After vacating their original premises at DECK on Prinsep Street, and their later taproom at Purvis Street, Danish craft beer brewery Mikkeller is back on our shores, this time taking over a hawker stall at Chinatown Complex Food Centre, formerly occupied by Smith Street Taps and Friends, an extension of Smith Street Taps that continues to operate a couple stalls down.
Mikkeller’s new joint was officially launched on 2nd March by industry veterans Kuok Meng Chao and Daniel Goh, who worked closely with the Copenhagen team to launch this ‘World’s Smallest Mikkeller Bar’, with 10 beers on tap alongside a curated selection of packaged beers from Mikkeller, international and local breweries. It is also the first to be set within a UNESCO
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
“Smith Street Taps remains a place for people to discover and enjoy well-crafted beers. We’re excited to be working with Mikkeller, a brewery known for its experimental and novel brews, with the added bonus of Chinatown’s famed hawker fare,” says Kuok. Mikkeller Bar Singapore General Manager Sylvester Fedor (previously Group Manager of Mikkeller Bangkok) adds, “We hope customers will love the concept, and encourage our search for another space to grow the Mikkeller brand locally.”
The choice to open within Chinatown Complex Food Centre was in part due to the location’s history, alongside the diversity of food available to patrons, allowing them to pair hawker classics, with Mikkeller’s world-class brews. “I am excited for Mikkeller to open up at this unique location in Singapore and to work with our new great partner to bring our beers to locals. Hawker stalls and street food is a part of Asian culture that I really love. This is a fun and novel environment for us, and will be a good addition to our other locations in South East Asia,” says Mikkel Bjergsø, Mikkeller’s Founder and Chief Creative Officer.
International Mikkeller bars embrace the host country’s motifs in detail, with Mikkeller Bar Singapore being no different. Mikkeller Bar Singapore’s logo sees the brewery’s mascot, Henry, in a Merlion costume – the mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish is a national symbol of the city state. Across Asia, Mikkeller operates bars in Bangkok, Tokyo and Seoul and will soon open a second location in Shanghai.
For this Singapore outlet, the six sqm (65 sq ft) stall draws on Scandinavian aesthetics and playfully works around the spatial and aesthetical restrictions of a hawker centre. YeoGray Design Studio pairs green square-tiled walls and flooring with light wood and clean lines. Both the signboard and chalkboard menu display pay homage to the signature Mikkeller style adopted by Mikkeller bars around the world.
Highlights of the opening tap list include Do Stuff Together (4.9% ABV), a hazy New England pale ale brimming with tropical and citrus fruits, and the quaffable Japanese Rice Lager (5% ABV) with its citrus, hay and jasmine-like notes.
The Space Race Gluten Free Hazy IPA (6.7% ABV) comes jam packed with hops for a hazy glow and a ripe, tropical fruit basket of flavours that will please both the gluten-tolerant and -intolerant alike. Dark beer lovers can look forward to the Kaffestout (6% ABV) for its deep roasted coffee notes matched with a velvety mouthfeel.
With 10 rotating taps and a well-stocked list of packaged beers, Mikkeller Bar Singapore will
see more specials from Mikkkeller’s breweries in Denmark to San Diego, as well as breweries that are friends with the brand. Highlights in the coming weeks include the imperial oatmeal stout Beer Geek Fudgesicle (12% ABV) brewed with cocoa, vanilla and butterscotch, the Spontan series of spontaneously fermented sour ales aged in oak barrels (from one to three years), and highly sought-after brews from Vermont’s Hill Farmstead Brewery.
With the launch of Mikkeller in Singapore, the local chapter of Mikkeller Running Club (MRC) continues their tradition on the first Saturday of the month. Established in 2014 with the philosophy that enjoying great beer and doing a bit of physical activity can help members find balance in life, it boasts various routes, pace and distances suitable for all types of runners. Participants are also rewarded with a complimentary beer at Mikkeller upon completing the run.
Mikkeller Bar Singapore is located at #02-058 (Green Zone), Chinatown Complex, 335
Smith Street, Singapore 050335. They are open Tuesday-Friday, 5.30pm to 10.00pm and on
Saturday, 2.30pm to 10.00pm. More information available on their Facebook or Instagram, where updates on the taplist, special events and more will be published.
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