Hopulist Issue 1

By David Guest
Beads of sweat roll down my forehead as
the heavy, humid air of a spring night in
Bangkok pours all of its weight relentlessly
onto me. The traffic noise roars like an overhead
troop of warplanes and the battle of what seems
like life and death on the roads around me takes
place with jovial second-nature by its participants.
It’s a sensory invasion, but not an unpleasant one.
Bangkok is one of the world’s most visited cities
and there are plenty of reasons why. But perhaps
way down the list of those reasons is the one
I’m about to pull to my lips in an ice cold Vedett
pint glass. Craft beer is not what you’d typically
associate with this place, but that assumption is oh,
so misguided.
I’m nestled in the corner of a stylish, open-air
craft beer bar, perhaps slightly unoriginally named
Craft. But don’t let the tell-it-like-it-is name put
you off, Craft is the self proclaimed king of the craft
movement in Thailand and it’s no wonder. With
two bars in central locations and a staggering range
offering of over 170 beers from around the world
from the tap, bottle and can, this is a place not to be
missed. The Craft I’m in right now is in the Silom
district of the city. It’s in the south centre and is the
are where a lot of big businesses are. It made sense
for this to be one of the first locations for Craft,
as there is an international community here who
work in the towers of steel and glass that surround
it. The open air area of the bar is finished with astro
turf and stylish furnishings and as I make my way
into the wood-walled bar to order another beer, I
am pretty staggered by the offering there is.
Craft |s
the self
procla|med
k|ng of
the craft
movement |n
Tha|land and
|t’s no wonder.
W|th two bars
|n central
locat|ons and
a stagg e r| n g
range
offer| ng of
over 170 beers
from around
the world
from the tap,
bottle and
can, th| s is a
place not to
be m| ssed.