In praise of Archipelago Craft Beers

Archipelago. No other beers have struck me more than the taste of one recent concoction from its stable-The Explorer. Along with his well crafted siblings, Samui and Bohemian, it took but one sip to seal my fate into aspiring to live the rest of my life to pursue the great alchemy of beer brewing. I have of course over the last 15 years or so savored  plenty of superb ales and beers but the defining moment occurred when i Google and to my amazement ( and some dismay) discovered the brewmaster turns out to be mat saleh Mr Fal Allen, an award winning American beer guru.. I'm not exactly a xenophobic person but it greatly saddens me this is again another case of a little explored territory or void in the appreciation of our local culture.

You see the ingredients like Assam (Tamarind), Ba Jiao, Lemon Grass, Ginger and Gula Melaka etc are all geographically speaking found right in the heart of S. E Asia. Are we again too dumb, too uncreative or too lazy and uneducated to preserve the culture and learning of the great spices in our own backyard. Why not a local dude behind these marvelous creations? True, Europeans and Americans have had a long standing culture of beer brewing and drinking culture. But haven't we evolved much over the last 20 years into a great modern nation, deserving of what you may call a first world society. And in a developed civilized society such as ours, don't we already have an existing melting pot culture and fine evolution of taste palettes and culinary experiences to have come up with something like that! Are we perhaps too deep in living right and conforming that at the end of the day we say..let's leave the dreaming to those who have more time. Yay! that will be me then, since i don't hold down a "decent" job.... And all our foreign talents who are footloose.

Just to digress slightly, but still threading along a similar sentiment i feel for our local landscape industry which is basically made up of a small group pf practitioners in construction, folks working for Nparks and Hort Park. This brings me back to the context of a a mini exchange via Facebook  i had with a buddy Errol who has since migrated to Australia. He laments about why many locals shun the blue collar jobs or jobs we tend to perceive as sai kangs or in our local upbringing context- professions we were never taught to appreciate or value in esteem given to those held by Finance, Law, Medicine and other big self important corporate industries under the economy driving league. It was only recently creativity has been much more highly regarded and due credit given to the practice of Graphic Design, Fine Arts, multi-media and all with the Singapore Biennale and campaigns run to project us into a world class arts and entertainment performing destination. Kudos to folks like Chris Lee, the lads from Kinetic who have helped form The Design Society for some voice in the local design scene..

No wonder we lose all our jobs to foreign talents...since we have displayed no sense of wanting to develop it ourselves. Apart from the bare fact that across the threshold, the wages are lacklustre compared to what you can earn in the corporate sectors. I know because i was once a brand and marketing executive working for a large organisation, and by remunerations, many of my friends in the boutique design agencies and printing houses will sell their souls to get near some. The educational system do little to encourage it and everyone around tells you to get a proper job. Looks like if the channels are non-existent, somebody's gotta get it started and start telling our kids it's great to grow up to be a farmer, a gardener. Take care of the beautiful rain trees lining the Singapore East Coast Expressway..or go learn to harvest some grapes grown in Lim Chu Kang. 

Gahmen please work on some decent wages system that will convince our new generation to have hope in the agriculture industry. Stop this whole fucking shit to only flush retirees,ex-convicts and mid-career (These days 10 years in any job is long!) switchers there when what we NEED to raise the standards is to pump new blood and intelligence into the sector. WSQ is good but not enough! While the Polytechnics do offer some relevant courses but those being full time seem confined to the young. What about adults who still need to work at a day job for a living. The pre-requisites are pretty obvious you need golden O" level grades with strong science and math to apply. Fucking start some proper not so academically tight-arse rigid part-time accreditation courses that can holistically foster and equip our locals to become as good as our successful Asia Pacific neighbors. Speaking of which, if not for the fact that i'm a freelancer, wouldn't be able to engage in the full-day Landscape Ops conducted by CUGE. Of course I'm cool about getting in some foreign experts to come guide us like how they all did when Advertising and PR was a young world..but comes a time locals must champion their own brands man. We need superstars and rock stars for each and every industry to become the ambassadors and the face of the times man.

I give thanks and praise to Fal Allen for his creativity and ingenuity as an artisan who has touched lives with the flavors he has so masterfully crafted to perfection. I can imagine the hours poured into sampling various herb and grain ingredients and fusing them for the finest chemistry of taste. And finally culminating to the works to give each and every one of them a personality. But i save my standing ovation for local champions like Mr Ernest Ng, Brewmaster of Red Dot Brewery, and the spirited advocates at IBREW and Homebrew who have established the local network and community giving hope to amateurs like me.

Now for anyone who may be interested further..i've lifted some affectionately written reviews from online-of a few brews recommendation from Archipelago to give you a better feel of what you may be missing. Drink less dull pilsner like Heineken and do yourself a favor...

Archipelago Traveller's Wheat

Working in the tradition of Belgian craft brewing, the Brewmaster has introduced some uniquely Asian touches: the flavours of tamarind (Assam) and ginger, a hint of lemon grass and Chinese orange peel. This wheat beer is truly enjoyable, refreshing, and very easy to drink. Archipelago Traveller's Wheat is enjoyed when paired with any food that is sour and spicy, especially those that contain Asian spices such as Assam, Orange, Ginger, Coriander and Lemongrass. Some examples include Assam Fish, Thai Vermicelli Salad or 

Thai Mussels.

Archipelago Straits Pale

A real thirst quencher, this crisp, clean and satisfying ale is perfect for the tropical weather in Singapore. The Brewmaster chose imported American hops for a snappy citrusy flavour that is cool, and refreshing. A beer with smooth round body that is enjoyable anytime.Archipelago Straits Pale perfectly complements curried dishes such as Thai Green Curry, Indian curries, Tandooris and Rendangs.

 

Archipelago Traders Brown Ale

A very special Ale, the Brewmaster blended specially selected malts, hops, herbs and a touch of Gula Melaka to create a beer that is creamy, smooth, and completely enjoyable. Satisfying to the last drop. Archipelago Traders Brown Ale is best paired with roasted meats or food cooked in sweet brown sauce, such as Suckling Pig, Roasted Squid, Peking Duck, Satay and Rice Dumplings (Bak Zhang).