He is one of the most well-known people in Singapore craft beer, but figuring out how to coax more than a few words at a time out of Kuok Meng-Chao can, at times, feel like plotting a move in a chess match, even for those of us who know him. And so it is when I catch up over Zoom with the co-founder of Smith Street Taps, a favored watering hole for the republic’s craft beer community since he and a co-founder opened it in January 2014.
Now offering 20 taps and some bottles and cans across two hawker stalls in Chinatown Complex, the place has been closed since early April, when due to the Covid-19 pandemic Singapore entered a month-long “Circuit Breaker” period that was later extended to two months. The measures essentially amounted to Lockdown Lite, and included a limit to delivery or takeaway for all food and beverage outlets.
Most craft beer venues stayed open to drum up as much business as possible, but Smith Street Taps decided to wait it out. They’re back as of June 2, 2020, however, so in advance of the return I ask Kuok about the stall’s reopening plans, and before I’ve even finished asking the question I know it is dead on arrival.
“Well, we’re doing takeaway.”
Silence.
There you have it.
Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. Like Smith Street Taps, Smith Street Trading Co—the import and distribution wing of the company—has been “hibernating,” as Kuok puts it, but like the hawker stall is ready to return.
Five Melbourne-area breweries are set to headline Smith Street Trading’s revamped portfolio. The roster debuts in late June with the reintroduction of Moon Dog Brewery, which disappeared from Singapore some time ago following sporadic distribution. The first shipment (all cans) will largely feature beers from the brewery’s core range, though there will also be a few sours and rarer beers like Timothy Tamothy Slamothy, a 5.6% pastry stout, and The Future is Bright, a 6.6% IPA named in reference to the brewery’s solar-paneled roof and not, clearly, to what lies immediately ahead for humankind.
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After Moon Dog, Deeds Brewing Co, 3 Ravens Brewery, Sailors Grave Brewing, and Hargreaves Hill Brewing Co (tentative) are the next four Aussie breweries arriving in Singapore, likely towards the end of July. Kuok scouted each brewery in person just before this goddamn pandemic hit. “Sailors Grave is about a four-hour drive east of Melbourne in a town called Orbost, down by the coast,” says Kuok. “We stayed in a cabin on their farm. You could hear the ocean, there were kangaroos running around, and watching the sunrise… it was amazing.”
SST will eventually make all of these beers available on its new web shop, as well as distribute most of them to craft beer retailers and venues across the island. SST had these Australian breweries confirmed prior to shit properly hitting the fan, but it’s not surprising that several overseas breweries recently popped up for the first time in Singapore, and that more will soon follow. The Economist recently said farewell for now to a golden age of drinking, detailing the swift devastation everyone’s least-favorite modern pandemic has inflicted upon booze producers around the world, including and in particular craft breweries.
Faced with less or no foot traffic at their own venue(s), at least for a while, and smaller orders from local and regional bars, restaurants, and hotels, more breweries are likely to look abroad to new markets as part of a larger overall game plan pivot. In Singapore, Australian craft breweries Blasta Brewing and Otherside Brewing both touched down for the first time in late May. Just before that Temple Cellars, a booze shop and boutique importer/distributor, air-freighted a shipment directly from Grimm Artisanal Ales in Brooklyn, NY. Those beers mostly sold out by preorder the week before they arrived.
Air-freighted beers get to their final destination more quickly, and fresh is almost always best for certain styles, particularly IPAs and especially those of the hazy variety. Grimm’s Phantom Power IPA, Magnetic Cloud DIPA, and Lambo session IPA were out for delivery in Singapore about two weeks after canning. At the time of publication in Bangkok, a pallet from Verdant Brewing—the exceptional Cornwall, UK, brewery that masters many styles, but particularly hazy ales—is on its way there with cans that will only be one week old.
SST expects to follow suit at some point, but for now Smith Street Taps is back in business, one small but significant step back towards whatever passes for normalcy these days. Draft beers will be available for takeaway in 330ml and 640ml bombers, and growlers are welcomed, too. Once it’s up and running, the new web shop will be updated with draft, bottle, and can availability for advance ordering.
Social chess matches with Kuok remain optional, as always.
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Smith Street Taps is located at Chinatown Complex, Block 335, Smith Street, #02-062. +65 9430 2750. Currently open Tuesday to Friday 5pm – 9pm, Saturday 2pm – 9pm. Closed Sunday & Monday.
All photos courtesy of Kim Choong, editor of Thirstmag.com, a leading drinks platform that connects trade with businesses and consumers in Malaysia. She travels the world to meet passionate people in the beverage craft and tells their stories through words and events. She is also Festival Director for GinRum.Me and Margaret River on Tour KL.
