Ko Khant, a company employee, is busy with a phone making arrangements to meet up with his friends.  Previously he could only meet them once a month but since last month he has been able to spend time with them mostly every Saturday evening.

A beer station is the popular rendezvous for him and his friends. 

“Being a holiday, everyone is busy during the day with personal matters but in the evening all are free and is the most convenient time to meet.  So we all go to a beer station as they mostly open till late hours and spend our time.  Being able to order anything that we want, it’s convenient for all of us,” Ko Khant explains of the joy he gets from going to a beer station.

Although there is a variety of spirits, wine and other beverages apart from beer, he says that they only drink beer. 

The reason he says is although how much they may consume, they never get drunk.

“We don’t want to get drunk.  Just eat, drink and chat.  Beer makes you a bit dizzy but it gives the right feeling to have a conversation.  If one in the group gets drunk it spoils the party.  Luckily we don’t have any one in our group who gets buzzed up,” he says.

In Myanmar culture, although beer or hard liquor was only meant for males in the past, these days it is common to see many girls drinking together with male.

Among them, is Ma Wai Wai, who works as a part time guide.

“I don’t want to accept the logic of beer or liquor should only be for males and not females. I can drink and never get drunk.  Some get drunk and make a fool out of themselves. If you know your limit and can control yourself it is fine to drink.  It only depends on the individual,” says Ma Wai Wai expressing her opinion on females drinking beer.

“Every female should know the person whom she will be drinking and spending the evening.  It should be a reliable person who would not take any advantage.  Anyway it is most important to trust yourself and know your limit.  Never drink till you lose control,” she edit.

“They say that females can drink wine but not beer being an alcoholic beverage and not suitable for girls.  There are many who say that wine is produced for girls but that is not true.  Some say wine will not make you drunk but when you consume about three glasses you get blasted” she says while chuckling. 

Drinking beer and chatting makes the conversation livelier. But if there is someone in the group who gets boisterous just by drinking a glass or two it can create unpleasantness for the rest.

Actually Ko Min Thu doesn’t drink.  But as all his friends decided to go to a beer station he accompanied them.

“My father is quarrelsome and during my childhood, I had to suffer whenever he got drunk, so in my subconscious mind I hated liquor.  I, myself never drink.  Then when someone gets drunk and starts acting quarrelsome I don’t like it,” Ko Min Thu explains his feelings.

But he is lucky that there is no one in his group who gets quarrelsome during a night out.

In Myanmar, drinking beer among the younger generation became more popular only after 2010.  Instead of drinking in shops or restaurants now the locations have changed to parks or banks of the lakes where groups of boys get together and drink.

A few months back there were a lot of comments on facebook about police going around Yangon and warning those to stop drinking in parks or on banks of the lakes.

As demand for beer has increased, international brands like Heineken, Carlsberg, Tuborg have made their way into the local market.

“Lately, I’ve changed my way of drinking beer to just twice a week. Due to age and work pressure I stop drinking like before.  After drinking although you wake up the next morning without any hangover, by afternoon you become weak and lose energy to work.  So drinking beer does not go well with my job,” says Ko Thi Ha, a company employee.

Drinking beer has become a pastime for the younger generation. Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times

Drinking hard liquor makes me feel even more difficult the next morning. So I changed to beer with low content of alcohol instead of hard liquors he added.

Some don’t drink due to health reason or religious restrictions but there are some who just don’t as they are not fond of it.

Although there may still be those who avoid beer, most of the youths in Myanmar will continue drinking beer in the future.

That is because nowadays due to daily workload or other pressures, the younger generation spend their evenings at beer stations or pubs just to let off some steam and relax, so this culture will surely continue into the future. 

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/tradition-drinking-beer.html