Drinking in Bali

Traveling to Bali, Indonesia, offers you various opportunities to brace your beer palate for the onslaught of Lagers and Pilsners that saturate the landscape. One such way to prepare is by choosing the East Coast route versus the West Coast route when flying out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. A layover at London's Heathrow Airport gives you a perfect opportunity to enjoy cask conditioned ales at their Bridge Bar. Give your self plenty of time to savor and take in every drop of any ale before you begin the next leg of your flight. My ale of choice was the cask conditioned Fuller's London Pride. A fine choice due to the complex caramel & toffee notes you will not doubt miss when drinking beer in Bali. In addition to tracking down a fine pint at LHR, you can also hear some English accents (d'uh). While in Bali, you can expect to hear plenty of Australian accents. Indonesia after all is a popular vacation destination for the Aussies.

Now it is very important to understand that the beers found in Bali are good. They are just what you would need in a tropical setting: refreshing lagers. After a while though, you want some variety. Bintang and Anker brands are the norm. Storm Beers are the variety. Since 2005 Storm Brewing Company in Bali has been providing fine ales to the island visitors. Storm Red Dawn, their Bronze Ale, is a great full bodied ale that is very drinkable in the tropical weather. Their Tropical Ale was probably my favorite. This golden ale had a light fruity aroma and is perfectly suited to be called a Tropical Ale. A wonderful ale to enjoy while relaxing on the white sandy beaches or in the middle of a town square.

The impression a country like Indonesia leaves you with is profound. Life is drastically different from any where in the states. Okay, maybe not drastically: people do work and do use wi-fi; but Bali, Indonesia, will no doubt make you forget the complications we add to our daily lives. Life really is simple in Bali. If you choose to complicate your Bali Life, that is your doing. Now in the matter of complicating my beer styles in Bali: yes, please complicate and add many more ales and lagers through out this tropical paradise!