[brewery Review] Singapore Changi Airport T3

[lonte]

Recently had a wander through the new Terminal 3 at Changi Airport Singapore. This is the one they built specifically with the new A380 in mind. Anyhow, at one point I looked down at the level below, saw the copper and SS and thought "F*)$ me, that's a brewery". Some poor mobile phone shots are attached. Now the terminal is set to be opened today I believe but trust me, that brewery won't be! It's on the passenger side of immigration so since I wasn't checked in I couldn't get closer. If you're boarding at T1, T2 or (obviously) T3 you could get to see it and (eventually) drink there as all those terminals are interconnected. If you're flying through the Budget Terminal (Tiger Air, Cebu Air currently) then that terminal isn't connected. So, flying el-cheapo as I was I still couldn't get a closer look once I checked in.

Having said that, the 7/11 passenger side of the Budget Terminal sells Amsterdam "Navigator" (500ml can, 8.4% ABV, S$6.40) and Amsterdam "Maximator" (500ml can, 11.6% ABV, S$6.80). More crappy photo's attached. One can each of these on an empty stomach pre-flight and I could just about fly without need of the plane! I take it from the names these are attempted Dopplebocks, but a bit ordinary with the alcohol up front and centre and seeming to cloud any other flavours. Not having a glass to try them didn't help any attempt at appreciation I had to pour a sample into my water bottle just to check the colour.

To complete the beer adventures I was drinking "Tall Tale" Pale Ale in the Fanny Bay Ale House at Darwin airport. This fairly uninspiring APA attempt is at least better that the other mainstream beers available there on tap but nothing special. Couldn't find out much about this beer, they have a website at http://talltalepaleale.com/ that says nothing. The barman reckoned it was only available in airports but I've seen it nowhere else before.

Beware in the Philippines, San Miguel Light is not Low Alcohol, it's Low Carb! It weighs in at 5% ABV and takes like water. Philippine water! SMB (San Miguel Beer - the original) is a lightly hop driven international lager/pils style that appears to vary greatly bottle to bottle (most likely due to handling issues post-brewery). Get a good one and it holds it's own against all those others of that style out there. San Miguel "Red Horse" is a 7%ABV malt backboned ale available in 500ml and 1L bottles. This was a great beer for eliminating the language gap with the in-laws!! I was drinking this one at PHP26/500ml bottle and three was about my limit. So for PHP78 (about A$2) I was set for the night! This beer even drank (reasonably) well at temperatures well above 'normal' ale serving temps.

On on, Lonte.

 

[amita]

Recently had a wander through the new Terminal 3 at Changi Airport Singapore. This is the one they built specifically with the new A380 in mind. Anyhow, at one point I looked down at the level below, saw the copper and SS and thought "F*)$ me, that's a brewery". Some poor mobile phone shots are attached. Now the terminal is set to be opened today I believe but trust me, that brewery won't be! It's on the passenger side of immigration so since I wasn't checked in I couldn't get closer. If you're boarding at T1, T2 or (obviously) T3 you could get to see it and (eventually) drink there as all those terminals are interconnected. If you're flying through the Budget Terminal (Tiger Air, Cebu Air currently) then that terminal isn't connected. So, flying el-cheapo as I was I still couldn't get a closer look once I checked in.

Having said that, the 7/11 passenger side of the Budget Terminal sells Amsterdam "Navigator" (500ml can, 8.4% ABV, S$6.40) and Amsterdam "Maximator" (500ml can, 11.6% ABV, S$6.80). More crappy photo's attached. One can each of these on an empty stomach pre-flight and I could just about fly without need of the plane! I take it from the names these are attempted Dopplebocks, but a bit ordinary with the alcohol up front and centre and seeming to cloud any other flavours. Not having a glass to try them didn't help any attempt at appreciation I had to pour a sample into my water bottle just to check the colour.

To complete the beer adventures I was drinking "Tall Tale" Pale Ale in the Fanny Bay Ale House at Darwin airport. This fairly uninspiring APA attempt is at least better that the other mainstream beers available there on tap but nothing special. Couldn't find out much about this beer, they have a website at http://talltalepaleale.com/ that says nothing. The barman reckoned it was only available in airports but I've seen it nowhere else before.

Beware in the Philippines, San Miguel Light is not Low Alcohol, it's Low Carb! It weighs in at 5% ABV and takes like water. Philippine water! SMB (San Miguel Beer - the original) is a lightly hop driven international lager/pils style that appears to vary greatly bottle to bottle (most likely due to handling issues post-brewery). Get a good one and it holds it's own against all those others of that style out there. San Miguel "Red Horse" is a 7%ABV malt backboned ale available in 500ml and 1L bottles. This was a great beer for eliminating the language gap with the in-laws!! I was drinking this one at PHP26/500ml bottle and three was about my limit. So for PHP78 (about A$2) I was set for the night! This beer even drank (reasonably) well at temperatures well above 'normal' ale serving temps.

