Top Thai Beer Brands – Give the Local Beer a Try!

Singha, Thailand's first brewery, has a very positive reputation and is widely considered to serve the best beer in the country. Such is its popularity that you will have no difficulty finding it anywhere in the country, be it a resort such as the Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort or a liquor shop by the road. Known to be crisp, Singha is exported to many other countries and hence is well known even on an international basis. They have collaborated with English clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea Football Club and the Red Bull Racing Team; all of which have considerably increased the brand's footprint outside Thailand. The symbol of the brand is a lion and it has a reputation for being quite strong, so watch out! If you are in the country and have not had it, this beer should be one of the first things you try out.

Beer Chang lacks the international profile of Singha Beer, but it is immensely popular in Thailand. With a strength that is akin to Singha Beer, it has the conventional taste of lager unlike the former, which has a maltier flavour. This makes Beer Chang the ideal companion for tackling a spicy meal. Beer Chang has long overtaken Singa Beer as the best selling beer in the country and it is easy to find them in restaurants at Chaweng Beach or other areas in the country. Chang is Thai for elephant and as such, the logo has two elephants looking at one another. This beer comes in two different varieties; one being the local version and the other the export version. They are very different as the local one is made using rice and the export is made using malt. Many agree that the main downside of Beer Chang is the hangover that accompanies you the next day as it has an alcohol percentage of 6.4% so it's something you might want to think of before hand.

Quite cheap when compared to the previous two beers, this is a fully flavoured non premium lager beer. The youngest brewery on this list, Leo Beer comes with a pleasant taste which appeals to many beer drinkers. The alcohol percentage of the beer stands at 5%, the standard for most beers. Leo Beer has another version known as the "Leo Super" but it is much harder to find than other types of beers.

A beer you would not usually find in a bar, Archa Beer is preferred due to its low price tag. This beer is non-premium and sells for between 30 to 40 bahts at the supermarket. Archa Beer labels itself as a pale lager.

As the name not so subtly suggests, this brand of beer is locally manufactured in Phuket by using German hops and Thailand rice. The Phuket Island Lager has a reputation for being hard to find but is adored by anyone who is familiar with it. It is also the only beer that is made in accordance to German beer purification laws.