北朝鮮のビール工場Taedongang brewery

北朝鮮の衛星写真をカタログ化したアメリカの経済学者Curtis Melvinが、北朝鮮を訪問した観光客の撮ったビール工場の写真から北朝鮮のビール工場である大同江醸造所Taedongang breweryの場所をつきとめた。大同江醸造所は2000年にイギリスのアッシャー醸造所Ushers Breweryを所有者から買い取り解体してそのまま北朝鮮に移築したもので、もとのエールではなく各種ラガーを醸造している。ただ経済制裁が効果を出すなかで、醸造に必要な主要成分にも事欠いており、収穫時の籾殻までも醸造に使っているありさまだ。Curtis Melvinによればラガービールはまだ飲めるがRyesong beerはひどいもので飲むと金属のような後味がするという。最近北朝鮮テレビは初の商業的CMとして大同江ビールのコマーシャルを流している。

This unprepossessing building houses the Taedongang brewery on the outskirts of the North Korean capital. It was once the Ushers Brewery in Trowbridge in the UK. It was bought from the owners in 2000 and dismantled onsite in a matter of weeks by a team of North Koreans and British engineers. It was shipped over to North Korea and was up and running 18 months later. But rather than traditional ale, it now brews a series of lagers. Melvin says he located the brewery "after a tourist sent in a picture of the entry gate which is a very unusual shape. From the air it looks like a large M which I matched to a photograph from an official publication." He says the lager he tried when he was last in Pyongyang "had a full flavour" but others are less palatable. "Ryesong beer is pretty awful, leaving a distinct metallic taste," he says, adding: "In the capital, they drink a lot of beer but outside in the countryside, they prefer their traditional spirit drinks."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8110093.stm
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=777546&filename=North-Korea-Uncovered-17.kmz