Yesterday, I left Kuala Lumpur for a much needed break in the Malaysian highlands. Hopping on a bus, I took a pleasant three-hour ride north to the small town of Tanah Rata. It's a cozy little place nestled high in the mountains amongst giant tea plantations and stunning orchid gardens. The dry weather is the perfect escape from the humid weather and crowded metropolitan hubbub of peninsular Malaysia. And with single rooms starting at 10rm ($3.15) a night, it's a steal.
It's also a town known for its food. From pineapple curry to fish head soup, you can find it all. I've also found that - with the exception of a few dry states in India - any town that has an explicit love affair with food also tends to have a knack for beer, too.
Although Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation, and Islam forbids its followers from touching the stuff, the ethnic Chinese and Indian populations love beer. But they love not just any beer. They love a very particular form of beer: malt liquor.
You see, where I come from in the United States, malt liquor represents a very particular genre of boozing. It's generally reserved for back-alley hobos and crazy frat brothers. This is because it tastes like rocket fuel. So imaginably, a forty of malt liquor is also the preferred 'beer' for hardcore drunks due to its hefty alcohol content. In fact, it's reputation is so bad that even in my boozing heyday - when a ten dollar 1.75l bottle of Barton's vodka would satisfy me for a few days - I had never even sipped malt liquor. Usually, with a few exceptions, it's hard to find a beer with more alcohol in it around the USA.
However, in Malaysia, malt liquor is the norm when it comes to drinking. Even those malt liquors considered hideously strong by typical American standards are just average beers here. And somehow the vile concoction works wonders when paired with Malay cuisine. You drink it with noodles. You drink it with curry. You drink it with steamed fish. You even drink it with rice. And, unless you're a Muslim, you drink it a lot.
Consequently, Malaysia seems to have become the home of a family of beers I'd like to call the 'Super Beers'. At every corner shop next to tubes of Pringles, cans of Sprite, Pepsi, and Chinese Lychee Juice sit a selection of these beers. These guys are labeled Strong, Extra Strong, Ultra Strong and, of course, Super Strong. Rumor has it there is also a Extra Super Strong, but I have yet to see this one anywhere. All of these beers are between 14% and 19.5% alcohol by volume.
Of course, you must be wondering what exactly these beers taste like. Well, I'll tell you, last night was a night dedicated to sampling some of Malaysia's 'finest'.
But it's no fun to test beer alone, so I recruited a British electrician from the south of London who clearly understood the challenge that faced us.
To begin, we purchased three cans of the beer, ranging from 8.9% to 15.6% alcohol by volume. At 6.5rm ($2.00) per can, the price for the super beers was the same as nearly all the other beers. Luckily, you can also bring these beers into restaurants, so by no means were we running on empty stomachs. After a few plates of kebabs and tandoori chicken, it was time to begin.
Our logic was to start with the strongest first; after all, the rule is that you consume liquor before beer, and this stuff was nearly liquor.
First up, Liberty Super Strong Premium Lager, weighting in at a whopping 15%. Now, lagers are generally brewed in cold-weather. There is actually a 'lager-line' in Europe that separates lagers from ales based on weather. Usually, lagers are clean, dry, and crisp. But one sip of Liberty killed any such notion. It was cloyingly sweet and had little detectable bitterness. It also had a very strong alcoholic bite. But, after a can of the stuff, our moods were lifted.
After a round of dosa, a crispy flat Indian crepe stuffed with curried potatoes, we poured the next beer. This beer, called Skol, was a measly 9%. Surprisingly, it was quite delicious - clean and refreshing. It was also well-balanced. And my new London friend was now rambling about Lord of the Rings, so clearly we were going down a very interesting road.
The last beer we tasted was a Danish 'Stout' - but for all intensive purposes it is an Imperial Stout. Weighing in at 9.5%, this beast smelled like figs and coffee. It poured like oil, jet-black and thick. And it was easily the most delicious beer on the list. It tasted like toffee and dark chocolate with hints of fruits. And by the end of the beer, my electrician friend and I were completely satisfied.
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