The City of Angels may not be the first place you think of when you want good beer, but when it comes to beer bars in Bangkok and even beer delivery in Bangkok, we’ve got you covered.
As local craft brewers begin to enter the mainstream here, they join a handful of Thai lagers, a boat load of international imports (including some tasty regional beverages — we’re looking at you, Beerlao Dark) and some craft imports from Europe, New Zealand and the US.
Beer is big in Bangkok. We’re all drinking it. Locals, expats, tourists, students, backpackers and even the promotional pretties hired to wander around in tight Heineken outfits.
Especially them.
Beers In Bangkok
Our trusty contributor James Newman recently published his take on the beers most commonly found in the bars and 7-Eleven fridges of Thailand.
He covered all the old guard:
- Heineken
- Leo
- Chang (*watch out for the inevitable Changover)
- Singha
- Carlsberg
- Tiger (+ Tiger Light)
- San Miguel (+ San Miguel Light)
- Phuket Beer
- Cheers Blue Classic (+ Cheers Riceberry + Cheers X-tra)
- Beerlao (+ Beerlao Dark + Beerlao Gold)
By eric molina (CC BY 2.0 licence)
Most of these are brewed or imported from a small handful of Thai breweries:
- Boon Rawd Brewery: Singha and Leo
- Thai Asia Pacific Breweries: Heineken, Tiger, Cheers (and they also import Guinness and Kilkenny)
- ThaiBev: Chang
- San Miguel Brewery Thailand: Phuket Beer
You can find these lagers in most of the hundreds of bars in Bangkok — and if you’re after a stout, a fair few will be able to serve up Guinness on tap too.
Those after malts, porters and ales are generally going to have to go a little more niche and head to the city’s handful of craft beer bars instead.
Bangkok Beer Delivery
While we love the occasional night out on the tiles trawling the endless supply of beer bars in this city, sometimes there’s nothing better than knocking back a couple of cold ones in the comfort of your own home.
While beers like Singha, Chang, Leo and the like can easily be scooped up from your local 7-Eleven (except between the hours of 2pm and 5pm…), those of us keen on craft beers or less commonly found beverages have had to source them from specialist shops well in advance.
Not anymore, however: Bangkok beer delivery is alive and kicking.
Here are our 3 favourite delivery services.
Wishbeer
Wishbeer is definitely at the front of the pack when it comes to Bangkok beer delivery.
They have a huge number of beer bottles in stock from all over the world and offer same day delivery until midnight (provided you order by 11pm) in the Bangkok area. Standard delivery fee is 79 baht, and this is waived for orders totalling over 2,000 baht.
You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal or with cash upon delivery.
Beervana
Beervana don’t have quite the same incredible selection as Wishbeer, but they’ve got a fair few craft bottles in stock and promise to deliver them cold to your door.
You can pay via Paypal, cash on delivery or bank deposit and delivery is 200 baht for districts in central Bangkok.
Passion Delivery
Passion Delivery again don’t offer the same selection as Wishbeer do, but they do have a number of collection wholesale deals that craft beer lovers will be able to get behind.
They sell certain bottles in packs of 5 — usually with a 6th thrown in for free — from various US craft breweries at low prices. At the time of writing, they only had 8 different beers available, however.
Delivery in Bangkok usually takes around 24 hours and costs 90 baht for central districts. Minimum order of 1,000 baht required. They accept payment in cash on delivery, bank transfer or via PayPal.
Beer Bars In Bangkok
To list all the many beer bars that line the sois of Bangkok would take us about 12 years and, frankly, we just can’t be committing to that type of never-ending list. Not to mention the fact that many of them come up and down at the pace of a taxi driver on yaba.
If you’re can’t find a beer bar in Bangkok, then it’s worth double checking that you’re not actually in Loei instead.
There are *a lot* of beer bars in Bangkok.
Of course, some areas have more than others. Sukhumvit, for instance. Expect a modicum of sleaze and girls on commission in a few of these concentrated spots.
By Mark Fischer (CC BY-SA 2.0 licence)
Various sois in the Nana neighbourhood are teeming with bars serving up all manner of drinks. Sois 4, 8 and 11 are probably the most popular.
In Asok, Sois 15, 23 and, of course, Soi Cowboy are a haven for beer drinkers.
Working our way up to Upper Sukhumvit, Sois 22 and 33 in Phrom Phong are open for beer-drinking punters. Soi 33/1 is the friendlier face, being home to two British pubs — the Royal Oak and the Robin Hood — and the recently opened Herrity’s Irish Pub.
Further up Sukhumvit, the bars lose their sleazy edge but the beers gain a few extra baht to their pricetag and flamboyant cocktails seem to emerge onto centre stage. Sukhumvit Soi 55 — Thonglor — and 63 — Ekkamai are the trendier locations for drinking here.
Of course, there are plenty of bars outside of these hot spots — usually without much hint of sleaze and friendly on the old wallet to boot.
Silom, Chinatown, On Nut, Ari — wherever you are, it’s likely there’s at least a small community of beer bars in the vicinity. If all else fails, you could always hit the Khao San Road if you prefer your Chang with a side of bucket.
