ABC Stout
Brewer: Cambodia Breweries
I’m attracted to ABC Stout’s billboards rather than the product itself which is not a good sign for any beer. They feature a mysterious Asian guy pimped out like James Bond with a briefcase full of crisp, unmarked US dollars and a pair of Asian models: obviously the spoils of drinking the dark stuff. ABC is Cambodia’s leading stout, possibly because of this marketing campaign, possibly because the other stouts are a travesty against malted barley. The 8% alcohol kick also gives your motodop the extra incentive to buy it, rather than one of it’s lesser friends, to make driving you around more
bearable.
ABC is brewed by APB -owned Cambodia Brewery Ltd, not to be confused with Cambodia’s other similarly-named brewery, Cambrew. APB own a fistful of pan-Asian beer brands and licenses: Anchor, Tiger, bizzaro Heineken, and along with ABC Stout, brew them all at their factory in Kandal.
Cambodia Brewery says: “Determined, confident and successful, APB’s proprietary ABC Extra Stout reflects its core drinker’s values and self-image. ABC Stout drinkers know what they want and will go the extra mile to get it. They want the best and do not settle for anything less. Appreciated for its full-bodied and robust taste, ABC is the leading premium stout in Cambodia.”
I say: With confident and determined marketing hyperbole, I successfully went the extra mile to the Caltex service station to get my robust can of ABC. Dark stout, tan head with OK retention – a first for a Cambodian beer so far. It’s a bit more like a porter than a stout, with not a whole lot of charred dark malt goodness. Weirdly thin body with an acidic aftertaste.
If this beer was an archipelago it would be:
A Solzhenitsyn metaphor
[...] Why is everybody going to Cambodia? One of the reasons is no doubt the beer. Then, Gasolina, a phenomenon of an expat bar in Phnom Penh’s francophone community that is revolutionizing the place with its Latin-flavored cuisine and gardens. How about Num anksom cheik, the delicious bananas wrapped in a glutinous coconut sticky rice, then boiled in a banana leaf? They are popular as an offering to monks, the poor, and your backyard shrine around Khmer New Year; but are delicious regardless of which of the three new years you deign to celebrate! [...]
[...] I became even more apprehensive about this beer when I couldn’t easily ascertain its origin. According to the can, this brew’s island lair is Singapore and is rumoured to be brewed by APB, the same team that bring you ABC Stout. I say rumoured because the only reference I can find for a point of origin of this beer is on http://www.beergirls.org: a non-government organisation devoted to monitoring “sales practices and health, safety and welfare policies of major globalized beer companies observed doing business in Cambodia” in their handy spotter’s guide to the beer promotion women of Siem Reap. [...]