Beer Lao Goes Global

Photo by honey-bee via Flickr (Creative Commons)

After years as a staple on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail, cult favorite Beer Lao is finally making a serious push for leverage in more far-flung markets. From the New York Times: “Like a film festival winner without a distribution deal, the rice-based lager has struggled to turn cult status into anything other than good press ... The company, Lao Brewery, hopes to change that. It would like to see 10 percent sold abroad, and it is counting on Vang Vieng’s beer-loving backpackers to help them make the sale.”

For now, Beer Lao’s well-traveled devotees seem happy to help—the article has the details on the mostly grassroots import effort. But any bets on how long it’ll be before someone mournfully declares that Beer Lao tasted oh, so much better before the passport-less crowds got their hands on it? (Via Frommer’s Behind the Guides)

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