Pyongyang’s state-brewed lager and a national point of pride. It has been brewed since 2002 on equipment bought from the closed Ushers brewery in Trowbridge, England, dismantled and shipped to Pyongyang.
It is a state brewery’s commercial lager, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into it
- malted barley
- rice adjunct
- hops
- lager yeast
- water
How it is made
Malt and rice are mashed, the wort boiled with hops, cooled and fermented cool with lager yeast, then cold-conditioned before filtering and bottling. The numbered range differs mainly in the barley-to-rice ratio, from all-malt to heavily rice-based.
How long it takes: three to four weeks from mash to bottle
How it is eaten
Cold, from the bottle or on draught at Pyongyang beer bars.
History
Brewed since 2002 on equipment bought from the closed Ushers brewery in Trowbridge, England, and shipped to Pyongyang.
Frequently asked questions
What is Taedonggang Beer?
Taedonggang Beer is a wine & spirit from North Korea: pyongyang’s state-brewed lager, a national point of pride. Brewed since 2002 on equipment bought from the closed Ushers brewery in Trowbridge, England, and shipped to Pyongyang.
How is Taedonggang Beer made?
Malt and rice are mashed, the wort boiled with hops, cooled and fermented cool with lager yeast, then cold-conditioned before filtering and bottling. The numbered range differs mainly in the barley-to-rice ratio, from all-malt to heavily rice-based. It takes three to four weeks from mash to bottle.
Can I make Taedonggang Beer at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a state brewery’s commercial lager, and brewing beer at home is licensed or restricted in much of the atlas’s readership.
What goes into Taedonggang Beer?
Malted barley, rice adjunct, hops, lager yeast, water.
How is Taedonggang Beer eaten?
Cold, from the bottle or on draught at Pyongyang beer bars.









