Recipe: Sour City Hua Lamphong Somtum Ale

Featuring dried shrimp, salted crabs, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, tamarind paste, tomatoes, peanuts, and bird’s eye chiles, this one’s not for vegetarians... or anyone with a peanut allergy... or a shellfish allergy... or anyone who doesn’t like “spicy.” But that’s Thai food for you.

By Supapong “Toon” Preunglampoo

September 18, 2025

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Recipe: Sour City Hua Lamphong Somtum Ale

Supapong “Toon” Preunglampoo, founder of the Sandport brand and head brewer at United Peoples Brewery in Bangkok, shares this recipe for a beer with nearly all the ingredients that go into somtum, Thailand’s popular spicy papaya salad. Sour City is a collab side project that includes Bangkok’s Sandport, Group B Beer, and Baan Bangkok, plus Hong Kong’s Yardley Brothers; their goal is to experiment with and showcase Thai flavors in beer form.

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.049 (12.2°P)
FG: 1.011 (2.8°P)
IBUs: 14
ABV: 4.6%

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