| Taedonggang | |
|---|---|
A bottle of Taedonggang beer as sold at a pub in Itaewon, South Korea. |
|
| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 대동강맥주 |
| Hancha | 大同江麥酒 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Taedonggang maekchu |
| Revised Romanization | Daedonggang maekju |
Taedonggang is a brand of North Korean beer brewed by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company based in Pyongyang. Technically, it is actually 4 brands[1], though the brand known simply as "Taedonggang Beer" is that described below.
In 2000, the North Korean Government decided to acquire a brewery. At that point having good relationships with the West, via connections to Germany the Government of North Korea bought the intact and still in place brewery plant of the closed Ushers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England for £1.5M via broker Uwe Oehms. Concerned it could be used for chemical weapons production, after assurances Peter Ward, of brewing company Thomas Hardy Brewing and Packaging bought the plant, and arranged for a team from North Korea to travel to Trowbridge to dismantle it.[2] Reinstalled and operational from 2002, the brewery uses German-made computerized brewing control technology.
With an alcohol content of 5% and a taste significantly more bitter than most Asian beers, indeed resembling British ale, Taedonggang beer is targeted primarily at domestic consumers, but in 2005 limited export began to South Korea, where it is imported by Vintage Korea, a company based in Dogok, Gangnam, Seoul. In mid-2007, however, availability of Taedonggang beer in South Korea began to lessen and it is widely believed now that it is no longer being imported into the country, after the brewery increased the price 70% without warning.
Taedonggang beer is named after the Taedong River, which runs through the center of Pyongyang.
On July 3, 2009, a commercial for the product was broadcast on state-run Korean Central Television in a rare move, as there are very few advertisements on North Korean television.[3][4] It has been broadcast three times in all[5].
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