Carlsberg back in Phuket
In a tap near you: Carlsberg is back in Phuket.
Good news for lovers of Carlsberg beer: the seven-year drought has come to an end.
Carlsberg, which pulled out of Thailand in 2003 after a row with partner Thai Beverage plc (a breakup that eventually cost Carlsberg US$120 million) is back in Phuket. The Danish brewer started reintroducing its beer into Thailand in August this year, starting with Bangkok and then Pattaya. Now distributor Fluid Asia Pacific has begun putting taps in bars and restaurants in Phuket.
According to an announcement from the company, the beer will not be available through retail outlets. There will be no bottled Carlsberg – at least, not yet. It will all be in kegs, imported from the company’s brewery in Malaysia.
But don’t expect it to be as cheap as before. The company says that this time around it is positioning Carlsberg as an “international premium import beer … with very high quality”. The brand, it says, “has … undergone some changes, in terms of positioning, since it was last available in Thailand. As we are just returning … focus is on product quality, not volume.”
Here’s the current list of places that Fluid Asia Pacific says have Carlsberg on tap in Phuket: Phuket Palazzo (Kathu), Australian Bar, Freedom Bar, Happy Days Bar, Icon Nightclub, Little Mermaid, Malibu Bar, Monkey House, Nanai Sports Bar, Nikitas, Peppers, Sharky’s, Soccer Bar, Soho Bar, The Tavern and the Yorkshire Inn.
On Phi Phi it is available at the Sports Bar, Breakers and Jordans.
Carlsberg was the Official Tournament Beer of the 2010 Andaman & Phuket International Soccer 7s. Thanks to Fluid Asia Pacific.
[...] we told you about Carlsberg coming back to the island? Now there’s more good news for lovers of brews: Patong’s [...]
Nasty muck. I always laugh in Thai bars when I see brands like Carlsberg and Heineken being marketed as premium imports while Singha et al is the bottom of the barrel stuff. Head home to the UK for a visit and you find the opposite in effect. It’s almost as if people don’t consider the actual flavour of the drink to be an important factor.