One of the first words that any passionate beer lover will need to learn is ‘Maek ju,’ since beer in Korea is popularly known as ‘Maek ju’ in the local language. Beer was introduced in Korea by Europeans as recently as the middle of the 20^th century. Rumour has it, that Korean beer industry sky rocketed in popularity when American troops were fighting in South Korea during the Korean War which had taken place between North and South Korea during the 1950’s. The American troops influenced many other Korean natives to turn to beer as a substitute to their Korean rice wines. Thus, this highly commercialised western drink started becoming a popularity in Korea, slowly but surely.

Korean beers are popular with the youth in Korea as is the case in almost all other countries across the world. The main point of differentiation which distinguishes beer in Korea from the beers coming from any other part of the world is the fact that most Korean beers are brewed from fermented gelatinous rice (Stick textured rice, mainly found in the Far East). The biggest beer baron in the South Korean market is the Oriental Brewery Company (which owns both ‘Cass’ and ‘O.B’) which is followed closely by the Hite Brewery Company Limited. The famous local brands of beer found in Korea are:

1)      Cass

2)      Hite

3)      O.B. (Oriental Breweries)

4)      Max

5)      Stout

Other than these beers, there are also a few smaller brands like Cafri, 2X, Cass Red and Red Dog. These smaller brands of Korean beers come from micro-breweries which have sprung up across all regions of South Korea in just the last decade. A few foreign brands of beer also exist in the Korean beer market; some of these foreign brands are Heineken, Budweiser, Leffe, Tsingdao and Asahi. Many experts suggest that the locally brewed beers in Korea do not match up to the quality of other beers available around the world, but lets not forget that the Korean  ‘Maek ju,’ has a very distinctive flavour and a much smoother texture than the rest of the beers since they are brewed from rice. Besides, local Korean beers are also much cheaper than beers which have been imported from abroad.

Almost all the local beers available are lager in nature, the alcohol content in them is only about four and a half percent. The beer in Korea is often sold in half liter bottles called byeongs, cans are rarely seen though they are also used. In most pubs and cafes around Korea, the beer is from one single company and kept in large kegs and given in five hundred milli-liter glasses called ‘Oh-Baek’. In Korea, a five hundred milli-liter glass or bottle is termed as ‘pint‘.

When drinking in Korea, it is common to start drinking with a salutation, the easiest of the salutations to remember is, “Gonebi!” which is pronounced as “gun bay”. It literally means, “Drain your glass,” and rest assured, you will certainly be expected to do so.

Surprisingly, commercial beer is also found in the communist bastion of North Korea. This beer is sold in the name of Taedonggang beer. It recently came into the limelight following an advertisement launched for it, which was in complete contrast to communist ideologies. The advertisement went on to call Taedonggang beer the “Pride of Pyongyang” and said that the beer would soon become a familiar picture in the lives of all North Koreans. This beer has started brewing as recently as the year 2002.

So hope you enjoy your ‘Maek ju,’ in Korea!!

- Shishir Rao

Frostop Root Beer is a beverage which falls under the soft drink category. Frostop Root Beer is a widely popular brand of root beer. In the beginning, Frostop Root Beer was produced by L.S. Harvey a citizen of Springfield which is located in Ohio. Frostop Root Beer was first produced in 1926.

Frostop Root Beer was initially sold in roadside stands and drive – in restaurants. The brand Frostop Root Beer also sells Crème Brulee – Style Soda. This soda has a unique taste to it. It is actually a cream soda but it also carries a twist of caramel taste in it. This soda is sold in one liter pet bottles. The cost of this soda is only 99 cents.

This root beer became immensely popular and its sales sky rocketed. Due to shortage of supplies like flavors, sweetening agents, equipment and building materials during World War II its sales were curtailed. Mr. L.S. Harvey believed that Frostop Root Beer as the finest brand of Root Beer ever manufactured. Therefore after the World War II, L.S. Harvey did all that he could to expand his chain of Frostop Root Beer stands. In the ownership of Mr. L.S. Harvey the brand experienced immense growth. The countryside was full of the brown and yellow neon lit Frostop Root Beer stands. The stands even included a revolving root beer mug on top. The country people enjoyed the beer immensely and soon it became popular with people of all ages.

Frostop Root Beer products are known to be devoid of any caffeine. This beverage is so widely loved because it has maintained it unique taste of the 1950s. It is still has the same old smooth and creamy flavor. It still gives you the same old heady feeling that it used to give 60 years back. It is percolated through herbs, various barks and berries, pure vanilla essence, caramel and other sweeteners.

Frostop Root Beer has one of the most matchless packaging styles. It is available in brown glasses and long neck beer bottles in most restaurants, delis, grocery stores, and convenience stores. But it is best enjoyed in the classical frosted beer mug. The brand is still going strong. And it is available in Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon. Frostop Root Beer has also introduced new flavors like Diet Frostop Root Beer Root Beer and Diet Frostop Root Beer Cream Soda. Frostop Root Beer also sells its own Root Beer Float Kits, Glass Mugs, Coasters, Tap Handles, Jackets, Hats, T-Shirts, Denim Shirts, Stickers and Buttons.

