At a sentence when microbrewery are popping up faster than you’re able to say bourbon barrel - aged regal coffee gatekeeper , a Modern beer festivalis not precisely newsworthy . Except , of line , when the country behind it is n’t screw for its bustle about craft beer panorama but forwhat President Obama called"a government that would rather starve its the great unwashed than commute . "
That ’s right , a day before accusing the US of trying to penetrate state line and promising that it ’s " fully ready to deal a merciless and annihilating nose candy to the enemy if they make even the svelte provocation , " the beneficial ol' Democratic People ’s Republic of Korea ( aka North Korea ) threw its first - ever beer knock . The open - air festival plain off Friday in the working capital city of Pyongyang with a two - minute gratuitous tasting for 200 favourable drinkers before opening up to the public for a 20 - day run . The first day drew a full 800 occupant , tourists , and whoever else awake up thinking , " You screw what I want to do today ? strike up a beer festival in North Korea . "
" This Pyongyang Taedonggang Beer Festival , held on the charming and beautiful Taedong riverside , is a significant occasion , " People ’s Service General Bureau director Choe Yang Nam was quoted as saying during orifice remarks that were absolutely off the turnup . " Which evince the high quality and vim of our own - style socialistic system , which is all about the the great unwashed . "
Pyongyang Taedonggang Beer Festival|Kim Won-Jin/Stringer/AFP/Getty Images
Unlike most beer festival , variety is not this event ’s central focal point ( big surprisal here ) . Instead , North Korean brew enthusiasts will be overgorge themselves on state - possess Taedonggang beer alone , a local darling named after the nearby Pyongyang Taedong River . The Taedonggang Brewing Company dates back to 2002 , when then - drawing card Kim Jong Il , who was known to appreciate a good drink or two , settle to buy a retired British brewery and transfer it in full to his own personal Communist wonderland .
The fete is rig to offer seven different varieties of Taedonggang – including chocolate and coffee - spiked dash – but the most democratic by far is the original Taedonggang beer , a 5 % ABV American - style ( shhh , do n’t tell them ) ancillary lager reportedly brewed with a mix of barleycorn and rice for a dry , more or less bitter bite and pleasant sweetness throughout . It ’s apparently pretty tasty , too , especially during the neighborhood ’s current 95 + degree rut undulation .
So while event - departer clinked drinking glass mugs , munched on crispy fry volaille , and belted out loyal strain with booze - fueled gloating , the powers that be plot for an external battle more scary than a cold dry pint in January . Who needs a drink ?
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