Page 62 - Thirst Magazine Issue 2 June 2017

A BEER

IMPORTER’S

MEMOIR

From freight terminologies to how beer reacts when being shipped in a dry
container versus a refrigerated container, this was all very alien to us.

By Alvin Lim

t all started 5 years ago over a few drinks One of the biggest problems we face when
when my cousins and I decided that we importing direct from breweries is that we
should open a bar, but we did not know what have to pre plan our orders months in advance.
sort of a bar this was going to be. Then early It normally takes about 4 to 6 weeks for the
Ione morning I received a phone call from container to arrive and a month to finalise the
Aaron. “We are going to open a craft beer order with the brewery, but we also have to add
bar!” Back then there were no dedicated craft the time it takes for us to clear Customs. That’s
beer bars that we could look to locally to see if the part where the timeline isn’t fixed. It can be
craft beer would be an easy sell and of course a week, it can be 3 weeks or at times a month or
no local importer that we could buy the beers so. This will disrupt our supply to our distributed
from. It became obvious that we had to import outlets and also our cashflow. Let me remind you
the beers ourselves as well. that most of the breweries do not do credit terms.
Apart from setting up our first outlet, It’s cash before shipment, the beers will not leave
we needed to learn how to import alcohol the brewery if the full amount hasn’t been paid.
from various countries. We had to contact After all the groundwork had been done,
the breweries to find out what was required we needed to sell these craft beers to café’s,
to enable us to import their products into restaurants and supermarkets. This was another
Malaysia. From freight terminologies to how challenge because it was as difficult as trying to
beer reacts when being shipped in a dry sell a fridge to an Eskimo. Nobody knew what
container versus a refrigerated container, this craft beer was and why these beers were more
was all very alien to us. expensive than even the imported German beers.
As with all businesses there are bound to be We had to go door to door with samples and try
challenges starting up. We needed a coldroom convincing outlets that these are great products
warehouse to keep the beers, and these but because they were comparatively expensive,
things are not cheap. We also had to apply for nobody would pick them up.
multiple business licenses just to start trading, Is it much easier importing and selling beers
license for housing alcohol and license for now compared to what it was when we started?
distributing alcohol. And as you can imagine, Well, there are the good days and the bad days.
these licenses were not easy to obtain. Up until today we still face some of the same
It was certainly difficult in the beginning problems that we faced when we first started,
but we managed to survive and get through such as stock being held up at Customs for no
our first order of a full 20 foot container from apparent reason and the time it takes for us to
Australia. That was a lot of beer as we soon clear Customs and sent to our warehouse. Some
found out when the container arrived and friends will always ask why are we still doing it?
we could not sell the beers at our outlet fast We do it because we love craft beer and we are
enough. So the next logical step was to start addicted to the process. We do not see ourselves
distributing and that was about to prove to be a doing (or drinking) anything else. Welcome to
daunting task too. the craft beer revolution.

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