I was surprised to find that in Cambodia, beer is often served in a glass of ice. This seems to be a bit ridiculous to me, as the cans and bottles are often cold to begin with — why dilute perfectly good beer? I’ve heard many explanations. Local Cambodian’s certainly like to drink, and one person told me that drinking beer with ice helps make sure you don’t get too drunk too fast (it’s not true). And then I read that establishments like to show off the fact that they have a plentiful supply of fresh ice. Regardless, it’s a strange tradition. One I probably won’t be taking home.
Also, as a follow-up to my previous post on Angkor Beer, I’ve since learned that the second most popular national beer is Anchor, which pretty much sounds exactly like Angkor. Half the time I’ve ordered an Angkor, I’ve been given an Anchor by mistake. They taste very similar (refer to my prior post), so it’s not a problem. But is it possible that the Anchor brewery chose their name with the specific intent of capitalizing on this mistake?
