BeerLao is the most common beer in Laos.
We spent the first few days without seeing any other beers. We didn’t even see any others just across the river from Thailand, where you would think a stray Chang or Singha might wash ashore from time to time. It wasnt until Luang Prabang, and then only after seeking an alternative, that we found one of BeerLao’s competitors.
So, what do we think of Beer Lao? Well, the only thing to recommend it is that it’s everywhere, it’s cheap (about a buck and a quarter for a one-quart bottle), and the best of the alternatives ain’t much better. Otherwise, we would never drink it again.
Jen thinks Michelob is a better beer. That probably says it all.
As to me, I think it’s a crappy beer; but after hours of sitting in a slow boat on the Mekong, or on the board-seat of a pickup-bus, I am in need of some pain killer.
Maybe that’s the point of Beer Lao – it’s medicinal. It certainly has the aftertaste to match a hit of cough syrup. And, like any good pharmaceutical, it has potential side effects – in this case, headaches.
To its credit, Beer Lao is nostalgic. It makes me long for the good old days of Miller Genuine draft…and Rainier Beer…and Schlitz…and all those other American crap beers that actually look kinda desirable when stacked up to BeerLaos.
Well, maybe not Schlitz.
Due to lack of significantly better alternatives, we rate this as a bare, “Drink It if There’s Nothing Better in the Fridge,” which there probably isn’t if you’re in Laos. But if this were the States, it would get poured down the drain.
“Beer Lao…It’s Medicinal”
Jen Here: There will be NO pouring Dan down the sink, just the crappy beer! xo