Drinks in Myanmar Enjoy Burmese Beers and Spirits

Drinking habits in Myanmar

You’ll find that locals (mainly men) are fond of drinking and would happily sit down to a friendly round of beers with a foreigner. You’ll have no difficulty in finding a beer station or a restaurant serving local and foreign brewed beer and spirits at any time of the day and during the early hours of the night.

However you’ll hardly see any local women at any of these beer stations as it is still a new concept for women to mingle with men in the way we do in the west.

 

Myanmar Beers

Myanmar brewed larger beer selection is surprisingly good according to Asian standards.

  • Myanmar Beer, the most favored among many foreigners visiting the country
    • Green label (5% alcohol), White label (7.7% alcohol)
  • Mandalay Beer, Popular among locals as well as foreigners.
    • Blue label ( 5% alcohol), Red label (7% alcohol)
  • Dagon Beer, The newest addition to Burmese beer collection.
  • Spirulina Beer, Diet beer for the health conscious.

All these come in 330ml cans, 640ml and 750ml bottles, and on draught.

 

Spirits

  • Rum is surprisingly cheaper than beer in Myanmar. Mandalay Rum and Myanmar rum are the most commonly available products.
  • Whisky is also cheaper than beer in Myanmar. Grand Royal Whisky is widely available.
  • Toddy (htan ye), you have to try this local brew, which is fermented from the sap of locally grown palm trees to get a real taste of the rural life of Myanmar. You’ll be definitely offered a swig or two as a friendly gesture whenever passing a toddy distilling spot on your trips through the country side.
  • Wine is generally more expensive than any of the other brews.
    • Myanmar boasts of two of its own vineyards near Inle lake. A visit would refresh you not only with its fresh winery but also with its breath taking landscapes.
    • Western wine can be enjoyed at western style bars and hotels in and around main cities.

To find out prices please go to budget

 

Where to drink

  • Beer Stations
    • These can be called the base of Myanmar drinking culture, where locals (rather only men) gather around wooden benches in the simple open air huts to chat, watch European football (surprisingly popular among locals) or just chill out while sipping a mug of local beer.
  • Western style bars
    • Some beach resorts and hotels in the main cities like Yangon boast of some western style bars that stay open till late night. New bars and pubs are coming to life every month in the background of the booming tourism.

 

Night life

Due to unreliable electricity supply and years of social, political and economic isolation the concept of night life is still new (except in up end hotels and main cities). However things are changing at a rapid phase as people are becoming wealthier and are getting more and more exposed to the world outside their country.

To find out the latest developments in Burmese night life, please visit the following:

Burma Nightlife Where to Drink

Like us on Facebook to get the latest updates in Myanmar