Recently, Suwon added a micro brewery to its roster of awesome things. The Levee Brewery started up last year and currently has 5 beers on tap, with a list of about 7 others to be added in the coming months. There are good things and bad things about the place so far.
Good thing #1: They are trying to make a micro brewery in Suwon. With the horrible reputation that Korea has for making really crappy beer, the tides are finally starting to shift with the relaxing of laws. The former laws crippled any attempt of entering the market without an endless supply of chaebol money. I think they’re still a bit harsh, but at least it allows businesses like this to open, even if national distribution isn’t really on the table yet.
Good thing #2: It seems like they’re doing alright and will be around for a while. This will give them time to evolve and move on to more interesting beers in the long run.
Bad thing #1: The decor needs help. It’s a brewery/bar, but everything is a bit too new looking to be a bar and it currently has a faux rusticity about it. The lighting really bothered me because there’s just too much of it. It’s really bright for a bar and sort of feels like a restaurant.
Bad thing #2: The current selection of beer is a little weak. Like I said, there are 10 more that are going to be made in the future and some of them sound very exciting (whisky ale). The current offerings appeal to a more Korean palate, which makes sense since they have to ween people off of crap.
I tried two beers. I had the Castle Rye and the Pale Ale. I’ve had nothing but Indica IPA for the past year or so, so I’m a bit biased in what I like beer to taste like (bitter/hoppy). So to me, I thought the beers were a bit weak tasting. Like I said before though, it’s in their best interests to please the local neighborhood Koreans to build a client base. There aren’t too many foreigners that live around the area, so it’s go to attract a local base to survive. A lot of people in the foreigner community really like their beers, though, so don’t take my opinion too seriously. I’m really excited that they have an IPA, as well as an American pale ale, on schedule. They also have food (pizza and sausages), a pool table, and dartboards. I think it’s definitely worth going to and seeing for yourself.
UPDATE: They’ve added the IPA beer as of January 30th, 2014.
It’s located in Mangpo-dong, so if you live in or near Yeongtong, it’s pretty close. Click on the map link for a pretty good idea of how to get there. You can take any bus towards Blooming Apartments (if anyone knows what those are specifically, then leave a comment) and their site says that you can get their by taxi if the driver is in a good mood.
Ramen Water 