E-Malt.com News article: South Korea: Big Rock Pub offers quality Canadian beer

In recent years, wine has become a fashionable drink for many Koreans, The Korea Herald published on December 9. What about beer? Some say the luster of beer has largely disappeared. But Lee Jun-Hyeon thinks mass-market beer's charm is gone; a new breed of high-quality beer is gaining popularity.

"The domestic beer industry has focused too much on mass production, spreading the wrong perception that beer is a cheap drink. That's why we focus on providing quality beer comparable to wine in terms of aftertaste and flavours," said Lee, president of Triple H Multi Venture Co. and owner of Big Rock Pub near Gangnam Subway Station.

Big Rock Pub is the first Korean importer to provide this Canadian beer to the Korean market. And Big Rock Brewery, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, is a major producer and marketer of premium quality craft beer - ales and lagers.

Big Rock Pub focuses on providing high-quality beer. "Big Rock is well known among Canadians, and the company gained fame when it provided its products during the Calgary Winter Olympic Games in 1988. Big Rock is also the official beer of Calgary rodeo, known as Stampede," Lee said.

The pub, which opened on Oct. 18 this year, offers Big Rock's craft beer, which uses malt generously and does not rely on additives. In Korea, local consumers are already familiar with such distinctive types of beer, known as house beers.

Lee said the term "house beer" refers to select beer produced in small quantities and sold at brewpubs. "We have a dozen brewpubs in the Gangnam Station area, but Big Rock is not a brewpub. It's a microbrewery," he said.

Microbreweries are smaller than mass-market beer breweries but bigger than privately operated beer pubs.

Lee said many commercials here portray beer as a fizzy drink, but they are misleading. "Craft beer does not have such a fizzy element. But it has richer body and the foam tends to stay longer," he said.

Last year, Big Rock Brewery's Traditional Ale won a Gold Medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards in the Brown Ale category. Lee recommends Traditional Ale for beginners.

One of Big Rock's original, flagship brews, Traditional Ale is all-natural English-style amber ale. With a dark copper colour that flashes garnet when held to the light, Traditional's soft but distinctive taste is a carefully crafted balance of malt and hops. Traditional Ale was first brewed in August 1985.

"Traditional Ale is a good start, and two other drinks, Grasshopper and Honey Brown Lager, are also widely recommended for those who are tasting craft beer for the first time," Lee said.

As part of their launch promotion, the pub is now offering a discount to customers who order food before 8 p.m. on weekdays. "Some people think Big Rock Pub is a place for drinking beer only. In fact, we have a wide range of quality food for a dinner menu, so please come early and have dinner and beer together," Lee said.


14 December, 2006