The Frostop Root Beer has survived throughout the ages and is still enjoyed by all people. It is still available in those old signature brown bottles. It has survived the test of time.

- Seema Khinnavar

The brand Frostie Root Beer dates back to 1939. The brand was earlier owned by Mr. George Rackensperger of the Frostie Beverage Company which is located in Catonsville, Maryland. Mr. George Rackensperger became the President of Frostie Root Beer Company in 1939 and he wanted to open his own bottling plant. So he rented an old discarded jail house in Catonsville, Maryland. He used the jail house’s garage to set up the bottling tools and equipment. He very efficiently improvised and used the jail cells to store sugar crowns. It was in this simple jail house that the big brand of Frostie Root Beer was born.

The brand of Frostie Root Beer grew very popular and was widely accepted by customers all over. The volume of sales sky rocketed and consumer acceptance grew so rapidly that the jail house became insufficient for the production of Frostie Root Beer. Therefore, Mr. George Rackensperger built a new modern plant and bought up to date machinery along with it. The popularity of Frostie Root Beer grew so much that, various distributers in nearby countries were given the authority to put Frostie Root Beer up for sale. Due to the ever increasing popularity of Frostie Root Beer, the distributers were even given the authority to bottle the Root Beer themselves. This is how the brand of Frostie Root Beer became a franchised beverage.

In 1947, The Frostie Beverage Company organized a parent organization to look after the selection of the Frostie Root Beer’s manufacturers. The franchise expanded and spread throughout Maryland and it was spreading even beyond Maryland. The brand was made popular only due to its unique and refreshing taste. The fans of Frostie root Beer did the rest by spreading the brand’s popularity by word of mouth. Frostie Root Beer began spreading across England. New staff was added to the existing staff and the expansion of the franchise was done in a very methodical and planned manner. Therefore, in the earlier stages, there was a huge and a stable growth of the brand. Now the appointed bottlers were even allowed to handle the Frostie Root Beer syrup for selling the beer through vending machines and fountains.

Today, the rights of the brand of Frostie Root Beer are owned by Leading Edge Brands which is located in Temple, Texas. Leading Edge Brand is the place where the bottling of Frostie Root Beer is done. Leading Edge Brand then sells the Frostie Root Beer to various distributers spread across the country.

Earlier, Mr. George Rackensperger used Cane sugar in the drink. Later with new and modern machinery, high fructose corn syrup was used in the drink. But the taste did not remain the same and there was negative customer feedback. Hence cane sugar was again used as the main sweetener for the Root Beer.

The flavor of Frostie Root Beer is very light and it has a sweet vanilla fragrance to it. A lot of customers now complain that Frostie root Beer is not what it used to be. But the drink is still hugely popular in England.

- Seema Khinnavar

The name of the company was changed to “Faygo” in 1921 since the original name was too long to be printed on the bottles. The original flavors of the drinks included – fruit punch, strawberry and grape; which they had derived from their cake frosting recipes.

In 1922, the brothers bought their first ford truck with which they started to home deliver their products the very next year.

The company was transferred by the Feigenson brothers to their sons in the 1940s. Ten years later Faygo started advertising for its soft drinks through radio and television. The advertisements on television included a fictional character called the ‘Faygo Kid’ which was an animation in the form of a cowboy, used for promoting the brand’s Old-fashioned Root Beer.

The soft drinks couldn’t be sold in far off places due to its limited shelf life in the beginning, which was corrected by chemists hired by company later. After this, in the late 1950s the drinks could be sold out of Michigan due to its expanded shelf life. In 1960s the company came up with the ‘One Calorie Faygo Pop’ which was considered to be the most delicious “diet” drink around. The word started to spread and people from other states too started demanding for this drink.

The 1960s and 70s also saw the expansion of the company through wide advertising and link up with the broadcasts of the famous baseball team – Detroit Tigers. At the same time Faygo also came up with a song for its promotion, called the ‘Faygo Boat Song’ which was used in a commercial featuring “everyday people”. This song became extremely popular among its audience. The company was later sold in 1987 to the National Beverage Corporation.

In 1998 Faygo opened its ‘Faygo POPshop’ over the internet for the Faygo fans who had moved to cities where Faygo wasn’t available.

After more than a decade Faygo Beverages started to sell a brand of non-carbonated drinks which they named ‘Ohana’ (literally meaning “family” in Hawaiian). Faygo Beverages celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007 and launched its very own ‘Centennial Recipe Book’ to mark the occasion.

The Bon Appetite Magazine ranked Faygo Root Beer as one of the best American tasting root beer in its September issue of 2009.

Faygo still continues to be a favourite among many and even persists to add brand new forms of drinks to its already large collection. In 2009 Faygo also came up with its new website – www.faygo.com.

- Shaan