-Aged Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | The Ghost Barrel Aged Imperial Stout | Heart Of Darkness Brewery | Vietnam |
| Silver | The Shadow Barrel Aged Coffee Stout | Heart of Darkness Brewery | Vietnam |
| Bronze | King Kong Imperial Stout | Gorilla Brewing Company | Korea |
27. Best Mixed-Style Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | |||
| Silver | |||
| Bronze | 0 Mile Post | Isekado Brewery | Japan |
28. Best Experimental Beer in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Captain-Li Barley Wine | URBREW | China |
| Silver | Raspberry Cheesecake Fruited Sour | SAMATA Brewing | Thailand |
| Bronze | Not For Adults | Bart Haas Campus Asia | China |
29. Best Sweet Apple Cider in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Auntie Apple Cider | Neonotic Cider | Hong Kong |
| Silver | Urbrew Apple Cider | URBREW | China |
| Bronze | Orchard Road Apple | Crossroads Brewing Company | Singapore |
30. Best Fruit Cider in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Very Berry Cider | Effingut Breweries | India |
| Silver | Channimit Cider | De Ploy Brewery | Thailand |
| Bronze |
31. Best Herb/Spiced Cider in Asia
| Beer | Brewery | Country | |
| Gold | Pandan Cider | Neonotic Cider | Hong Kong |
| Silver | Apple & Chilli | Saigon Cider | Vietnam |
| Bronze | Apple & Ginger | Saigon Cider | Vietnam |
Chinese and Korean craft beer is still going strong
Like during Seabrew 2019, which was also held in Bangkok, China and Korea took home the most awards again this year. It seems like the craft beer scene is going strong in those countries although the Southeast Asian breweries are soon catching up with Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand leading the way.
Thailand is also in the process of reviewing a bill that will make it easier for Thai craft beer brewers to get a brewing license. The Cambodian craft beer brewers were also doing a good job with Himawari grabbing a medal and Riel Brewing getting a Chairman’s Selection.
See you in Vietnam 2023!
If you want to read more about Seabrew check out their website.