Beer Lao -- Return to Paradise

Today we celebrated Oktoberfest in Vientiane. Another embassy outing to the Beer Lao factory. The factory is undergoing an expansion, so some parts were unavailable for our tour, but we were able to see the bottling plant and witness the magic that is beer going into bottles.

The day started with a few hours of heavy rain, which left the roads, and the factory grounds, flooded.


It didn't affect our ability to enjoy a lovely tour.

A lovely presentation in the visitor's center.

And the lovely gifts bestowed on us by the beautiful people that bring us Beer Lao. Last January we received hats and shirts. This time, umbrellas and mugs. And, of course, Beer Lao to go with the potluck lunch we brought.

After our visit last January, the Beer Lao folks decided that opening the factory to the public would be a fine idea. As such, they have tours for the public now. The tours are currently on hiatus during the expansion, but will re-open at the end of October.

Beer Lao is currently expanding their production capacity in Vientiane and building a new plant in Pakse. They are positioning themselves to take advantage of lowered tariffs that are required for ASEAN members starting in 2008. Thailand currently has pretty high import tariffs to protect their vastly inferior domestic beers from competition. So long as they don't come up with some reason to avoid reducing tariffs, it's a good bet that Beer Lao will flood the Thai market and be price competitive in a few years.