Chang

Chang means 'elephant' in Thai, and two of them face each other on the label of the flagship beer of ThaiBev, Thailand's drinks giant. At home it is a pale, gently sweet lager engineered for a hot climate; abroad it is the taste memory millions of travelers carry home from Thai beaches and Thai restaurants.

It arrived in 1995 as a direct challenge to Singha, the incumbent that had ruled Thai beer for decades — sold cheaper and pushed through the founder's formidable liquor-distribution network. Within a few years the elephant had stampeded through the Thai market, and the choice of animal was no accident: it is Thailand's national symbol, an emblem ordinary drinkers could claim as their own.

The UK knows it for a different reason: Chang spent more than a decade as Everton's shirt sponsor, which is why a Bangkok lager still feels oddly at home in Liverpool pubs.

Pale gold, softly sweet, and easygoing: honeyed grain up front, low bitterness, and a smooth, slightly full finish for a hot-weather lager. In Thailand it is often poured over ice — no crime there, just climate — where it turns even lighter and colder against chili heat and lemongrass.