Beer # 42 Hite, South Korea

Growing up, my exposure to Asian culture was limited to watching re-runs of M*A*S*H on television. Screwball vaudevillian comedy set against a backdrop of roughly-sketched stereotypes of Asian culture, while quite funny, certainly does not do the culture any justice. That time was different, we were still shaking off the fears associated with three wars with the Asians. As always fear of the unknown leads to ignorance. I also remember when the tide began to shift, well at least for me. My family bought a Honda. Now I'm not saying this to be facetious, it's true. The Asian invasion began with the widespread arrival of the Honda car. It was a reliable inexpensive, well-built car. Asian awareness is all around us now, Sushi bars go up like donut shops, Pad Thai, and Bubble tea is part of our regular Ontario lexicon. Don't worry... this is a good thing. Exposure to other cultures makes us appreciate our own, and what we have to offer the global population. Best of all when new cultures arrive in our land, they bring their food, and as we see today, their drink.

Hite is a South Korean beer produced in Yeongdeungpo-gu, an administrative district of the capital city of Seoul. The company, now called "The Hite" or "Hite Holdings" ( Korean website here This site is in English  ) was originally opened in 1933 as "Chosun Brewery." In their 78 year history they have undergone numerous changes, updates, mergers, and acquisitions. They now produce, as well as beer, whiskey, Soju (a strong rice wine that has a similar effect on the body as vodka... I should know) Glass for bottles, steel pipes, and  golf clubs. Yes, golf clubs. Strange diversification, I know. They are also a top sponsor of Korean PGA golfers: Kim Dae-Hyun, and Seo Hee-Kyung. (Wonder if they have to redefine "don't drink and... drive!"

Enough of the funny stuff: let's try the beer.


Pale golden colour with a vibrant white head made up of medium-sized bubbles. 330ml brown glass bottle containing a lager of 4.5% ABV, and labeled with paper and foil labels (side note the foil label on the neck I haven't seen used in Canada since the early 1990's) The front paper label also has a temperature reactive spot in the shape of a bottle opener in the lower right corner, to tell you when your beer is cold enough, similar to a few other breweries, Coor's Light and Zywiec come to mind. Hite (pronounced "height") like Budwieser, and Tsing-Tao, contains a fair portion of rice as a fermentable material. This keeps the beer light and smooth and reduces the overall production cost. It's relative cheapness, an neutral flavour keeps Hite at the number one beer spot in South Korea. Light smooth citrus nose, some wet grain. First sip is clean, grainy, light on hops. Aeration gives us very little other than light grain. Beer is light and refreshing, neutral flavour (which is good for pairing with Korean food which can be spicy) and a dry almost non-existant aftertaste.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass
Cost: Pass (In Ontario it is $11.70 for a six pack so $1.95 a beer)
Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: Exceptional
Experience: Pass

Final Thoughts: While not an outstanding beer it is another beer with a purpose. It is meant to be drunk with Korean food, which as I said can get spicy, especially the kim-chee. I had a wonderful experience eating Korean BBQ in Toronto at a restaurant called Miga. A quick search of the interweb shows that the location I went to is no longer operating but the original location still is, and  the website is here. This is where I first learned about Hite, and unfortunately Soju as well. I asked for, and the restaurant very kindly gave my my beer glass and the Soju glass I used that evening to remember my hangover, I mean my evening by.

Cheers
CJT