Whenever I travel abroad, I always make it a point to try the most popular beer from other countries. I’ve been documenting the growth of the craft beer in the Philippines, but I’ve never written about the country’s mainstream or commercial beer brands. Mainly, it’s because I feel like all Pinoys know these beers already. I mean, beer drinking is considered a national pastime! But I realize that foreign backpackers and first-time visitors to the country may not be familiar with these beers yet, so I’m listing them down for reference.
The most popular beer brands in the Philippines are produced by two large breweries: San Miguel Corporation and Asia Brewery. Between the two, the beer scene is really dominated by San Miguel which was established in 1890 by the original San Miguel Brewery (renamed San Miguel Corporation in 1964).
Mainstream or commercial beers don’t taste as good as craft but are much cheaper and more widely available in most provinces and smaller islands around the country, making them a good choice for celebrations and extended drinking sessions. Here are the most popular / commonly available mainstream beers you can find in the country.
Table of Contents
San Miguel Pale Pilsen
San Miguel Pale Pilsen (5% ABV) is the oldest, most popular and most widely available beer in the country, commonly ordered in buckets in restaurants and bars. this is the largest selling beer in the Philipines which you can find almost anywhere. It’s your average, easy to drink .
For first-timers to the Philippines looking for the most famous and number one selling beer here, this is the most iconic beer you can get. Try to get it cold. This usually costs P50-60 in restaurants or P300 for a bucket of six.
Red Horse Beer
Another popular choice for those who want something stronger is Red Horse (6.9% ABV), the high-alcohol beer brand of San Miguel Brewery. Red Horse has a distinctive sweetish taste balanced by a smooth bitterness and a strong alcohol kick.
Red Horse Beer is widely available everywhere in Metro Manila bars and restaurants and is popular in the provinces. It comes in a regular 500ml size, the smaller Stallion (330ml), Litro (1000ml) and in cans (330ml). Be warned, drinking too much of this can lead to really nasty hangovers.
Gold Eagle Beer
Gold Eagle Beer (4.55%) is one of the harder-to-find mainstream beers in the country. I have not seen it being sold in Metro Manila, but I’ve come across it in some provinces in the Visayas region (Guimaras, Capiz, Antique and Iloilo) and in Mindanao (Sarangani, General Santos City). Gold Eagle Beer is moderately light bodied and generally easy to drink.
It actually tastes just like Pale Pilsen but with the very nostalgic branding associated with the 1990s when the beer was popular. Locals refer to this as “.” For those based in the metro, this is a rare find so it’s worth trying if you come across in the provinces. It comes in 3 bottle sizes: 320 ml, 750 ml 1000 ml.
Beer Na Beer Pale Pilsen
Beer Beer is Asia Brewery’s flagship beer meant to compete with the leading brand. In fact, the bottle, font design used looks quite similar to San Miguel Beer. Beer Beer is a fizzy beer meant for the country’s hot weather.
It’s kind of tasteless and there’s too much carbonation. It’s one of the cheapest beers around but usually isn’t served in restaurants. I’ve only come across this in a few grocery stores, sari-sari stores restaurants in the provinces. It’s another sort of rare find.
San Mig Light
San Mig Light or SML is the country’s leading beer with only 100 calories per 330ml serving and 5% ABV. It tastes very watered down but is easy to drink especially when paired with pulutan (beer chow). This is usually ordered by the bucket for extended drinking sessions.
You don’t get that bloated feeling so much drinking this as the other beers. It’s good enough for afternoon drinking sessions when you have no other choice. Tastes much better cold. This usually costs P50-65 in restaurants or P300 for a bucket of six.
San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer
A better option to Pale Pilsen is San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer (5% ABV), a smooth, full-flavored, slightly sweetish, golden, premium lager with balanced bitterness. It’s not as widely sold as the other San Miguel Beer variants and comes in green bottles and cans. I think it’s one of the -tasting options out there for commercial beers, though is more expensive (usually P80 in restaurants).
Cerveza Negra
Cerveza Negra is San Miguel’s Dark Beer, a full-bodied dark lager with rich caramel tones made from roasted malt. At 5% ABV, Cerveza Negra has the right balance of bitterness and sweetness and a creamy, frothy head. If you like stouts and porters, go for this. It’s not as widely available in restaurants as San Miguel Pale Pilsen and San Mig Light, but can be bought in selected grocery stores. It usually costs a bit more, about P70-80 in restaurants.
Brew Kettle
Brew Kettle (5.3% ABV) is a locally brewed Belgian witbier-style drink suited for the Philippine climate brewed by Asia Brewery. Take note, that’s “witbier-style” and not witbier. Based on the name, branding design of the beer label, you’d think this was craft beer, but if you’ve tasted the real thing, you’ll know it’s definitely not. Flavors are not that subtle. This has a very strong taste of spices of coriander and orange peel.
But Brew Kettle is easy enough to drink and cheaper compared to the real good witbier. Brew Kettle is becoming more widely available in food parks and restaurants around the metro catering to younger drinkers. You can also buy this in grocery stores and select convenience stores. It comes in bottles and cans.
Manila Beer & Manila Light
Manila Beer Strong (7%) and Manila Light (5%) are said to be brewed using 100% malt and is said to use only premium malt, noble hops water to ensure premium quality. I’m not sure if this beer by Asia Brewery has been discontinued totally, but I found it still being sold in Feb 2018 in a bar in Subic, Zambales. This is kind of hard to find in Metro Manila though.
San Miguel Super Dry
San Miguel Super Dry (5% ABC) is a light amber lager with strong, aromatic hop notes and flavors that give off an overall dry taste and an elegant quick finish. This isn’t as commonly sold in restaurants, though it’s available in select grocery stores. It’s not as popular as San Miguel Pale or Light though. No one really goes out of their way to order this.
San Miguel Brewery also produces San Mig Zero (2.6% ABV), a beer with only 60 calories designed for health and calorie conscious individuals who want to enjoy their beer guilt-free and San Miguel Flavored Beer (3% ABV), which comes in sweet fruity flavors (Apple and Lemon flavors & now Lychee). This kind of tastes more like soft-drinks than beer. They’re good enough for pairing with a meal in the afternoons.
Discontinued Beers
- San Miguel Strong Ice
- Halili Beer
- Beer Hausen Pale Pilsen
- Max Premium Beer
- Stag Pale Pilsen
- Lagerlite
- Admiral Beer
If anyone has any news about whether these beers are still available somewhere, please let me know in the comments section.
Now that you’ve tried the mainstream commercial beers, I highly recommend you try some of the country’s local craft beer, which tastes much better and has really interesting branding and labels that show different aspects of Philippine history, culture and destinations.
For a full guide and where to get local craft beer, be sure to check out my separate post: Craft Beers in the Philippines.