- Joined
- Aug 20, 2022
- Messages
- 30,898
- Points
- 113
Ang ji kao: Reviewing the Singaporean uncles beer
TOH TENG
A couple months ago I reviewed a Malaysian (truly Asian)/semi-uniquely Singaporean beer- Connors Stout Porter which is as far as I can tell specially produced for the Malaysian/Singaporean market.
Today, I turn to the quintessential uncle drink, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, the original Red Tongued Dog/Ang Ji Kao.
So what is this and how is it different from a nitro stout like Guinness Draught or Connors?
Long before the nitro stout process was inventedm(in the 1960s) Guinness was also in the business of having stout brewed overseas. In the North American market I understand that this is Guinness Extra Stout, which I remember having had a bottle of way back in 2002 (IIRC this was my first exposure to stout).
However in the more tropical areas of the world, Guinness has had a long tradition of licensing *Foreign* Extra Stouts, generally with much higher abv values and bolder, sometimes harsher, tastes. Nigerian FES is famous, not only weighing in at 7.2% but adding sorghum to the grain bill alongside the usual barley.
For these Extra/FES versions Guinness brews a wort concentrate in Ireland that can be exported and then brewed and tweaked to local tastes overseas.
Here in SG and MY the alcohol content has been brought down from a 7% to a more modest 5.5% due to alcohol taxation but one interesting thing about the way its traditionally (and still often) drunk...
We put ice in it
When I posted this on r/beer it led to quite a few ang mohs clutching their pearls at the thought of ice in beer.There's a reason for this, though. Back in the day refrigeration capacity would have been distinctly limited. People therefore plopped ice into the beer to cool down. The powerful taste of the FES meant the ice didn't wash everything out. If I may digress, this (IMO) is why Tiger has an unpleasantly thick and sweet taste out of the can- it's meant to be iced.
So above you can see the can, with its cheerful yellow signature. I poured it into a glass of ice and sat down to enjoy it.
Temperature of can- around 12 C. To simulate creaky 1960s refrigeration I stuck it in the wine chiller instead of the fridge.
Temperature of me- too hot. I had just gone on a 3.5 km afternoon run in 33 degree heat and 70% humidity. The beer was necessary.
My first sip, directly from the can, was alright. A bit too bitter and somehow slightly flat, licorice tasting. Heavy but without any redeeming sharpness, and a bit too much alcohol sweetness.
Pouring it over the ice angried up the bubbles and unlike the creamy head of a nitro stout this had large carbonated bubbles. It was also more distinctly black than a Draught, almost like a cola.
My first sip from the glass revealed a much better taste profile than straight out of the can. This, on the rocks, is a sharp, bittersweet beer. Much more coffee flavoured than a Guinness draught, astringent and refreshing.
My conclusion is that the lao ah peks were correct. If you're drinking a Guinness FES in tropical heat ice works just fine.
Edit: On why it was called Ang Ji Gao
Back in colonial times, breweries rather than marketing their beer themselves would license it out to dlstribution companies for export and sale in the colonies.
One of the major distributors was Blood Wolfe & Co whose logo was a wolf with a red tongue. Thus the ah peks would just ask for yi ping ang ji gao.
