Thai craft beer and community spirits take over ICONSIAM for two weeks

If your knowledge of Thai beer starts and ends with a big bottle of Leo in a bucket of ice, the next fortnight at ICONSIAM is a good chance to widen it. Campaign group Beer People, the team behind September's Sato So Good festival, has teamed up with the riverside mall on Flavors Glow By The River, a tasting zone that's part of ICONSIAM Bangkok Illumination 2026.

The line-up splits evenly between 15 craft breweries and 15 community distilleries, plus more than 50 other producers from around the country. Makers run their own booths, so you can ask where the rice was grown or how long a batch ferments before bottling.

Beer has the first week (November 1-8), with ciders and other fermented drinks alongside. Look out for Khon Khon Craft from Nakhon Si Thammarat, Wiset Beer from Chiang Mai and Hop Beer House from Nakhon Ratchasima, plus a table of award-winning brews from Rachaphruek Brewery and a few brand-new releases.

The second week (November 9-15) switches to community-made liquor. Expect sato (Thai rice wine) from Thepphanom and Mr Sato; bottles from Isan distillery The Spirit of Chaiyaphum; and gin, rum, vodka, plum liqueur and cocktails mixed with Thai-grown ingredients.

The whole thing sits on the second-floor terrace in front of the Apple Store, so you sip with ferries and long-tail boats chugging along the Chao Phraya below. Musicians from Mahidol University's College of Music play two sets an evening, and the mall's 21-metre Blessing Tree puts on its light show at 6.30pm, 7.30pm and 8.30pm. For something to soak up the samples, vendors such as Khao Soi Pariya and CW Currywurst sell proper food.

With doors open 4pm-10pm, it works as an after-work stop or a slow wander around the lights. Thirty-odd producers is a lot of tasting, though, so pace yourself. The mall's shuttle boat from Sathorn Pier, next to BTS Saphan Taksin, is the easiest way to get there. Fancy a sit-down dinner first? Here's where to eat at ICONSIAM. And once things wrap up, our guide to Bangkok's best beer bars has a few more ideas.

Bangkok Illumination 2026is at ICONPARK, 2/F, ICONSIAM, in front of the Apple Store. 

It's on November 1-15, 4pm-10pm daily, and entry is free.