Jeju Beer Company 'Chi-eers! Chicken Ale' Review

Chi-eers! Chicken beer anyone? I had chicken for dinner tonight and thought it would be a great opportunity to try this Jeju Beer Company Chi-eers! Chicken Ale that I bought a few days ago. Beautiful golden amber with great head formation, this beer's aroma was a pleasant surprise.

'Chi-eers! Chicken Ale' Tasting Notes

Upon initial whiff, I immediately thought it was floral-dominated with a citrus undertone. I expected some sort of fried chicken seasoning aroma, considering the beer is called Chicken Ale, but thankfully, the beer was only called this because it was crafted to pair with Korean fried chicken.

According to the Untappd mobile app, this beer is described as lemon, light, passion fruit, and wheat. After seeing this, I can affirm these tastes describe this beer. My initial impression was floral with citrus, but the flavor can also be interpreted as lemony passion fruit. I recommend giving it a try and let us know what flavor profile this beer most represents to you. This beer has a moderate effervescent mouthfeel that is light and refreshing.

The Cultural Notes Behind 'Chi-eers! Chicken Ale'

Why would Jeju Beer Company create a beer specifically crafted and marketed to pair with chicken? As many know, craft beer culture is gaining rapid traction in Korea, but the chicken and beer pairing culture has been popular for many years. It is referred to as 치맥 or "chi-maek," which is an abbreviation for "chicken" and 맥주 or "beer" in English. Several restaurants specialize in beer and chicken pairing and there are even large chi-maek festivals, at least pre-COVID. Traditionally, the big conglomerate brewers, such as Hite or Cass, dominated the chi-maek scene, but it appears some craft brewers are challenging the status quo.

Would I Drink 'Chi-eers! Chicken Ale' Again?

This beer was absolutely delicious and I would recommend it as a good summer beer or even trying it was some Korean fried chicken. I was kind of hoping for a chicken-flavored beer, but at the same time, I am glad Jeju Beer did not go overboard with obscene novelty flavors.

Where I found this Craft Beer

Picked this up in a "4 for 10" or four beers for ￦10,000 promotion at a local CU store. Check the Chi-eers! Chicken Ale out and expand your beer palate to include floral, fruity varieties! Don't pay so much attention to the chicken branding. This beer is definitely good as a stand-alone drink, not paired with 닭.Thanks for taking the time to read this review and thanks for your support to The Pyeongtaek Craft Beer Society. Also, Chi-eers! to Pyeongtaek Food & Fun for letting us share.

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