We both love our Aussie beers, both the industrial brews and the numerous craft beers from Downunder. It was a pleasant surprise when we started seeing pubs and restaurants installing Victoria Bitter taps especially in areas frequented by Australians in Singapore. Check out bars in Robertson Quay and Clarke Quay to find these.

Where we did sample our draft VB was our own Changi “local”, Hanamco at Changi Village. It’s the sister outlet of Charlie’s Corner and a favourite hangout whenever we go biking to Pulau Ubin.

After our ride, its ever refreshing cold taste hits the sweet spot and tastes as good as what we’ve tried when in Australia. It’s got good head and a nice crisp, bitter aftertaste. Best of all, Hanamco serves it in those perfect VB pint glasses.

On this occasion, we were introduced to a beer we’d never seen before, Silly Saison. I was particularly drawn to this partly because I’d never tried a Saison beer before but because it was called Silly – I used to drive a Celica which my mates often labeled as a Silly-Car. Yes, it’s a lame excuse to sample a beer because we never do need an excuse!

A Saison beer is traditionally a low-alcohol ale brewed by farmhouses in the winter months, stored and consumed in summer. Its tastes are usually complicated by adding ingredients like coriander, orange peel which gives this beer a slightly spicy tastes. The Silly Saison lives up to this and makes a nice evening session beer.

This beer is also available at Happy Dayz. But after biking on a hot afternoon, we’d rather stick to our beloved VB.

In my course of work, I end up visiting and checking out many hotels. This time round, I went round several in the Causeway Bay area and there’re basically only two 4-star hotels in that bustling area and a few boutique hotels. But the 5-star Crowne Plaza will be opening there in October.

Anyway, sticking to the subject if booze, I did a site inspection of Excelsior Hotel and checked out the basement Dickens Bar. The staff were preparing for lunch but what caught my eye was the number of beer taps and in particular, a Marston’s Pedigree draft.

I promised myself to attempt a return after the day’s business obligations and did exactly that.

Dicken’s has to be one of the best pub finds in Hong Kong. It has 11 taps including the Pedigree ale. As it was served, it looked like a typical British ale, light amber in colour and took some time to settle, building a nice, heavy layer of froth.

But what struck me was the sweet taste. At first, I thought the glass was dirty, shifted around the glass and took another gulp. But the sweet taste was unmistakable. It’s a sweet, fruity, creamy ale and the sweetness linger through the after taste. For the guys out there, if you like Hoegaarden but think it’s too girly to be seen with a pint in your hand, Pedigree could be your next best alternative. Unfortunately, I doubt you’d find this ale available readily in Asia Pacific.

The selling point of this joint must be the 11 beer taps, including Victoria Bitter! Seriously, how often do you find VB on tap? I’ve been to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth so many times and hardly seen the green label available fresh in most pubs. But here it is in Hong Kong! Other taps included are the usual suspects like Tiger, Heineken, Carlsberg, Strongbow, Hoegaarden, Kilkenny, Leffe, Guinness and San Miguel.

It does have a decent selection of bottles too including regional brews like Tsing Tao, Blue Girl or try the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. Still, with 11 tap, it has to be one of the city’s most crowded bar tops and why would you drink bottles?

If you know of another pub in Hong Kong with more taps, do let us know!