Munich Beer Restaurant Review

We finally got around to visiting one of the local micro-breweries last weekend - the Munich Beer Restaurant. Although it was quiet in the afternoon when we stopped in for a tasting session, apparently this place gets very busy at night and is particularly popular with the Khmer. There are two styles currently on offer - Munich Gold and Munich Stout - although i'm uncertain what either has to do with Munich. At $1.10 or $1.50 for a small glass the prices are reasonably competitive with the local mega-swill which goes for $1 or 75 cents in happy hour. The menu made me a little nervous as the pictures seemed to show some very cloudy beer, and both beers are indeed very cloudy for any commercial or even home-brewed beer. The stout is a lot more drinkable at around 4% alcohol than most of the tropical stouts available here, and has a strong coffee aroma and flavour, but somehow seemed to lack complexity to me with the coffee being so dominant. The Munich Gold was much more drinkable. Despite the clarity issues it has a noticeable malt and hop flavour profile, medium bitterness, and a hoppy nose. It took me a while to work it out, but what really makes this beer stand out here is that it is an ale, the first one I have found in South East Asia. If I had to compare it to a commercial brand it would be something along the lines of a Coopers Pale Ale (although it's even cloudier). Unfortunately, I don't know the history of the restaurant or where the brewer learnt his craft. One thing that did make me chuckle was that someone in the restaurant is employed to sit inside the brewery next to a glass window and pour the beers which are ordered in the restaurant apparently direct from the conditioning tank. Overall, i'm not sure if the quality of the beer here deserves a return visit but it is refreshing to see someone doing something different to the big commercial breweries.

The Munich Beer Restaurant is at #86 Sothearos Boulevard, Phnom Penh.