Oriental Brewery
Encyclopedia
Oriental Brewery or OB is a South Korean brewery established by the Doosan Group in 1952. It was purchased by InBev
in 1998. In 2009, it was sold by Anheuser-Busch InBev
as the parent company sought to reduce its debt. It was sold to an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.. Anheuser-Busch InBev has retained the right to purchase OB five years from its sale, at predetermined financial terms. Today OB produces several of Korea's most popular beverages including the OB, Cass and Cafri lager brands. All OB beers are brewed from rice, rather than the malted barley familiar to Western beer drinkers.
with an 4.5% ABV. Originally brewed by the Cass Brewery, the brand had been taken over by Jinro
-Coors
, one of the country's leading brewers. After having around 70% of the Korean lager market in the 1980s, by 1994 Cass had fallen behind Hite
as Korea's top selling lager. Oriental Brewery bought the Cass brand from Jinro-Coors in 1999 and built it up again, with OB declaring a 51% market share in 2000. In 2007, the higher alcohol Cass Red was introduced. In 2011 Cass Lager became South Korea's number one selling brand, overtaking Hite
.
Non-alcoholic look-alikes of Cass can be found with brand names such as "Cars" and "Cdss". Some norae-bang (song bars) establishments have been known to try and pass off these imitations as the real thing, as Korean law prohibits noraebangs marked as such from selling alcoholic drinks within its premises (as opposed to noraejujeom establishments which are allowed to sell alcohol).
InBev
InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
in 1998. In 2009, it was sold by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
as the parent company sought to reduce its debt. It was sold to an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.. Anheuser-Busch InBev has retained the right to purchase OB five years from its sale, at predetermined financial terms. Today OB produces several of Korea's most popular beverages including the OB, Cass and Cafri lager brands. All OB beers are brewed from rice, rather than the malted barley familiar to Western beer drinkers.
OB Lager
- The 4th top selling beer in Korea. OB Lager is a pale, 4.4% A.B.V. pale lagerPale lagerPale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
available in cans and bottles, and served on draft in Korea. Originally brewed in 1948; the name was changed from OB Lager simply to OB in 2003; the recipe was altered to include rice. The name changed to OB Blue in June 2006 with another slight recipe tweak.
Cass Lager
A pale-golden pale lagerPale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
with an 4.5% ABV. Originally brewed by the Cass Brewery, the brand had been taken over by Jinro
Jinro
Jinro is a distiller in South Korea, founded in 1924. It is the world's leading producer of soju, accounting for more than half of that beverage's domestic sales. It also manufactures a variety of other alcoholic beverages including red wine and whiskey. Distilleries are located in Icheon,...
-Coors
Coors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
, one of the country's leading brewers. After having around 70% of the Korean lager market in the 1980s, by 1994 Cass had fallen behind Hite
Hite
Hite Brewery Company Limited is a South Korean brewery company headquartered in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Its main products are beer, rice wine, and mineral water. The company was established as Chosun Breweries in 1933...
as Korea's top selling lager. Oriental Brewery bought the Cass brand from Jinro-Coors in 1999 and built it up again, with OB declaring a 51% market share in 2000. In 2007, the higher alcohol Cass Red was introduced. In 2011 Cass Lager became South Korea's number one selling brand, overtaking Hite
Hite
Hite Brewery Company Limited is a South Korean brewery company headquartered in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Its main products are beer, rice wine, and mineral water. The company was established as Chosun Breweries in 1933...
.
Non-alcoholic look-alikes of Cass can be found with brand names such as "Cars" and "Cdss". Some norae-bang (song bars) establishments have been known to try and pass off these imitations as the real thing, as Korean law prohibits noraebangs marked as such from selling alcoholic drinks within its premises (as opposed to noraejujeom establishments which are allowed to sell alcohol).
Cass Red
- A pale lagerPale lagerPale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
with 6.9% ABV, this lager contains higher amount of alcohol. Best bought in the big plastic bottle.
Cafri
- Cafri (ABV 4.2%) is perhaps the lightest of all mainstream Korean beers. It is widely available in clear 330 millilitre long-neck bottles but falls behind OB, Cass and Hite in popularity.