| Beer in Korea | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 맥주 |
| Hanja | 麥酒 |
| Revised Romanization | maekju |
| McCune–Reischauer | maekchu |
Beer was introduced to Korea by Europeans in early-20th century. Both of current major breweries date from 1920s. The third participant, Jinro Coors Brewery, was founded in 1990's, but was later acquired by Oriental Breweries (OB).
The Korean beer market is dominated by two major companies, Hite-Jinro, and OB, and those two provide several brands in local market. Most restaurants and bars will only have one on tap, as they are largely regarded as similar in taste and price (they are mostly brewed from rice). Foreign beers are available but are generally expensive - generally at least ₩8,000 and as much as ₩15,000 for a pint of Guinness in bars in downtown Seoul, while local brands usually cost around ₩3,000. Recently, microbreweries have begun to appear, and this area of the market is showing increasing signs of sophistication. Of all Korea's mass produced beers, only two marques are brewed from 100% barley malt: Max (Hite) and OB Golden Lager.
The lack of microbreweries in the Korean market has been due to onerous regulations that have constrained small-size brewers to supplying beer to premises that they actually own. These laws were relaxed in June of 2011, allowing several small players a toehold in the local market. The most notable of these is Craftworks Taphouse and Bistro, a foreign-owned brewpub that has shaken up the local market by offering a variety of exceptional craft-brewed beers. Located at the base of Namsan Mountain in Seoul, Craftworks has been widely predicted to finally bring about a boom in the Korean microbrew market. Craftworks currently brews six beers, each named for a different Korean mountain: Geumgang Mountain Dark Ale, Namsan Pure Pilsner, Halla Mountain Golden Ale, Baekdusan Hefeweizen, and two of the country's most unique brews, an American-style India Pale Ale dubbed Jirisan 'Moon Bear' IPA and Seoraksan Oatmeal Stout.
A growing trend in S. Korea to overcome the local shortfall of various beer styles is home brewing. While ingredients and supplies are still relatively limited, there are many who brew their own beer. Various brewing clubs exist to help guide newcomers through the baby steps of brewing in Korea, one such club being Homebrew Korea. The online community is a meeting place for all type of brewers to gather, share experiences and information related to beer and brewing in Korea.
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