ed. note: beer blogger Adam Shugan is making his way around the world in beer, tasting and reviewing a different export each time. Adam posts every second Friday.

I have arrived in Asia! I am in Bangkok, Thailand, at Cosmos Brewery to sample “Thailand’s award winning beer”, Chang Export.  It is a simple adjunct lager style.  The gold foil neck wrapper celebrates their accolades.

Appearance:  I am serving this one well chilled in my Kirin Ichiban glass.  A steady pour produces a quickly ebbing white head and an ultra pale sulphur yellow color.  It stays pretty lively with all the bubbles.

Smell: It is quite aromatic, producing a distinct grassy/straw aroma without me even holding my nose up to the glass.  As I take a deep breath, I get a hint of green apple and cooked vegetables.  Hops are nowhere to be found.

Taste: The adjunct sweet corn shines through.  There is a slight, Pilsner style hop bitterness and an astringent finish that leaves a twang on the tongue.  It stays one dimensional with a grassy undertone.

This is a typical Asian lager and gets the job done when you need a good beer to go with Asian food.  The similarity of it with many different Japanese beers that I have had make this a good candidate for sake bombs (juvenile, perhaps, but fun).  For those who don’t know what those are, simply pour a pint glass about 3/4 way with your favorite Asian beer then put a shot of inexpensive sake on top of chopsticks resting on top of the glass of beer.  When everyone is ready, pound the table to make the shot of sake fall between the chopsticks into the beer and then chug it.  The sweet sake makes for a refreshing drink.  Chang can be found at most ABCs.

Adam Shugan is the manager at our Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, store