OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2025 | 19 Queuing for great beer at United People's Brewery Chit holds court with fans Award-winning beer on tap at Call Me Papa best and the quality of beer coming from such a simple setup is quite astounding. I polish off a New Zealand Pale Ale and Chit’s superb White Mango IPA before being handed his latest endeavour, sato, a fermented rice-based drink similar to sake. Chit’s joyful energy spills over into everything he does and his sense of humour is evident in his branding. “It’s good Chit”, reads the slogan on the house merch. And the series of craft beer bars he’s opened up and down the country? They’re called Chitholes. It is stop one on a day-long brewery tour and I feel I could have happily stayed here all day listening to Chit’s tales and laughter. But we have a schedule to keep and so we head to Call Me Papa, an impressive glass-fronted brewpub with a wonderful origin story. Sarawoot Prasitsongserm started brewing at home to create something for his beer-loving mother. From this, the award-winning brewery was launched in 2022, named for Sarawoot’s desire for his infant son to call him Papa. We stop for a tasty Thai lunch and samples of a range of beers, including the excellent Double Hazy and the beautifully branded Call Me Mama, a 5% witbier that has won multiple awards. Our final brewery – though there are still a few bars to follow – is United People’s Brewery, a revered spot in the north of Bangkok. There are 14 taps to choose from, but most of us order the Pacific Breeze, a jasmine rice Cold IPA brewed in collaboration with Barth Haas, and one of the best beers I tasted at Brew Asia. I briefly meet Prapavee Hematat, a powerhouse in the local beer scene. Better known as Bamee, she launched United People’s Brewery – a beer collective – with her husband Supapong Pruenglampoo in 2022 but is deeply involved in the wider Thai beer scene, co-founding a local distribution company that now exports to the US, and running Thailand’s Craft Beer Trade Association. I am left with a deep desire to spend longer exploring Bangkok’s beer scene. The passion of each of the brewers I meet spills over into the beers, which go down all too quickly in the city’s stifling, humid heat. Thailand is a blissfully affordable destination for South Africans to visit – and with no visa required. It’s long been known as a place for glorious beaches and great food. Now add a fascinating local beer scene into the mix and it becomes a no-brainer that it should be on your 2026 bucket list. Choose your queue at Chit Beer