The Phenom of:

Unless your from England and enjoy warm cask ales, the phenom of ice together with beer is nothing new. In fact, they are meant to be like Johnny D and fucking up. Like Bear and cock-blocking (although he has improved quite a bit recently). Think about the scene from Shawshank Redemption where Andy and his buddies are tarring a roof during the sweltering heat of the summer and what was the one thing that Andy wanted when he finished? That's right: a bucket of cold brews. In that scene you could taste freedom.

So great -- beer and ice -- it's everywhere. Well, you've probably tried all the combinations: beer in a frosty cup, bottles of beer on ice, maybe even from a can of Bud that you left in the freezer a bit too long and every time you try to drink from it, you get crystalized chunks of beer that freeze the back of your throat. Or even like this guy, sculpted your own beer mug from a block of ice.

But have you tried the phenom of ice in beer? Well let me tell you it is the rage here in Asia. Everywhere you go Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, whenever you order a beer, you have the option -- ice or no ice. Sometimes the beer will be straight from a freezer and they will still ask you -- ice? It takes a bit to get used to, especially considering that you must be wary of waterborn illness in Southeast Asia and that includes ice. No one really wants the holy shits on a Friday night. But hey, beer has alcohol which kills germs right?

My theories about why Asians put ice in their beer:

- Refrigeration units are very expensive for small bars, ice is much cheaper. Warm beer + ice = more profit and cold beer.

- Most people in Southeast Asia are poor, and ice gives the illusion of the never ending glass of beer.

- Most people in Southeast Asia drink slowly, and their beer gets warm quickly. Well, I know it's close to magic, but ice keeps things cold including beer. (By the way I recommend this to anyone who at the end of a long Saturday night of drinking wants to keep drinking, but doesn't want to spend more money or get even more hammered -- ask the barkeep to throw some ice in your beer.)

Posted by ~ J-Dub ~