Seoul on Tap

Saveur, March 2004

It's understatement to say that Koreans enjoy fermented foods; many traditional condiments in their cooking involve vegetables preserved through fermentation -- known collectively as kimchi. But one thing that people of Korea have never had much experience in fermenting is barley, a major ingredient of beer. In fact, for many years a government restriction forced commercial brewers in Korea to make a minimum of 80 million liters of beer per year; obviously, only big companies could comply, and only two of those at that -- bot known for pretty bland brews.

A recent law (passed in February 2002) has created a licensing opportunity for small breweries to supply beer to restaurants, at a minimum required production of only 60,000 liters. In short order, microbreweries have begun bubbling up all over the place. More than 50 brewpubs have received brewing licenses in Korea, according to Yongsun Lee, president of Beer and Culture Korea, a consulting firm. Many of these new establishments employ foreign brewmasters from such beer-producing lands as Germany, the Czech Republic, and England, while the others hire Korean brewers who have been trained by European ones. A lot of the beers are in the Greman style. For example, two Seoul breweries, O'Kim's Brauhaus and Oktoberfest, serve hefeweizen and dunkelweiss. Ale and stout are making an entrance at Platinum Microbrewery, also in Seoul, whose brewmaster is from Michigan.

The beer lovers in Korea are now thrilled. Daniel Kim, an M.B.A. student and former New Yorker who was living in Korea when the first pubs opened, says, "The difference between the microbrewed beers and the Korean bottled beers is like the difference between a Peter Luger steak and a McDonald's hamburger."

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