Pint of local pride

We cannot be as cheap as the commercial beers but we also cannot be more expensive than the imported craft beers because then only a select few would be able to enjoy it. So, we had to make sure to land somewhere in between, says Lim. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

THE first time PaperKite Brewing Co founder Alvin Lim tried a sip of an Australian craft beer from Mornington Peninsula Brewery, he knew it was something he couldn’t keep to himself.

“I drank it and thought, ‘Wow, this was different’,” he remembers.

The brown ale, freshly hand-delivered from Melbourne by a cousin, made an instant impression. With elated eagerness, he rang up some bar-owning friends and told them he was bringing it over so that they could have a taste.

“I was told the craft beer was a very sensitive liquid, and that it’s unpasteurised and 100% natural, so I drove my car while holding up the opened bottle in front of the air-conditioner, just to make sure that it wouldn’t get warm,” he laughingly recalls.

The beer proved a hit with his friends, and soon enough he set up Taps Beer Bar at Changkat Bukit Bintang with his sister and three cousins — their own place dedicated to serving imported craft beers.

Thirteen years on, Lim is still introducing drinkers to the world of quality craft beer. Since its opening in 2011, Taps Beer Bar has remained an essential destination for the best and broadest selection of craft beer varieties.

The same team also happens to be behind MyBeer Malaysia, the nation’s largest importer and distributor of craft beer from around the world. Additionally, the business today also extends to a set of Japanese-focused outlets such as Takumi CraftBar in Lot 10 and The Gardens Mall.

For Lim, a good part of these 13 years has been devoted to cultivating an appreciation and demand for local craft beer in a market that had little familiarity with the genre.

“When we first started, the market was very new,” he explains. “Back around 2011, I would say we were the first to import from the craft breweries in countries all over the world like Australia, Denmark, England, USA and Japan.”

While it was initially a challenge to convince locals of the merits of craft beer over regular, efforts to educate and make a range of craft beer varieties more accessible here have clearly paid off. Lim observes that in the decade or so, the demographic of craft beer customers has shifted from a majority expatriate and tourist group, to one that consists of significantly more Malaysians.

The increased thirst for well-made craft beer was a welcomed development, but Lim felt there was still something missing. “When it came to Malaysia, we were drinking everybody’s beer except for our own, because we didn’t have any.”

A locally-made craft beer that proudly represented Malaysia was long overdue, and he was in the prime position to lead the charge.

An untapped market

Launched in 2022, PaperKite came onto the scene offering a selection of craft beers: A Pale Ale, a Copper Ale, an Oatmeal Stout and an IPA — all 100% brewed in Malaysia.

“We wanted to keep it local. All our brewers are Malaysians and our team is fully Malaysian,” Lim emphasises.

The transition from importing and selling craft beers to producing and marketing one’s own product was a considerable one, but the founder believes the prize is worth the effort. “It’s really hard work but we love it, because for us it’s all about national pride.”

It was certainly a boost in the right direction when PaperKite was announced as the recipient of two medals at the 2023 World Beer Awards last August. Its Copper Ale took home the gold in the ‘Bitter 4.5 to 5.5%’ category, while its Pale Ale won a silver in the ‘Pale Ale’ category.

“Of course, we entered in hopes of winning but it was a ridiculous idea because we were less than a year old at that time,” he recounts. “But what we did know was that we personally loved those beers, and that was why we made them.”

Along with a bronze medal win at the Asia Beer Awards 2023, the recognition on the global stage further galvanises the “Malaysia Boleh” ethos that Lim hopes to promote through PaperKite. This drive shines through various aspects of the business, from its local-culture centric marketing to its collaborations with homegrown brands.

“We wanted to show that Malaysians can do anything. Why do we have to model our branding after an overseas brewery? Instead, we can reference our coffee shops, our roadside eateries, our beaches...all these things are very local to us and intertwined with our culture,” he says.

Most recently, PaperKite partnered internationally recognised Malaysian film "Abang Adik" for a cinema screening event. Bar takeover collaborations have included pop-ups at Penang’s Backdoor Bodega and Ipoh’s Kikilalat.

“We choose places that exude a local vibe and sense of heritage, to make sure it’s synonymous with what we are doing,” he notes.

Beyond the pale

At the moment, PaperKite’s sights are firmly set on winning over more Malaysian craft beer drinkers through the quality of its products.

“For now, we’re definitely focusing on Malaysia because we want to be the local heroes in our own market before we start going outside our borders,” Lim says.

Positioning itself as a distinctly Malaysian brand catering to a Malaysian market, the business has had to pay particular attention to factors such as pricing. The founder shares that balancing the cost of quality beer ingredients with the desire to keep the products within reach of as many locals as possible is a key concern.

“We cannot be as cheap as the commercial beers because they are producing 90 times the volume that we do, but we also cannot be more expensive than the imported craft beers because then only a select few would be able to enjoy it. So, we had to make sure to land somewhere in between.”

On a broader level, the goal remains to shift local mindsets about craft beer. “A lot of the work is education — helping people see why they might want to forgo their usual lager beer and pay a little more for a better product in terms of taste and depth of flavours,” he says.

Because of Malaysia’s relatively young craft beer scene, PaperKite’s first set of offerings were deliberately kept to simple, classic beer styles.

“Yes, we have seen local palates develop from entry level to the most complex, but that’s only for the craft beer nerds. PaperKite was made to meet everybody’s taste buds and we wanted to make sure the general drinking population actually understood craft beer first before coming up with anything crazy.”

He continues, “We have a range of light to heavy options but nothing too complex. They have a good aroma, good aftertaste and they’re good to drink even when the temperature is warm.”

Future releases from the brand, however, might include craft beer creations infused with local ingredients and flavours, he shares. Customers can also expect canned versions of its beers sometime this year.

Meanwhile, Lim has been hard at work on projects like the recently opened Drafted beer garden in Penang, a laid-back premium beer spot dreamt up in partnership with the owner of Backdoor Bodega. Back in the Klang Valley, plans have been set in motion to establish an outlet specialising in fried chicken and beer.

As the local craft beer industry advances ahead, his hope is to show Malaysians that it is possible to find a world class product such as PaperKite right in their own backyard.

“It’s a tough challenge because we are very small and don’t have the budget that the big players do, but the bigger the challenge the more it pushes us to be better and more creative. Like a kite, the more resistance there is, the higher we fly."

This article first appeared in Star Biz7 weekly edition.