Tiger Beer chief: Soon you can tap your own draft beer at home

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Tiger Beer chief: Soon you can tap your own draft beer at home

The system, says Andy Hewson, manager of Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore, "is a bit like i of those Nespresso machines, with a footprint the size of an A4 paper", and keeps the beer fresh for xxx days.

10 Sep 2022 06:33AM (Updated: 12 Sep 2022 07:12AM)

Cab rides for Andy Hewson often remind him why he is incredibly lucky to do what he does for a living. Whenever the Australian tells the taxi driver that he works for Singapore's iconic Tiger Beer, he receives an enthusiastic comeback.

"I get such an emotional response," said Hewson, 48, managing managing director of Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS). "It's such a privilege for me to atomic number 82 this local beer brand."

Tiger Beer turns 90 adjacent year – 2022 is also the Chinese zodiac'south Year of the Tiger – a milestone that Hewson is looking forwards to. "I didn't give nascence to Tiger Beer but I'one thousand similar the stepfather who loves it unconditionally. I'm super excited. I run into my chore as continuing the legacy that was created by our [predecessors] at APBS," said Hewson.

He fondly remembers his outset meet with Tiger Beer during a family vacation in Singapore when he was a kid: The quart 633ml bottles at a kopitiam had made an impression on him. His dad had joked that the reason behind the big bottles was because the locals loved the beer also much.

Before joining APBS in 2018, Hewson had a storied career in the FMCG and alcoholic beverage industries. (Photo: Kelvin Chia)

Before joining APBS in 2018, Hewson had a storied career in the FMCG and alcoholic beverage industries. Later on stints with dairy product manufacturer Goodman Fielder and spirits giants Diageo and Brownish Forman, he joined The Heineken Company in 2022 as a director of ane of the beer company's breweries in the Solomon Islands.

"It was a bold move for me to go out my comfort zone of Sydney and stretch out to a developing country where in that location's a high level of poverty and unemployment," recalled Hewson, who grew up in Lake Macquarie, a coastal town in New South Wales. "[Information technology was] a really centre-opening journey that I think helped adult my soul." In 2014, he was promoted to managing director of Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle-Caledonie, a Heineken subsidiary in the French-administered territories of New Caledonia. Four years subsequently, he arrived in Singapore to helm APBS.

"It'due south such a privilege for me to lead this local beer brand." – Andy Hewson

APBS was originally founded equally Malayan Breweries in 1931, the event of a articulation venture between Amsterdam-based brewer The Heineken Company and local aerated water manufacturer Fraser & Neave. In 2012, Heineken acquired APBS, marking a new affiliate for the local brewery.

"You can imagine that back then [in the 1930s], you needed a lot of refrigeration to brew beer, and we were brewing beer with ice blocks. Heineken was one of the starting time brewers to make beer around the equator," said Hewson. "APBS is like the gem of our concern in the Asia-Pacific. Nosotros export Tiger Beer and other beers from Singapore to about 50 other countries effectually the earth.

"In the beer industry, information technology'southward all about human connection. Our company is a very people-centred business," he added. The company also has a philanthropic arm, APB Foundation, which was established in 1994. Terminal year, it donated S$75,000 to the Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund (MWAF). The money was used to support migrant workers whose daily necessities and livelihoods were afflicted by the circuit breaker restrictions.

Same TIGER, Different STRIPES

Coming from beer-crazy Australia, Hewson highlighted a divergence between the drinking cultures in his home country and Singapore: The Aussies have always had a lot of pride for their local beers; in Singapore, this preference for local hops has merely recently begun to have root. (Photo: Kelvin Chia)

Coming from beer-crazy Australia, Hewson highlighted a difference between the drinking cultures in his home country and Singapore: The Aussies accept e'er had a lot of pride for their local beers; in Singapore, this preference for local hops has just recently begun to take root.

"Until a few years ago, Singaporeans were looking overseas for their beer ideas; they looked at what's happening in Europe or in the craft beer scene elsewhere," opined Hewson. "What's happening lately is people are falling dorsum in love with local beers. This trend is emerging; the similarity [with Australia'due south beer civilization] is starting to come up through."

To cater to changing consumer tastes, APBS has been focusing on turning Tiger Beer from a single product brand into a multi-variant brand, said Hewson. For case, Tiger Crystal, which was relaunched a year and a half ago, is "a sessionable or piece of cake-drinking lager that is lower on bitterness". Information technology is brewed using a -1°C cold filtration process to preserve its flavours and aromas.

Hewson said Tiger Crystal is designed for a Singaporean or Southeast Asian palate, in particular for a younger generation of drinkers who are more than accustomed to sweeter flavours in their diet. According to Hewson, the beer has been a success. Other sessionable beers APBS has launched include Tiger Orchid Brew, an orchid-infused beer; and Tiger Radler, a category of low alcohol beers mixed with fruit juice, which were first introduced in 2013.

"I didn't give birth to Tiger Beer but I'grand similar the stepfather who loves it unconditionally." – Andy Hewson

"The upside of working for a global visitor like Heineken is nosotros take 500 brands around the world, and under those brands nosotros have thousands of recipes. Sometimes we can take a recipe and adapt it locally, as was the instance with Tiger Radler," said Hewson. "For example, we launched Radler Pomelo, a flavour that can't exist found anywhere else in the world."

Hewson said a new local flavour will be added to the Radler line-up come up Christmas fourth dimension, although he could non reveal the flavor now. The latest addition to APBS' stable of imported beers, which include Erdinger from Deutschland and Kirin from Japan, is Edelweiss, an Austrian wheat beer brewed with mountain herbs.

The introduction of Edelweiss was a response to the trend for sweeter beers, a category that is supported by wheat beers, said Hewson. "Edelweiss has this cute floral aroma and taste. Female drinkers would love this more than than the traditional lager," he said. APBS is as well planning a joint collaboration with Brass Panthera leo Distillery, a local distillery known for its gins with Asian flavours.

Hewson hinted that the project will be about "mixing spirits and beer together". "Nosotros think the next chapter of the booze scene in Singapore is all about local beers and spirits. We will have the offset Southeast Asian arts and crafts brewers emerging out of Singapore," he said.

"We recollect the next affiliate of the alcohol scene in Singapore is all nearly local beers and spirits. We will have the first Southeast Asian craft brewers emerging out of Singapore," said Hewson. (Photo: Kelvin Chia)

TAP YOUR Own BEER AT Dwelling house
Beers bated, APBS is also planning to sell Blade, an 8-litre meaty countertop draft arrangement, to consumers in late December. It will offer Heineken or Edelweiss for the system. Soon you lot tin can tap your own beer at abode.

"It's a mini draft beer system that is a bit like one of those Nespresso machines, with a footprint the size of an A4 paper," said Hewson on Blade. "It keeps the beer fresh for 30 days."

Currently, APBS is promoting Blade to pocket-sized restaurants and bars in the hope that the applied science will allow them to take "a point of differentiation". "Almost 80 to 90 per cent of all beer consumed in bars in Singapore is via typhoon. Consumers see [draft beer] every bit fresher and higher in quality. So restaurants without typhoon systems are at a disadvantage," he said.

"We felt we needed to offer this technology to the F&B businesses first, especially since the manufacture is having a tough time at the moment. The next step is to offer Blade to VIP customers and households. We do recollect there are people like me who honey to entertain at dwelling house and can quite hands finish 8 litres of beer in 30 days."

"Until a few years ago, Singaporeans were looking overseas for their beer ideas… What'southward happening lately is people are falling back in love with local beers." – Andy Hewson

Tiger Beer chief: Soon you can tap your own draft beer at home

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