August 26-27, 2017
I know this sounds a little nuts, but I flew out to an island in the Philippines just to go to a new microbrewery. I literally arrived the first morning, sampled craft beer throughout the afternoon and evening, and was on a 7AM flight out the next morning.
During the month of August, 2017, I had the opportunity to fly out to the Philippine Island of Palawan. I arrived by way of a Cebu Pacific double header red-eye flight from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Manila and onwards to the town of Puerto Princesa on Palawan.
A few months earlier, I had emailed the crew at PALAWEÑO BREWERY to ensure they would be open on my arrival day as my plan had been specifically fly over for the afternoon/evening and see their establishment and of course, sample several of their craft beer! I had asked that they set aside a bottle of any special beers they produced from the time of my request until my arrival. They told me the request would be looked after.
Upon arriving at the Puerto Princesa Airport, I was picked up by the complimentary hotel shuttle that took me to the new Best Western Plus ‘The Ivywall Hotel’. The trip took all of six minutes. Once I had checked into my hotel, I had a swim, small nap and then took a trike taxi over the Palaweno Brewery. The drive only took five minutes and soon I was walking down a shaded path to my craft beer tasting.
The Palaweno Brewery is owned and operated by two ladies, Ayah and Malu, who have turned their small craft brewery into a growing business. My tour of the grounds was fairly limited as they are expanding and there was construction on the site as they look to expand their facilities. Perhaps more importantly, the quaint tasting room was open and a seat at the bar was available. (Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 1PM-9PM)
The tasting room is up a staircase and the open windows provided a nice cross breeze.
The room originally served as a type of family recreation room before it was converted to its current use.
Perhaps more importantly, the quaint tasting room was open and a seat at the bar was available. (Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 1PM-9PM)
The core line of beers ranged from an American Amber Ale that they called ‘Ambog Ale’ through to a Belgian Wheat Beer called ‘Palawan Wit’, Honey Kolsh called ‘Palaw’an’, a Honey Nut Brown named ‘Hunter’ which were both made with local honey and an IPA called ‘Ayahay’.
In addition to the core range, the ladies had set aside three beers for me that had sold out to the public. I was able to sample an Oatmeal Stout called ‘NogNog’, a White IPA called ‘White Sands’, and finally, a Mango IPA simply named ‘Mango De Palawan’ which was made from fruit harvested directly from the property.
I won’t go into tasting notes for each beer, however, they only service bottles so bring a friend to share in the tasting, or be prepared to take is slow if you want to try their full lineup!
As a side note, spending only one day on Palawan was almost criminal. The island is a beautiful tropical location. I am told there are some great tourist things to do such as visiting the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park as well as diving off the coast of El Nido in the north of the island.
I look forward to my next visit.
CHEERS!
CRAFT BEER & Exotic Locations 