Tucked all the way at the end on the second floor of the Holland Road Shopping Centre in an otherwise very vibe-y neighbourhood - lets face it, it's not a store you'd just happen to walk by. If you're there, you already know of the secret beer oasis that is Beer Force, or you're a very stylish and well-heeled lady in her 40's getting her weekly manicure done after an hour long hair treatment at the salon, whilst shopping in between self-care sessions for antique wooden furniture for your landed estate.

From the outside, you're almost fooled to think this might be a little store with perhaps a couple of shelfs of beers and that'd be it - well, you'd be partially right. It is a tidy store that may not be big in square footage (it is an expensive neighbourhood after all), but step inside and you're definitely going to be marvelled at the wide selection. It packs every imaginable corner of the shop with beers or if not, it's at the least more beers in cartons. It is the living embodiment of every craft beer lover's room but manifested.

Here you'll find no small selection of good ol' American staples - many names you'll recognise as the early champions of the craft beer boom in 90's America. We're talking Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, Drake's, Stone, Revision, Trillium - the breweries that pioneered hop forward, New World fruit bomb IPA's, mega dank tanks, Hazy's, Session's and so much more - whether you're East Coast or West Coast they've got you covered.

And if you're not one for IPA's, there's also Gose pioneer, Anderson Valley. Or perhaps Imperial Stouts are your thing, in which case they've got a healthy stash of North Coast and Bruery.

Move on over to the next shelf and you'll see the same legends from the UK, with their NEIPAs, Hazy's, and Farmhouse ales - familiar names of equal legendary standing include Cloudwater, Brewdog, Verdant, Magic Rock, North, Thornbridge, Beak, Vocation - just to name a couple. I should be clear, the shop's got a revolving lineup that sports a consistently good mix of well-established names as well as newer, emerging breweries. Last week I saw some Sours from Siren, but this week it's all gone and in its place we've got some of Vault City's pastry laden brews.

If you're just starting out your beer journey, this is a great place to start because you'll find all of the benchmarks here, many of which have gone on to inspire many subsequent brewers - so this helps you get your bearings about what makes a good IPA, Stout, Sour, all that. And for seasoned folks, this is just a great place to re-stock or find some solid familiars. It's a place I honestly wish I knew sooner about and have appreciated as a newbie and a (sort of) seasoned beer fan.

I really appreciate the fact that the line-up of what's available is constantly changing and every two weeks when I drop by, I'm always going to find something new. For an island that doesn't have too many breweries of its own (we've got some serious players like Brewlander, as well as a solid stable of brewers who operate as nomads, borrowing equipment for their beers - but that's for another time), stores like Beer Force keeps the vibrance alive with a wide selection from around the world - lest you fancy yourself travelling all around the world picking up beers. 

Ah and if you thought for one second Beer Force only wants to dabble in already-established Western brews, you've got another thing coming. There's also a really solid abundance of Asian breweries being represented here - Hong Kong's Young Master Ales are always a consistent presence, as is Vietnam's Pasteur Street and Heart of Darkness (recently it was the first to bring in up and coming 7 Bridges!). The store's also seen Japan's Far Yeast Brewing and Hitachino, as well as South Korea's Seoul Brewery and Gorilla Brewing, just to name a few off the top of my head.

Given that we are in Singapore, you'll also find local brewers (which we mentioned above are going strong here!) such as Brewlander, Alive and Off Day, just to namedrop a couple. If you're a local, this works out well as it's one of the few places where you can get it by the can or bottle (without having to have it all on tap), and you get to buy it by the single can or bottle, rather than a six pack with shipping - this is a hack that took me far too long to discover. For those from out of of town dropping by Singapore, this is a good place to try some local beers before heading back.

These Asian brews are always fascinating to me because for one, you get to try their version of an IPA. IPAs are a useful yardstick (read: don't over rely on it!) to figuring what a brewery's sensibilities are - almost every brewery has one, so you'll get a sense of what their take is. But more importantly, you often see the blending in of a lot of the local and regional florals, fruits and flavours that are both interesting to see how it's made it's way into a beer, but also just all that nostalgia!

And even with floor to ceiling shelves and cartons stacked with craft beer cans, you'll find in center of the store, a couple of round tables and foldable chairs for you to enjoy your beers or even have a sesh with some friends - I honestly thought this was a very thoughtful concept, especially if you want to try a couple of beers on the spot.

To that end, they've even got a sizeable beer fridge (plus an extended smaller fridge next to it) where they have most of the beers available in stock chilled so you can enjoy them on the spot - like I said, this is a craft beer haven created clearly by a craft beer lover. I don't know who he or she is, but they've done a really neat job. 

Okay, we're back from our little detour on the interior design of the place and back to the beers.

Here they've got a sizeable stock of Australian and Kiwi (New Zealand) breweries represented as well - Cheeky Monkey, Rocky Ridge, Sailor's Grave, Mountain Culture (really hot right now) and Deeds (RIP) are some from Down Under. Kiwi breweries include Garage Project (obviously!), Parrotdog and Behemoth.

What I like about these New World craft beers is that they're obviously closer to the hops that fuelled alot of the craft beer boom - Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Kohatu, Nectaron - in my opinion, no one uses them better than the locals do, and I find that they've got just such a great handle on bringing the aromatics out without letting it get too dank. It always strikes me as walking into a forest or a greenhouse, with the bitterness never being overwhelming. The brews from Australia and Kiwi tend to be vibrant, more sessionable and juicy.

Great interview with Garage Project's co-founder Jos Ruffell here too!

Now, we come to the wild west that is European beers - boy, oh boy. First off, I must concede that I am a massive fan of traditional style European beers like Dubbels, Helles, Witbiers, Lambics, Marzens, Trappists. But I find that when we get to Europe, it's all bets off the table as to what is being produced. You've got the really traditional stuff like Geuzes and Lambics (at Beer Force you'll find Boon Geuzes, 3Fonteinen, Lindemans), Belgian Ales (Chimay, Delirium, Trappistes Rochefort, Westmalle, Orval, Duchesse), and then over on the other end, we're talking the maximalists modernist flavour bomb, pastry heavy, stuff like Brewski, Aben, Duckpond, Funky Fluid, Salama, just to name a couple of favourites. If you're not into IPAs, but more of a Sours or Pastry person, or even ciders and meads, this is the section for you.

It's an incredible wide spectrum - probably the widest of any region, really - of beer styles that range from Western Europe like Spain and Germany, to Eastern European super-underground breweries from Poland, Hungary, Romania and Estonia, and then all the way up to the Nordics from heavy hitters like Sweden, Finland and Norway. For me, Europe is truly the wild west where it's just impossible to characterise the beer landscape there, and there's just so much to discover. For that, I've always been rather appreciative of Beer Force bringing in a steady rotating supply of brews from all over Europe. I've heard they've once had a couple of Cantillons...

And if you're at Beer Force, but for some strange reason, you're not here for beers, well there's also a good selection of meads (adjacent to beers), as well as some whiskies, tequilas and gins. Oh I should mention there're some low ABV and no-ABV stuff here too.

All that said, I've been very happy to have found Beer Force, and I really thought I ought to share about the place given how much I wish I had known about it sooner, and how I've been a regular there since. I've always found something new, the prices have been reasonable and there's just an all round great selection from staple to emerging breweries from all around the world - it's probably the most diverse selection I've found in Singapore, and now you know where to find them too!

Happy hunting! 

Kanpai!

@111hotpot