Taedonggang

Lore & Background

In 2000, Kim Jong Il decided the country needed a showcase brewery. Through connections to Germany, the Government of North Korea bought the intact brewery plant of the closed Ushers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England for £1.5 million via broker Uwe Oehms. After assurances that it would not be used for chemical weapons production, Peter Ward of Thomas Hardy Brewing and Packaging bought the plant and arranged for a team from North Korea to travel to Trowbridge to dismantle it. Reinstalled and operational from 2002, the brewery uses German-made computerized brewing control technology. Since then, North Korea has had a steady supply of beer.

On 3 July 2009, a commercial for the product was broadcast on state-run Korean Central Television in a rare move, as there are very few advertisements on North Korean television. The commercial shows technicians sampling the beer and beer bottles floating in space, shooting out foam reminiscent of a missile launch. North Korea's Taepodong missiles are sometimes called 'Taedong' missiles. The commercial has been broadcast three times in all. Since 2016, the beer has been available in China in limited amounts.

Taedonggang beer is named after the Taedong River. Its water comes from upstream Taedong River, barley and rice from South Hwanghae Province, and hops from Ryanggang Province. Reviews of the currently produced varieties are somewhat mixed. The most widely available Pilsner style lager has been described as a 'full-bodied lager a little on the sweet side, with a slightly bitter aftertaste' and 'one of the highest quality beers on the [Korean] peninsula for several years'. Another review notes 'an OK beer, a bit bland' and 'a bit too much like ghastly, dishwater, mass-produced American beer'. A Finnish review of the brown ale notes an alcohol content of 5% and a taste significantly more bitter than most Asian beers. Taedonggang lager resembles British ale.

Reader's Guide

Taedonggang beer is significant as a showcase project of the North Korean state, reflecting the country's brief period of openness to Western technology and trade in the early 2000s. The purchase and relocation of an entire English brewery plant to Pyongyang was an unusual and costly undertaking, and the beer has since become a symbol of domestic production and quality control, certified with ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and HACCP. Its limited advertising on state television, particularly the 2009 commercial that evoked missile imagery, highlights the intersection of consumer goods and state messaging in North Korea. The beer is targeted primarily at domestic consumers and is widely served in restaurants, bars, and hotels catering to foreign visitors, where a small bottle costs about 0.5 euro. Exports to South Korea began in 2005 under the Sunshine Policy but are believed to have ceased after the brewery increased the price 70% without warning. Since 2016, limited amounts have been available in China. The beer's legacy is tied to its unusual origin story, its role as a rare North Korean consumer export, and the mixed international reception of its taste.

Did You Know?

• The brewery plant was originally from Ushers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, and was purchased for £1.5 million.
• A commercial for Taedonggang beer aired on North Korean state television on 3 July 2009, showing bottles shooting foam reminiscent of a missile launch.
• Taedonggang beers are sorted by malt content with numbers from '7' to '1', where type '1' is pure malt and type '5' is pure rice.
• The beer was exported to South Korea from 2005 but imports are believed to have stopped after the brewery raised the price 70% without warning.