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Do you "trust" Draft beer in Pattaya GoGo's?


Butch

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Not asking if you drink it, but do you trust it to be :

Not Watered Down:

Caveat emptor, I think it is fair to assume most, if not all draft is watered down to a degree. I am not an expert in the field, but after 9 draft "changs" one evening on Soi LK and only needing to use the toilet a lot, I was still as sober as a judge (ish).

The Genuine article / Brand

See above. I can't tell the difference in taste between draft Chang and my own piddle, let alone Singha or anything else.

Fresh

Again, is draft cheap due to it nearing its sell by date?. I know here in the UK my mate runs a "cheap booze" shop, he gets his close to date beer at 60% off in some cases, but I'm talking about bottles and cans, not draft. Can some bars legally sell out of date draft, not declare it yet pick it up for peanuts?. Remember, TiT.

Not the leftovers from a previous customers drink

I do know a few managers around town, one of the more scrupulous ones told me he bins all unused drafts down the sink (well known manager on LK) , but some ...ahem managers and GoGo Bars will "recycle" a draft for another customer, taking one half drunk glass, or nearly full one, top it up to add some fizz and pocket the money. I will often order a draft if I want to waste some time in a GGB and not actually drink in there, so 70 / 80/ 90 baht gets me a one hour ticket, I'll just leave it to get warm, check bin and go. Cheaper than ordering a 120 baht bottle of water or Coke light, and If I get chatting to a girl and want to stay, I'll just stick it to one side or the table next to me and order a top shelf for me and a LD for her. Whether this is done by the staff without the knowledge of the Manager is anyone's guess, but fair play to them for not missing a trick.

Whaddya think??

 

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Given the current dependancy on expats for business I think it would be the height of stupidity to get caught out selling moody alcohol of any description. Pattaya in many ways is a small village and news gets round fast.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority know how important having a good reputation is and act accordingly. If you think you have been sold watered down draft beer (however unlikely)  or bacardi that is not what is says on the bottle then speak to the Manager/Owner first so that he can take appropriate action always assuming it is an employee or two acting alone.

Personally, I would be much more worried about drinking draft beer as to whether they cleaned the pipes.

As an aside.

I once went into a British bar in Spain that proudly advertised a selction of draft beers. I asked the guy behind the bar which one he recommended to which he replied.

"It doesn't matter mate. It all comes out of the same keg." 😀

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watering down beer in the keg is almost impossbile.  if you take the top off, its likely to pop thru your head, thats happened before.  massive pressure inside.  in the UK in the old days ALL pubs put the drip trays back into the mild btw.  and I do mean all, when it was real beer and barrels laid properly.  they even sold a kit for it.  so dont think its a new idea

watering down is far more common in spirits.  thats why i order drinks neat, no ice, and then maybe ask for some water later.  often get JW instead of JD.. and boy you can tell.

as to reselling half empty glasses topped up, well thats pretty low but i am sure it happens

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52 minutes ago, tommy dee said:

watering down beer in the keg is almost impossbile.  if you take the top off, its likely to pop thru your head, thats happened before.  massive pressure inside.  in the UK in the old days ALL pubs put the drip trays back into the mild btw.  and I do mean all, when it was real beer and barrels laid properly.

Still happens, even with today's pressurised kegs.  In Scotland it goes into the "Light" keg, which is the equivalent of your Mild, I think.   We had a gadget to release the pressure, then the spear could be removed which is the pipe to the bottom of the keg from the outlet, and the slops poured in before refitting it and gassing it up again.  The gadget for releasing the pressure was essentially the valve from the start of the beer line, with the outlet blocked so beer couldn't get out, but the compressed air inlet open to allow the gas inside the keg out when it was fitted.

I think the spear is different on the newer kegs and not so easy to remove, but you then use an container like you put the pipe cleaning solution in, to hold the waste beer, and that gets pressurised and the keg depressurised so beer flows from the container back to the keg.

Brewers use to give an allowance for spillage bit not any more.

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I don't know the answer for sure. It's a difficult one. 

Most of the draft beers I have had in GoGo bars tastes pretty much the same and usually served very cold.

But, based on the knowledge that often spirits are replaced by cheaper brands and sometimes even absent from the mixer, then it would not suprise me if something similar occurs with draught beer. 

That said, at 50 baht, if it's cold and tastes OK then I have never been bothered.  My general aim is not to get drunk and spread my alcohol consumption over a number of hours.  Too much and I am f*cked and just want to sleep. 

I guess it's a similar thing, when you buy a lady drink and she gets a cola drink from.a large bottle costing maybe 5 baht to the bar. Unless you taste it, you never know what the hell they are drinking.

In a place like Pattaya, one can expect all manner of scams but usually minor.  As long as I am not drinking anyone's chilled urine I am not too bothered.

 

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I don't usually bother with draught in Thailand.
I've had the occasional one that was OK, and many that I didn't like.
As for watering it down, well ....
Many years ago, a few of us were chatting in the local after work and the conversation turned to a scandal about watering the beer.  
The guvnor took each of our half-finished pints, added about an inch of tap water and challenged us to tell the difference.  
We couldn't.

Even with modern systems, the barman could easily put half an inch of water in the glass and then top up with beer.

The other issue is with bottled beer.
Can you be sure that the opened bottle contains what's on the label?
I can only remember one place (now long gone) where the bottle was uncapped in front of me.
I'm sure I've been served bottles of Heineken or San Miguel which had been topped up with Chang - I know what Chang tastes like and it's nothing like San Mig or Heineken.

Ultimately, though, is it that big a deal? 

The apparent disrespect on the part of the management is annoying, but if I like the general ambience (not too crowded and interactive ladies) I might want to stay, and if I don't like it, I'll be on my way anyway.  If I just want to get drunk, I can do it for much less in my room.

