Beer from Mongolia, Golden Gobi

A Journey to Mongolia with Beer

An enchanting travel destination where you can gaze at the stars from a ger on the steppe, journey across the endless desert, and savor unique and delicious food?Mongolia. The land of vast steppes and blue skies, Mongolian beer has landed in Korea. The star of the show is Golden Gobi Beer, named after the Gobi Desert, the largest desert in Asia spanning Mongolia and China.

Golden Gobi Beer holds a 90% market share among various local beer brands in Mongolia. It is produced by ‘APU,’ a company that has been manufacturing beverages and alcoholic drinks in Mongolia since 1924. Born in 2003, Golden Gobi Beer is a pilsner-style beer brewed according to the German Beer Purity Law, which mandates the use of only water, hops, malt, and yeast. It has also won the ‘Best Asian Beer Award’ at the World Beer Competition. The alcohol content is 5.1%.

The golden can, reminiscent of the blazing sun over the desert dunes, bears the name ‘Golden Gobi’ written in Mongolian. The premium beer label at the top of the can and the illustration of a desert camel catch the eye. On the side, in red lettering, there is a script rarely seen elsewhere. It is the classical Mongolian script called ‘Mongol bichig,’ which was used in Mongolia before the adoption of the Cyrillic alphabet. In this language, the words ‘Altan Gobi,’ meaning ‘Golden Gobi,’ are inscribed. Even before opening the can to drink, just a brief glance at the design evokes a strong sense of exotic charm.

Poured into a glass, it shows a clear and transparent golden hue. The foam seems to form richly but quickly disappears. As it was my first time trying Mongolian beer, I took a sip with a pounding heart, expecting a refreshing, cool, and somewhat intense flavor, but it was rather mild. The carbonation was weakly sharp, and overall, it was light yet smooth. The taste was somewhat bland compared to the lager flavor we usually expect. The bitterness and grain flavor were mild, while the sourness was strongly noticeable. It was a unique and unfamiliar taste. While tasting it, I recalled Taiwan Beer Gold Medal from Taiwan, which I introduced previously. Both are light and mild, but Golden Gobi Beer has a slightly stronger acidity than Taiwan Beer Gold Medal.

My first experience with Mongolian beer, Golden Gobi. As someone who enjoys beers with refreshing carbonation and rich grain aroma, I felt that the coolness that blows away the heat was present throughout the tasting, but the flavor was somewhat lacking. However, the eye-catching golden packaging and the exotic sentiment conveyed by the classical Mongolian script were truly impressive. If you want to embark on a world tour through beer at home or are curious about the taste of beer from Mongolia, I think this is a beer worth trying at least once.

Photo by Bomi Kim