The home of the mythical beer awaits! Beerlao, while far from widely available across Asia, is one very good reason some people come to Laos. The light lager claims a 99% market share in Laos, ostensibly thanks to the power behind the Lao government. Register on-site, try a few free samples (if you haven’t already), or stick with Pepsi if you’re driving the motorbike. Some Beerlao t-shirts are for sale, though these are the same style of shirts you’ll find in the night markets for a fraction of the price.
Your tour guide will escort into the theatre for a video introduction to the company. Combining corporate and communist propaganda, the company with the government as a partial owner surprises no one by showing itself as a responsible corporate citizen. While very little of the 8–9 minute video is worth remembering, one standout highlight was the 280 million liter capacity mentioned for 2012.
Afterwards, meander around a few exhibits — most notably the awards won and the famous locals in Western suits. Your tour guide will then take you across the street to what I’ll call the new building.
Opened in December 2012, the maze of overhead pipes in this still-shiny factory would make Rube Goldberg proud. While no pictures are allowed inside, keep your eyes open for all the details around. From the control room, one person could theoretically run all the machines, transferring liquid from one tank to the next.
Climb the stairs to the second floor, where the smell of mash permeates the place. You’ll pass by many of the same tanks, but without the relatively low ceiling or all the pipes. Several tanks measure in the hundreds of hectoliters (1 hectoliter equals 26.4 gallons for the Americans), while the process itself is fairly straightforward.
Just behind the new building is the second building — slightly older, and has a bit more noise to go with the ubiquitous yellow crates. Unless your drinking habit requires you to imbibe from the vat itself, it’s got to get to a bottle or can first. See the beverage go from vat to bottle, courtesy of the overhead catwalk. It’s a rapid fire look at most everything from the can washer to the label applier (40,000 an hour), the bottle filler (24,000 an hour), and plenty of other fast-paced machines. I do wish there was a bit more explanation or sense of order — so many moving parts mean you aren’t sure what step you’re watching.
Outside, the yellow crates full of 640ml bottles ready for sale are stacked 6 meters high. Again, no photos allowed inside the factory — inside the museum or outside the factory is fine.
Even if you’re not a big beer drinker, the factory tour gives you an appreciation for how the beverage is made. The scale alone makes it worth the visit, but anyone seeking the mythical beer-drinking Mecca would do better to return to a TV commercial. It’s an industrial manufacturing plant, first and foremost, not a host for twentysomething alcoholics and their fantasies.
Name: BeerLao Factory Tour
Address: Thadeua Rd, Vientiane (GPS: 17.871181,102.655989)
Directions: This one may be known by the tuk-tuks, but your best bet is to rent a motorbike. From Vientiane, you’ll be leaving on the road going southeast out of town, Rue Setthathilath (note this is a one way road). Stay on this main road / expressway — drive / ride for about 13km, and you’ll see the unmistakable yellow building and steel tanks on either side. Start at the building on the right.
Hours: tours ONLY available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:30pm-4:30pm (Wednesday has an additional hour of tours available, from 9:30am-10:30am).
Admission: 40,000 kip per person.
Phone: 021–81–20045 or e-mail [email protected]
Website: www.beerlao.la
