Water & Soil

In July, Manila's thermometer hits around 30°C (86°F) during the day, and the nights bring little relief. There's no rock-cut cellar here like in Franconia or Bohemia, and that fact shapes the beer: every lager has to be kept cold mechanically, from the brew kettle all the way to the cooler in the shop.

The tap water for this megacity comes largely from the Angat Reservoir in Bulacan province, north of Manila, distributed by two private utility companies. The Pasig River itself flows through the city, connecting Manila Bay with the Laguna de Bay lagoon.

These days, water hardness barely influences the finished beer, since breweries treat it almost everywhere: removing hardness, filtering it, and adding salts as needed. It used to be different — in Pilsen, soft water was what made pale lager possible in the first place. A lager like Pale Pilsen calls for neutral, soft water so the delicate malt notes aren't masked by minerals.

The rainy season runs roughly from June to October, when typhoons sweep across the country. For brewers, this means raw materials must be stored dry, since malt absorbs moisture from humid air and spoils.

According to company history, the 1890 brewery relied on modern equipment from the start — a necessity in a country with no winter. The cold came from machines, not from the landscape. Fermentation, too, requires cooling, since yeast generates its own heat. If the tank temperature climbs too high, the beer ends up tasting of fruity esters and solvents instead of clean and dry.