On on, Lonte.

thanks for that!well spotted,check out brewerkz.com, there have a good setup already in s'pore, dont know about their beers but certainly catches the eye,

cheers amita

 

[Paul H]

What did you bring back for the boys at the brew club?

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Having said that, the 7/11 passenger side of the Budget Terminal sells Amsterdam "Navigator" (500ml can, 8.4% ABV, S$6.40) and Amsterdam "Maximator" (500ml can, 11.6% ABV, S$6.80). More crappy photo's attached. One can each of these on an empty stomach pre-flight and I could just about fly without need of the plane! I take it from the names these are attempted Dopplebocks, but a bit ordinary with the alcohol up front and centre and seeming to cloud any other flavours. Not having a glass to try them didn't help any attempt at appreciation I had to pour a sample into my water bottle just to check the colour.

On on, Lonte.

Let's see Boonie drink 38 (or whatever he did) :icon_vomit: of these babies from Sydney to London !

 

[InCider]

Let's see Boonie drink 38 (or whatever he did) :icon_vomit: of these babies from Sydney to London !

Hey FGZilla,

Had to google it as I was sure is was nearly a 1/2 ton - but he did more!

Thanks to Wikipedia....

'Boon achieved much fame and notoriety for consuming 52 cans of beer on a flight from Sydney to London[9] before the victorious 1989 Ashes tour that saw Australia regain the trophy after five years of English dominance; the previous record had been held by Rod Marsh, who it is believed consumed 45 cans, although there is conjecture as to whether Marsh actually finished can #45, and some believe his attempt only equalled the record of 44 cans set by Doug Walters. Another passionate report of said record claims Boon finished 54 drinks totalling around 19.5 litres of beverages @ 5% alcohol (per 375ml serve), the majority of which consumed at such an altitude that the effects of the alcohol were doubled [10]. Boon is often jokingly referred to as the "Keg on Legs" because of his legendary drinking exploits and dogged, iconoclastic batting displays. He is a unique interview guest, often giving short, clipped, amiable answers to every question.'

 

[jjeffrey]

Anyhow, at one point I looked down at the level below, saw the copper and SS and thought "F*)$ me, that's a brewery".

On Thursday night I ducked off to Singapore for a quick visit for work. I left via T3 on my way back on Friday, so I figured I had better investigate the brewery to report back to this post.

thanks for that!well spotted,check out brewerkz.com, there have a good setup already in s'pore, dont know about their beers but certainly catches the eye

It is indeed a Brewerkz setup. The parent brewery is across the river from Clarke Quay (Riverwalk?). I haven't bothered to look at the website which will probably confirm, but from memory this micro-pub-restaurant has be going for about 10 years and uses a 1000L (? guessing from the looks of it) to produce a number of top notch beers. Off the top of my head, they do about 8 tap beers (including an extremely popular IPA, Singapore PA, a nut-brown, a golden ale, wheat, outmeal stout, various fruit ales, lager/pilsener) as well as a variety of seasonal beer that they flog by the bottle at great cost. The quality of their beers have come a long way. I can remember thinking in '98 that some of the beers were over the top (much like Pacific Asia's fake micro-pub "Archipelago" at the back of Boat Quay), and inconsistent from one week to the next. By 2000 their beers had become consistent, complex well balanced beers, well matched to tastey (albiet expensive) dishes. Consequently, Brewerkz has become one of my favorite places in Singapore to frequent when my wallet permits. They also host Aussie cricket, rugby, AFL and other (non-important) sporting matches on the big TV (especially grand finals) to cater to their main clientele: Aussies, yanks, poms and Indians. I do recommend going there.

The T3 Brewerkz setup has been fitted out since those photos were taken and has a polished concrete floor with dark (laminated) wood panelled furniture and features. Having only just opened, tap beers on Friday the 11/1/08 included only Singapore Pale Ale (my favourite), the IPA, the Wheat and the golden ale. No bottles. These were all produced from the parent brewery. The kit set-up in T3 looks about 1000L in length. Not yet comissioned, but due to come online in a month or so. The staff informed me that they plan to brew an Apple Ale for sale on tap at T3, as well as by the bottle across from Clarke Quay. There is no plan to brew the other beers at T3 yet- but early days. As with their parent establishment, the food is execptional as is the service. Pints (American size) are SD$10-12 (AUD$8-10), which sounds expensive but is actually quite reasonable for Singapore. 2 pints, a bowl of onion and chedder soup and a souvenir mug put me back SD$65 (AUD$50).

The T3 Brewerkz is an excellent place to surrender your Singapore currency prior to boarding.

 

[winkle]

Lonte,
give up the Red Horse and get stuck into San Miguel Cerveza Negra (also sold as San Mig Dark) ratebeer pegs it as an American Dark Lager, easily the best beer in their lineup. Avoid San Miguel Ice it's a copy of Colt 45 (altough why anyone would want to do that is beyond me :blink: )
Anyway the T3 brewery sounds like the place to be on transit.