From timely collaborations to the latest labels on the shelf, here’s what you should know about the fast-growing craft beer industry in Singapore
The beer-making community in Singapore has long been a robust one, and particularly so in the past decade where craft beer is concerned. Even microbreweries such as Paulaner Bräuhaus and Brewerkz (established in 1996 and 1997, respectively) are as invested in the scene as the newer players. Just ask Gabriel Garcia, the brew-master at Level33, a restaurant and craft brewery which opened at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in 2010. He faced a daunting task when circuit breaker measures were announced by the government in light of the Covid-19 pandemic in April.
“We had to stop restaurant operations, and quickly think of how to develop online sales and open channels,” Garcia recounts. It also occurred to him that other breweries would be in the same boat, and that perhaps they could sell their beer together as a stronger effort. He reached out first to personal friends at Rye & Pint Brewery—who said yes—then Paulaner Bräuhaus, RedDot BrewHouse, Binjai Brew and Lion Brewery Co. Some, like Brewlander, were interested but were not in time to get into the first tranche of offerings, although its founder John Wei has since become a leading figure in the resulting #SGCraftTogether initiative.
The first six-pack collaboration, The O.G., was launched by late April, featuring Level33, Paulaner Bräuhaus and Rye & Pint Brewery. By May, there were 12 breweries involved in a 12-pack offer, along with other collaborative efforts, which included a WhatsApp chat group, a beer collection and drop-off point that Brewerkz kindly volunteered for, and sharing of resources. For instance, Level33 soon found itself out of bottles as there was a shortage of packaging in Singapore due to the mass pivot to offer home delivery. Garcia was offered a pallet of cans from Brewerkz, and was able to make use of a small canning machine to produce Level33’s first cans of its bestselling 33.1 Blonde Lager, among others. It is, in fact, still using cans instead of bottles, says Garcia, which are much lighter and more practical than bottles.
“If we do it again, I would keep a pack for myself,” he adds, referring to the potential second offering of a collaboration pack. That’s right—although it was a great opportunity for beer drinkers to get their hands on these mixed-brand packs, the brewers had to restrain themselves. They would have had fewer beers to sell and every contribution to the bottom line counted.