I was all prepared to tell you that I’d discovered a drinkable macro ale from Asia called CHAU TIEN PALE ALE, easily the best thing I’ve had from across the Pacific in my life – and then I got online. Well, how about that. CHAU TIEN is actually brewed 150 miles north of me by ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING. It used to be a Sierra Nevada Brewing thing; then they sold the brand and it started being brewed in Boonville instead. There’s some marketing hocus-pocus going on here – you can learn more at this site – but the long and short of it appears to be that this is a beer brewed for Asian restaurants to sell to folks like me who want to try something besides the bland, dry beers Tsing Tao, Kirin, Asahi etc. I in fact consumed mine at BONG SU Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco – so there you go.CHAU TIEN PALE ALE is very sharp and very fruity for a pale ale. Quite sweet, zesty, and very much in keeping with traditional pale ale parameters. It’s a clean, smooth ale that has virtually nothing “Asian” about it save for the label. It this was actually Anderson Valley’s POLEEKO GOLD pale ale in a new bottle, I’d totally believe it, but I think this is its own beast. As such, it’s a pretty decent one. 6.5/10.
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This Beer, Chau Tien Pale Ale was originally created by a Vietnamese American Brewer back in 1985, who had an affiliation with Sierra Nevada (1985-1987). Today Tuan, the brewer, is doing it at Anderson Valley Brewery. Chau Tien is definitely not Poleeko Gold and there is nothing hokey pokey about that. Compare the two side by side and you know that they are different. The world is getting smaller, and Budweiser is brewed all over Asia and so is Heineken.
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