 

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3 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

[...]

But, based on the knowledge that often spirits are ... sometimes even absent from the mixer,

The first time I went into a bar in Pattaya ('92 or '93), I was with a guy I met in the hotel. I requested a coke and upon tasting it was quite surprised to find alcohol in it. A straight coke was such an exceptional order there and in line with the company I kept, they automatically put in Mehkong. Last time I was in Thailand (Feb.-2017), I was unpleasantly surprised to learn Mehkong had disappeared.

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18 minutes ago, Freee!! said:

The first time I went into a bar in Pattaya ('92 or '93), I was with a guy I met in the hotel. I requested a coke and upon tasting it was quite surprised to find alcohol in it. A straight coke was such an exceptional order there and in line with the company I kept, they automatically put in Mehkong. Last time I was in Thailand (Feb.-2017), I was unpleasantly surprised to learn Mehkong had disappeared.

There was a very prevalent rumour in the early 80's that someone had taken some Mekhong back to Oz & had it analysed.There was supposed to be lots of shit in it that you shouldn't imbibe.I drank it a lot in those days as the choice of beers was very limited & very poor.I don't think it did me any lasting damage....🤪

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22 minutes ago, Freee!! said:

The first time I went into a bar in Pattaya ('92 or '93), I was with a guy I met in the hotel. I requested a coke and upon tasting it was quite surprised to find alcohol in it. A straight coke was such an exceptional order there and in line with the company I kept, they automatically put in Mehkong. Last time I was in Thailand (Feb.-2017), I was unpleasantly surprised to learn Mehkong had disappeared.

It's back now as a premium brand !!

rumours in the early 90's they put formaldehyde in it to help the ageing process 5555... if you looked at the date on the bottles it was usually a few months old ... I always used to my the small bottles at a bar , you usually were given a bucket of ice and a couple of bottles of coke with it 

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3 hours ago, Stillearly said:

It's back now as a premium brand !!

rumours in the early 90's they put formaldehyde in it to help the ageing process 5555... if you looked at the date on the bottles it was usually a few months old ... I always used to my the small bottles at a bar , you usually were given a bucket of ice and a couple of bottles of coke with it 

From what I remember a few weeks was old.....

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There used to be a rumour going around about beer in India which the level would drop in the sealed bottle over a period of weeks due to the ethanol added to it absorbing the water!

Not sure if true, whenever I was in Bombay I would always avoid booze like the plague, having the runs was bad enough.

Edited by Butch
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13 hours ago, KWA said:

Still happens, even with today's pressurised kegs.  In Scotland it goes into the "Light" keg, which is the equivalent of your Mild, I think.   We had a gadget to release the pressure, then the spear could be removed which is the pipe to the bottom of the keg from the outlet, and the slops poured in before refitting it and gassing it up again.  The gadget for releasing the pressure was essentially the valve from the start of the beer line, with the outlet blocked so beer couldn't get out, but the compressed air inlet open to allow the gas inside the keg out when it was fitted.

I think the spear is different on the newer kegs and not so easy to remove, but you then use an container like you put the pipe cleaning solution in, to hold the waste beer, and that gets pressurised and the keg depressurised so beer flows from the container back to the keg.

Brewers use to give an allowance for spillage bit not any more.

been a few years since I worked in the pubs/clubs here in OZ but it was law to put purple tablets into the spill drays to turn the spillage to purple so you could not re-use it.

don't know about nowdays,but will ask some of the family what they do at their pubs/clubs.

you would have to been in LALA land to think that bars and clubs in Pattaya, don't cheat their punters on watered down beer or use cheap local shit spirits in imported bottles,reckon if any punter started a stink over his drink in most of the bars in Thailand he would get quickly shown the door,especially in Pattaya

regards

grayray

Edited by grayray
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7 hours ago, RimmerMan said:

I don't trust it and don't drink it in LOS for two reasons:

  • The lines in draft beers require to be cleaned regularly.  This means each time a keg is switched out or every two weeks, but we all know this is not happening.
  • The mouth of an open glass is much easier to slip a drug in versus the top of a beer bottle.

 

YOUR worried about being slipped a "Date Rape" drug? :default_071:

 

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Personally never had too much of a problem, one being when ''Electric Blue'' was putting half empty glasses 

of beer left into a bucket with some ice and then reusing it, was also noted at the time by a well known poster on a different channel.......

The most problems I've had over the years was warm bottled beer and nobody cared a ---k, Angelwitch which was one. even brought me

back the same bottle of beer when I complained, I didn't even have to taste it the bottle was warm....lol....

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I've had the occasional draft in go-go's  but generally prefer bottled beer or Sangsom - the only places I drink draft regularly are the sports/British type bars where I'll drink Heineken or Tiger, and it certainly tastes better than the stuff I've been given in the go-go's.

The only time I've ever been forced to leave a bar in Pattaya was over a draft beer - I was in the old Rolling Stone bar on the corner of Walking St and Soi 16 and I was brought a glass of draft that was flat - I politely told the server this and asked for another glass. She couldn't seem to understand what I meant and got the security guys involved; I tried to explain to them that all I wanted was a fresh glass but they seemed to have the idea that I didn't want to pay for it and they insisted that I pay RIGHT NOW - unfortunately all I had was a 1000b bill which probably made it look even worse to them and after my change was brought over I was bodily escorted from the bar, never to return...

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2 hours ago, maipenrai said:

I was in the old Rolling Stone bar on the corner of Walking St and Soi 16 and I was brought a glass of draft that was flat - I politely told the server this and asked for another glass.

She just thought you were British so brought you a glass without a foam head 😉

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