After a three-year hiatus, the largest beer festival in Southeast Asia, Beerfest Asia, returned for its 13th edition. Held at the Kallang Outdoor Arena on June 22 – 25 2023, Beerfest Asia 2023 showcased over 600 beers from around the world.
A trade day was held on the first day, June 22, bringing together brewers and industry players from across the region to meet, mingle and sample each other’s products. The trade day ran from 4 – 6pm and included the launch of Brewtopia Bangkok, Beerfest Asia’s first overseas edition since the pandemic.
Breweries from around the world were represented with stalls showcasing their brews, including from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and of course Singapore. Brews from countries as far-flung as France, Germany, the United States and South Korea were also available, through booths set up by local distributors.
The festival was also the debut for over 200 new brews on the local market, the highlights including new Australian, Singaporean and UK craft beers. A full list of brews featured at Beerfest is available on their website.
Festival goers enjoy a beer at Beerfest Asia 2023 in Singapore
Food options were plentiful, with a selection of critically-acclaimed restaurants running booths to fuel visitors through the event. The festival also featured an air-conditioned Spirits & Wine tent for those looking for more potent beverages.
The return of the festival also saw the return of the BJCP-endorsed Asia Beer Awards. A panel of invited judges and brewers from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand awarded the best-tasting brews across 13 categories.
For the main three awards, Lion City Meadery won Best of Singapore for their exquisite Longan & Red Date Mead and Hong Kong’s Young Master clinched the Festival Champion Brew for their Another One Session Ale as well as the Best of Asia award for their Classic Pale Ale.
A list of all the category winners can be found here.
The festival offered no shortage of entertainment with over 30 music acts performing over the 4 days.
Headline tribute acts The Killer Queen Experience and The Australian AC/DC Experience stole the show but were well supported by local Singaporean tribute bands The Unfortunate Sons (tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival) and Peep Show (tribute to Guns & Roses and Muse) as well as other local musicians and an all-female roster of DJs for the late-night EDM parties.
Beerfest Asia is an annual beer festival organized by Constellar (a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings) in partnership with The Timbre Group. Brewtopia Bangkok will take place on 17-19 November in partnership with Index Creative Village and aims to showcase over 300 beers.
