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Smith Street Taps 10th Anniversary commemorative glass.
Meng and Kim Chow, owners of Smith Street Taps in Singapore, join Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today. It is their first time on Brew Ha Ha. Lana Svitankova is also in the studio today. Her full conversation with Herlinda can be heard over here on its own podcast episode.
Meng and Kim have brought a Smith Street Taps glass like the one pictured here, as a gift for Steve. They have just celebrated their tenth anniversary. They also have another stall now, called by a similar name, Smith Street Taproom.
Herlinda met Meng and Kim in Singapore when she was judging in the Asia Beer Cup. The city is obviously very clean and well organized, and Herlinda remembers feeling safe in the city, even when she got lost at night.
Singapore’s Hawker Stalls
Smith Street Taps is located among the hawker stalls in Singapore. These are large food courts with many restaurants serving a wide variety of styles of food. It is Singapore’s way of organizing what would otherwise be street food.
Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa!
Kim explains that Smith Street Taps is the first and only hawker stall dedicated to craft beer, among all the many hawker stalls in Singapore. They have craft beer on tap from all over the world.
Hawker culture in Singapore is heritage, so it is protected, promoted and highly appreciated.” -Kim Chow
Rumble in the Jungle (photo by Lana Svitankova).
Meng has opened a beer called Rumble in the Jungle, a Stout which he produced in a collaboration with Brewlander, a local brewery, and Jungle Beer, formerly of Singapore and now based in India. It is a stout flavored with chickory from India, with an 8% ABV. “Works for me!” says Steve Jaxon.
Herlinda remembers a 16 hour flight from California to Singapore, which Meng and Kim also just did. Thinking out loud, next time, she might fly 9 hours to Japan first, then fly the next leg from Japan to Singapore, another 9 hours.
The Singapore Sling
The Singapore Sling is the number one local cocktail. It is a gin-based cocktail believed to have been created by a bartender at Raffles Hotel in Singapore. They still serve them there, so go get one if you’re visiting Singapore, it can’t be missed. Spoiler Alert! –> In a shaker with ice, add gin, cherry liqueur, Cointreau, Benedictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, Grenadine syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters. Serve strained into a hurricane glass.
Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
Meng had the first craft beer bottle shop in Singapore, before Smith Street Taps. He is on his way to Boston for his son’s graduation from Northeastern University. Meng’s great wish is to find out how he can get to drive a hop picking machine like the one at the museum.
See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.
The Museum of Sonoma County exhibit ON TAP is about the history of hops and beer in Sonoma County. It will remain open until September 1. Click on the green the On Tap logo (or that link) to visit the museum’s website:
Photo credits: featured image, C.Y. Shing, Flicker/PD/CC. Beer glass, Smith Street IG. Rumble bottle, Lana Svitankova.