Beer in Taiwan

Beer in Taiwan was dominated by monopoly products until 2002, when free trade became law in Taiwan.

The first beer monopoly was held from 1922 to 1946 under Japanese rule by Takasago Beer. Takasago Beer was brewed in light and dark varieties and competed at times against Japanese import beers. Its successor in 1946, Taiwan Beer, remained a monopoly product under one-party Kuomintang rule. Taiwan entered its modern period of multiparty democracy in the 1990s and shed its government monopolies as it joined the World Trade Organization in 2002.

After the liberalization of Taiwanese beer market comes the emergence of craft breweries. Some of the well-developed brands include Le Blé d'Or (金色三麥), Jolly Brewery+Restaurant and North Taiwan Brewing (北台灣麥酒).

The main domestic brand remains Taiwan Beer, brewed by the publicly owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation that succeeded the government's monopoly bureau in 2002. Taiwan Beer is primarily sold domestically, though the brewery does make some beer for export to Taiwanese living abroad. In recent years Taiwan Beer has stepped up export to China.

Taiwan

Coordinates: 23°30′N 121°00′E / 23.500°N 121.000°E / 23.500; 121.000

Taiwan (ⁱ/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a sovereign state in East Asia. The Republic of China, originally based in mainland China, now governs the island of Taiwan, which constitutes more than 99% of its territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands, following its loss of the mainland China territory in 1949 in the Chinese Civil War. This remaining area is also constitutionally called the "Free area of the Republic of China" which is not ruled by the Communist Party of China in Beijing.

Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west (mainland China), Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taiwan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with a population density of 649 people per km² in October 2015.Taipei is the seat of the central government, and together with the surrounding cities of New Taipei and Keelung forms the largest metropolitan area on the island.