Bangkok Beer Gardens
What with the occasional monsoon rains, high humidity and general sweltering temperatures, most beer drinkers in Bangkok can be found inside, seeking solace in the air conditioning.
If you’re made of hardier stuff, however, or simply miss the revelry of al fresco drinking, there are a few beer gardens in Bangkok that can cater to your needs. Here are a few of our favourites:
Beer Garden Soi 19
Sukhumvit Soi 19:
BTS: Asok
Cloud 47 — casual rooftop bar serving up beer
47th Floor, United Center Building
BTS: Sala Daeng
MRT: Si Lom
Play Yard
Lad Phrao Soi 8
MRT: Phaholyothin
Dee Lounge and Beer Garden
Novotel Bangkok, 566 Phloenchit Road
BTS: Phloen Chit
Paulaner Garden
42/99 Moo 7, New Samakkee Road
Pak Kret, Nonthaburi
In high season (November to February), it’s not uncommon to see ‘beer parks’ pop up around some of the city’s largest shopping malls. Don’t be expecting anything approaching a European beer festival, but it’s pretty fun to sup on your usual pint out in the elements.
The Play Yard (via Facebook)
Craft Beer Bars In Bangkok
Following the global trend, the past couple of years have seen Bangkokians starting to turn their heads towards the craft beer revolution.
Craft beer is simply defined as beer not brewed by the large corporations that dominate our pubs, bars and supermarket shelves. Usually, that translates to beer brewed by small, independent and traditional breweries.
On an individual level, craft beers are pretty distinct, with brewers taking pride in creating unique flavors out of natural ingredients. There’s no clamouring to rival the often bland lagers that most of the beer-drinking world consume. Craft beers stand alone as a beer beverage in their own right.
Craft beer has introduced a whole new raft of beverages to Thailand from all over the world. IPAs, chocolate porters, wheat beers, pilsners, champagne ales, fruit beers, rice lagers, bitters and trappist ales — any style you can think of, the craft beer movement has borne it.
In Thailand, importers bring in products from all over the world, including Belgium, Germany, Japan, the USA, UK, the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand.
While they’re unlikely to start crowding out the big boys Chang, Singha and Leo anytime soon, they’re certainly catering to a before-neglected beer drinker of Bangkok.
We’ve talked about our favorite craft beer bars on Sukhumvit before, but here’s a more comprehensive (although still not exhaustive!) city-wide list:
Sukhumvit
Wishbeer
Sukhumvit Soi 67
BTS: Phra Khanong
Craft 23
16 Sukhumvit Soi 23
BTS: Asok
MRT: Sukhumvit
Hair Of The Dog
Soi Villa (Soi 33/1)
BTS: Phrom Phong
Brew Beers & Ciders
Sukhumvit Soi 11
BTS: Nana
Seen Space, Thonglor Soi 13
BTS: Thonglor
Via Facebook
House of Beers (HOBs)
Rainhill, Sukhumvit Soi 47
522/3 Sukhumvit Soi 55
BTS: Thonglor
Mikkeller
26 Ekkamai Soi 10
BTS: Ekkamai/Phra Khanong
The Beer Cap
The Commons, Thonglor Soi 17
BTS: Thonglor
Beer Belly
72 Courtyard, Sukhumvit Soi 55
BTS: Thonglor
Bottles of Beer
Sukhumvit Soi 34
BTS: Phrom Phong/Thonglor
Silom-Sathorn
Craft
981 Silom Road
BTS: Surasak
I Hate Pigeons
34/2 Soi Sribumphen, Rama IV
MRT: Lumphini/Khlong Toei
Via Facebook
Roadhouse Barbecue
942/1 Rama IV
MRT: Si Lom
BTS: Sala Daeng
Rama III
House of Beers (HOBs)
982 Rama III
Tawangdang German Brewery
462/61 Rama III, Yannawa
Phloen Chit-Siam
Hair Of The Dog
Mahatun Plaza Building, 888/26 Ploenchit Road
BTS: Phloen Chit
The Beer Bridge
Portico, Lang Suan
BTS: Chit Lom
House of Beers (HOBs)
Central World, Chit Lom
BTS: Chit Lom
Ari
O’Glee
18/1 Soi Ari 1
BTS: Ari
House of Beers (HOBs)
356 Phaholyothin Road, Phaya Thai
BTS: Ari
Petchaburi
Changwon Express
37 Asok-Dindaeng Road
MRT: Phetchaburi
Chinatown
Let The Boy Die
542 Luang Road
MRT: Hua Lamphong
Chao Phraya Express Boat: Rachawong
Via Facebook
Ladprao
Sugar House Cafe
298/2 Lat Phrao 101 Road
Where Do We Go
Chok Chai 4 Soi 78
House of Beers (HOBs)
297 Prasertmanukrit Road
Samut Prakan
Harem Beer
14/35 Srinagarinda Road
Which Bangkok beer bars and Bangkok beer delivery services tickle your pickle?
Featured image includes photos by Takeaway, kallerna and kallerna (all used under Creative Commons licences)
