Taiwan Beer台灣啤酒

Taiwan Beer (台灣啤酒, Táiwān Píjǐu, or 台啤, TáiPí) is brewed by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL, 台灣菸酒公司). The brand, an icon of Taiwanese culture, began as a monopoly product but has remained the best-selling beer on the island in the era of free trade.

History

The company today known as TTL had its origins in a government agency established by Taiwan's Japanese rulers in 1901. The Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor's Office was responsible for all liquor and tobacco products sold in Taiwan as well as opium, salt, and camphor.

In 1922 the Monopoly Bureau began brewing Takasago Beer through the Takasago Malted Beer Company. Light and dark varieties were produced. The price of Takasago Beer varied widely over the course of its manufacture, depending on the availability of imported Japanese beers in Taiwan and on the contingencies of the economy. As World War II reached its conclusion in the 1940s, matches, petroleum, and standard weights and measures also came under the Monopoly Bureau's authority.

After the end of World War II the incoming Chinese Nationalists preserved the monopoly system for alcohol and tobacco. Production of beer was assigned in 1945 to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau. The name Taiwan Beer was adopted in 1946.The following year, production of the beer was assigned to the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau.

In the 1960s locally produced ponlai rice ("Formosa rice" 蓬萊米) was added to the fermentation process, resulting in the distinctive local flavour for which the beer is known today.

Taiwan entered its modern period of pluralistic democracy in the 1990s. Free trade and open markets became priorities as Taiwan prepared for admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002. Laws went into force that year that opened Taiwan's market to competing products. On 2002-07-01 the Monopoly Bureau passed into history. Its successor, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL, 台灣菸酒公司), is a publicly owned company that competes in the marketplace. TTL introduced a new brew, Taiwan Beer Gold Medal, by the end of its first year and has since introduced three more brews: Taiwan Beer Draft (another lager, for sale in restaurants) and two malt beers under the Mine label (Amber and Dark).

Taiwan Beer remains the island's best-selling beer brand and is one of the most recognized brands in Taiwan's business world.

Taiwan Beer is an amber lager beer with a distinct taste produced by the addition of locally produced ponlai rice ("Formosa rice" 蓬萊米) during the fermentation process. The beer is served cold and recognized as an especially suitable complement to Taiwanese and Japanese cuisine, especially seafood dishes such as sushi and sashimi. Taiwan Beer has won international awards, including the International Monde Selection in 1977 and the Brewing Industry International Awards in 2002.

台灣啤酒，簡稱台啤，是由台灣菸酒股份有限公司（前身為台灣省菸酒公賣局）所發售的啤酒品牌，原名「高砂麥酒」，1945年改名為「台灣啤酒」，是台灣最受歡迎的啤酒品牌之一。

台啤最早是在台灣日治時期1920年由在台北的「高砂麥酒株式會社」首釀，二戰結束後由當時新成立的台灣菸酒公賣局接收並改為「台北第二酒廠」，之後於1975年又更名為「建國啤酒廠」。
此外台啤贏得過數個國際獎項，包括了1977年的the International Monde Selection，還有2002年的the Brewing Industry International Awards。

雖然積極於外銷，但是除了台灣和海外台灣人社群外，台啤的能見度不高。又近年來因洋酒攻佔市場，台啤形象又過於老氣，故進行一連串更新運動：例如旗下的籃球隊命名為台灣啤酒隊、由年輕歌手代言主題曲等。
台啤獨特的風味來自釀造過程添加的蓬萊米。飲用方式通常是冰過後搭配台灣小吃。