MANILA, PHILIPPINES — In the middle of the bustling streets of Pasig City, beer brewers gathered to celebrate Oktoberfest the best way they know how: good music, good company, and even greater variety of drinks. Though Oktoberfest, in itself, is an annual celebration of community, culture and moments made better with beer, MNL Beer Fest takes it another step further with a spotlight on local craft. Specifically, local craft brewers defining the country’s drinking scene today.
With this, October 13-15, 2023 saw some of the most prominent Filipino brewers gathering for this year’s Oktoberfest celebration at Capitol Commons Park, hosted by Ortigas Land, Capitol Commons, and annual organizers MNL Beer Fest. This year, adobo Magazine was invited by Jade’s Temple Brewery to get a broader look into the thriving community of craft beer brewers in the country at MNL Beer Fest 2023. And as gates opened at 4:00 pm, early guests started flowing in to cap off the work week with some hard-earned beer. This atmosphere of conversation, discovery and celebration went on until midnight throughout the three-day festival, setting the stage for a fun and lively weekend.
For any beer drinker, the event was an opportunity to meet up with friends (or make new ones) while surrounded by different craft beer options that are not as available in the market compared to other commercial brands. This year’s lineup boasted a lot of microbreweries and home breweries that beer enthusiasts may not easily find if they don’t know where to look; it’s even more difficult for these brands to be introduced to those who aren’t fond of drinking beer at all.
Jade’s Temple Brewery Co-founder Justin Filamor emphasized its commitment to the community by positioning itself as the entry point into the world of local craft beer. He underlined that it’s the brand’s target to be “a gateway for those who don’t drink beer” with unique flavors attuned to Filipino drinkers: refreshing, crisp, and inspired by popular tastes such as peach mango, black forest, mango, and more. Seasonal drink peppermint mocha also joined Jade’s Temple’s MNL Beer Fest lineup of drinks in honor of the nearing holiday season, plus the brand’s bestselling lager.
This is Jade’s Temple’s second year joining MNL Beer Fest. When asked why the brand opts to join this particular festival instead of other Oktoberfest celebrations, Justin underlined, “This is the best way to celebrate the craft beer community. It’s also the only Oktoberfest that caters to this size of craft beer [brewers.]”
True enough, the lineup of merchants this year brought together a diverse collection of brewers with unexpected ingredients and tastes. Some of the fun flavors the adobo team had the pleasure to taste test were: Marc’s & Tony Brewing Co.’s Choco Porter which, as the name suggests, takes on a chocolate-y flavor that surprisingly works with beer; Crows, the brand behind the Philippines’ first craft whiskey, and its unique Dalan Damn! flavor that’s refreshing with an alcoholic kick; Bulul’s smooth Pilsner lager; Oros Beer’s light Kolsh drink, which is the perfect drink for a quick night cap; and Nipa Brew Craft Beer‘s umani food pair.
Weekend Craft Ales, which got its name from being a passion project that the founder only worked on during the weekends,was also part of the event. It’s a proud member of the Manila Mashers Homebrew Club, which is a community of Filipino beer homebrewers, established back in 2015. Additionally, Treeline Ales, which won the inaugural Asia Brewers Network Brew King with the perfect vacation flavor Golden Sunshine just three months since launch, also offered its drinks at the event.
These local brewers, plus more MNL Beer Fest merchants not included in the above list, are active members of the craft beer community — friends and peers who have formed a camaraderie through their shared passion for craft beer-brewing and community-building. Many of these brands were notably established during the pandemic, which one of the brewers mentioned was a by-product of idle minds and hands during quarantine, when alcohol was inaccessible for most.
Cherry S. Genato, Founder of Lifestyle Riding and the organizer behind MNL Beer Fest, proudly introduced the adobo team to a lot of the event’s merchants to bring more brewers into the spotlight. For her, mounting the event is a passion project that gives her a sense of fulfillment in bringing together a community of like-minded individuals, and hopefully convert international beer drinkers to local craft beer enthusiasts.
Ortigas Land AVP & Head of Corporate Marketing Monique Castañeda also joined the conversation, saying: “Our objective is to bring together communities. We recognize that people have various passions and we want to touch on them. We want all our developments to be welcoming; we want the community to grow with us. We want them to feel at home. We enjoy a solid community in Pasig, and when you truly care for the community, you take care of their needs, their interests”
On top of engaging residents and guests with events such as MNL Beer Fest, Ortigas Land also emphasized the Ortigas Community Card, a digital membership that enable members with exclusive perks and privileges in various activities and efforts from their establishments, for free.
Undoubtedly, “community” is the most used word in this story, simply because it’s the banner that MNL Beer Fest, Jade’s Temple Brewery, and every other brewer in the lineup has used in driving forward their shared goal: creating a thriving band of enthusiasts in the Philippines that champion the distinct taste of Filipino ingenuity through carefully crafted beer.
Truly, Filipino creativity takes on more forms beyond just visual spectacles; it also engages taste buds, explores flavors, and sparks deeper conversations with every new round of drinks.
The full list of participating breweries includes: Crows Craft Brewing & Distilling Co., Treeline Ales, Bulul Brewery, Oros Brew Shop, Drink It Now Pare, Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery, Katipunan Craft Ales, Tukadon Craft Beer, Redondo Brew House & Chonggos Brewery of Manila Mashers Homebrew Club, Alcalde Brewery, Weekend Craft Ales, The Perfect Pint, Beer Bunny, Three Bulls Craft, Marc’s & Tony Brewery, Brewed Statement and featured beers Nipa Brew Craft Beer and Jade’s Temple. Additionally, a selection of Imported Beers, including Sapporo, Mahu, Estrella, and Heineken, Asahi were also on available.
