Why am I thinking about the Prohibition years in the USA?

[Gaybutton]

Beer Delivery company fined for 50,000 baht for showing alcohol brands, warns others on Facebook, Alcohol Prevention Network responds

By Adam Judd

Monday, 8 June 2020

A Beer Delivery company, Beervana, who delivers craft beer, was recently reportedly fined for up to 50,000 baht according to their statement on their Facebook page on June 5th for allegedly breaking the Alcohol Beverage Control Act of 2008.

They posted the statement on their Facebook to warn others of the law and to create a petition against the act which they feel hurts business owners during the difficult time of Covid-19, however, The Thai Alcohol Prevention Network also responded to their post through a statement of their own to clarify some of the allegations made.

The Beervana company stated that the fines are for showing brands and brand names and listed, per the act, the rules that could result in a fine, Here are some of them:

– Do not post bottles that show alcohol brands
– Do not post invitations to drink or attempt to convince people to drink certain products
– Do not post about inviting to try alcohol
– Do not post branded beer and liquor glasses

-Do not give away free alcohol to try to get others to drink more.

-Do not use celebrities or famous people to try to sell liquor or get people to drink

The Act, although in place since 2008, has not been reportedly heavily enforced for some time, although historically there have been regular “crackdowns” especially with celebrities who were hired to promote alcohol brands.

Yesterday afternoon, Chuwit Chantaras, Coordinator for the Alcohol Prevention Network, commented to the press on the statement made by Beervana.

Mr. Chantaras claimed that some of the statements by the company were incorrect and that the company, which also made a petition to try get rid of the Alcohol Control Act, did not completely understand the reason for the act or its importance. He stated that alcohol was responsible either directly or indirectly for up to 50,000 deaths a year in Thailand and that the rules that are in place are there for a reason.

He stated that with alcohol sales banned at restaurants currently due to Covid-19 and all bars and entertainment venues closed many businesses were using illegal methods to attempt to sell alcohol over the internet and by promoting alcohol deals, specials and brands for “take-away”. Done incorrectly, this violates the law and can risk minors getting alcohol easier.

Mr. Chantaras also stated that some of the allegations made, like a picture of a bottle of beer with no brand name or merely stating the word beer were against the law was incorrect. However, trying to promote specific brands, use promotions and deals for brands, use celebrities to sell alcohol or inspire sales of alcohol would be.

The Pattaya News notes that promoting a company if they sell products other than liquor, such as Chang or Singha soda water, is legal.

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/06/08/b ... -responds/

[Trongpai]

Might be more protectionism then moral temperance by selective implementation. It was not a long ago in Thailand that only the local brews were allowed to be sold. That was the law through the lucrative Vietnam war years and well into the first visit Thailand wave. "A Beer Delivery company, Beervana, who delivers craft beer, was recently reportedly fined ...."

This explains much of it: https://www.unusualtraveler.com/11-craf ... n-bangkok/

Some of the new "local" craft beers are quite good and at a fraction of the imported crafts. I like Red Dragon, Copper and Chiang Mai Red. The wheat beers 'locals' I find unpalatable and don't hold a candle to Hoegarden.

[Jun]

I'm rather partial to proper beer.

For those who haven't been to the UK, craft beer is widely available, as the UK is one of the few countries that never moved entirely from traditional brewing with top fermented yeast to the production of Czech style lagers. Admittedly the quality wasn't so good back in the 1970s and 80s, but today there are hundreds of small breweries producing very tasty real ale.
I believe the US has had some kind of renaissance in craft brewing too & some of their bottled beers that make it over to the UK are very nice.

I haven't really gone looking for craft beer in Thailand, but where I have found it, the prices have been very high and the taste variable.
One of the first bars I found was in Khon Kaen & it is called Monsakod Tap Bar X Der La Jazz.
The photo shows the beer menu. Not my photo, but I got that one off google maps, with a similar menu offer to when I visited. [Edit: Google photo was taken within 1 week of my visit]
I tried the IPA.
This is 225 baht for 330ml. Or about £5.64 for 58% of a pint. A pint would be £9.72, or 387 baht.
Even in London, I've never paid more than £5 for a pint and the quality is superior.
Go to some British regional city equivalent to Khon Kaen and you are likely to be paying between £3 and £4 per pint.

So we're talking double the UK price. Admittedly the product is OK, but not as good as the kind of beer I typically search for in the UK.
Despite the name of the beer, this is an ordinary bar with some live music, not a GoGo.

My most recent visit to a bar offering specialist beers was in Phitsanulok. Instead of providing a menu, you have to visit their website on your phone. By the time I did that and noticed the high prices, I was already tiring of the loud music. So I left. Had it been a pleasant environment, I would have splashed out.

In both places there was a good sized crowd of almost entirely Thai people. If they are prepared to pay over 200 baht for a small beer, in a country with a minimum wage of around 330 baht, it's further evidence that there must be a sizeable middle class prepared to splash out.

I also don't approve of the government tendencies towards prohibition. Firstly, it's not their business to interfere in such matters & secondly, it will only lead to similar results to the USA -ie if restrictions are too severe, people will be brewing and selling all sorts of nasty concoctions.

[Gaybutton]

people will be brewing and selling all sorts of nasty concoctions.

Will be? That's been going on for many years. I got talked into trying their red concoction - once. That was enough. I guess they think of it as a whiskey. I think of it as moonshine. I won't drink it again - ever. I think it's better suited for running a car with it or perhaps an embalming fluid. But drinking it? No thanks . . .

[gerefan]

I drink Draught Guinness a lot in Thailand and I have to say it is far better than the stuff you get in the UK! In Pattaya it is usually 200 a pint which is not much more than the UK price.
I believe it is also 5 % whereas at home it is now only 4.5%. Another one of our ridiculous rules.

[Jun]

I drink Draught Guinness a lot in Thailand and I have to say it is far better than the stuff you get in the UK! In Pattaya it is usually 200 a pint which is not much more than the UK price.
I believe it is also 5 % whereas at home it is now only 4.5%. Another one of our ridiculous rules.

Following on from the earlier post, I was referring to Craft Beers with some proper flavour, not a bland mass produced stout that's artificially foamed up with Nitrogen.

To say Guinness in Thailand is better than that in the UK is rather like saying the KFC is better in Thailand than the UK. I personally wouldn't touch either. But we all have different tastes I guess.

Guinness for the UK is brewed in Ireland and imported, as Guinness stopped UK production about 15 years ago. I understand Ireland is the only place they brew it & for markets further afield, they ship a concentrate to be finished off and sold by the local breweries. So you are probably comparing the concentrate version to the one brewed in Ireland.

There is also no rule that restricts the alcohol percentage of beers in the UK. The real ales currently in my kitchen range from 4.5 to 5.5%.
Finally, 5% is not necessarily better than 4%. There's more to taste than alcohol percentage. Also, if enjoying several beers on a night out with some friends, 4% is usually better than 5%.
The day after, 4% is most definitely better !

[Bangkokian]

At least in prohibition days they had speakeasy's, I'm told.