Get ready, because if you thought Tomato World was a blast, wait until we start talking pandan.
Goodbye, everybody! I’m off to Pandan Land!
…
That’s two for flinching!
BEER: Laughing Buddha’s Pandan Brown Ale
Laughing Buddha, operating out of Seattle, Washington, is steadfastly dedicated to their flagship motto of “crafting modern Asian-style beers”. That’s a rather tall order! Their business model is both simple and straight-forward: push the brews into every local Thai, Japanese, and Chinese restaurant. In addition to the Pandan Brown, their line-up also includes a Ginger Pale Ale and a Mango Weizen, all of which will certainly stand out against the all too typical Asian rice-based lagers.
You may be asking yourself: “What’s a pandan?” Well, let me first say there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling ashamed or embarrassed by being unfamiliar with pandan. I, too, felt a tiny twinge of shame for having to rely on Wikipedia to fill my head with pandan-related knowledge.
| Wikipedia wrote: |
| Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It is an erect green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots.” |
OK, hit me with another!
| Wikipedia wrote: |
| “The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.” |
Ah yes, didn’t we all grow up with a few kids like that?
Oh, and in addition to the fermentables found within the grains, Laughing Buddha has thrown in a fermentable sugar: palm sugar, also an ingredient found in many Thai dishes.
Both the aroma and flavor deliver the archetypical brown ale qualities: chocolate, caramel, lightly fruity esters, a slight breadiness. Galena hops deliver a restrained, spicy bitterness. Beyond that, you have the pandan leaves imparting a noticeable nuttiness and what would be adequately described as a very mild, savory vegetal quality to it.
Is it a disappointment? Hardly! The pandan adds a bit of Asian-style uniqueness to what can, in all honesty, be a real ho-hum style at times and while you will not find “Pandan Brown Ale” mentioned within the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path or listed under the Four Noble Truths, it should be welcome in anyone’s list of “Flavorful, Yet Relatively Refreshing Browns”.
Ice Cream Jonsey 
Rob O'Hara