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‘Just enjoy the beer. Don’t get too serious about it.’ yoon Jun-hoon, Platinum beer www.platinumbeer.com Beer fair @ Walker Hill Hotel — Oct. 11 Craft Beer festival Korea @ Samgakji — Oct. 25 foodweek @ Coex — Nov. 12-15 Platinum Beer Upcoming events Returning to Korea, Yoon eventually joined up with Platinum Beer in 2010 as their brewmaster. A Korean craft beer com- pany that got its start in 2002, Platinum Beer now offers five different beverages: a pale ale, a strong pale ale, a golden ale, a white ale and an oatmeal stout. All recipes are Yoon’s own, inspired by mentors and other beer judges he has worked with over the years. Yoon’s goal is to encourage all those living in Korea — native or otherwise — to appreciate and enjoy craft beers with more complex flavors than the typical Korean beer may offer. Part of Platinum Beer’s uniqueness comes from being modeled after the Californian style of brewing, as opposed to German or Bel- gian style. “The pale ale and the white ale are our best-selling prod- ucts,” say Yoon. The pale ale uses seven different hop variet- ies, while the white ale is styled after the popular Blue Moon Belgian-style wheat ale, minus the clove notes — Yoon’s own preference. “We want to share craft beer with Koreans and everyone else,” says Yoon. A pint of Platinum typically sells for 5,000 won or less in pubs, nearly half the price of other craft beers in Korea. This makes Platinum brews accessible to a wider audience, and has spurred Platinum’s quick growth in the past few years. The beer is now available in over 200 pubs and bars across the country. With this success in mind, Platinum is expanding their operation locally and globally. In the next year, they hope to sell in China, typically a difficult market for craft beer. Yoon and Platinum are also looking to open a brewery in North Chungcheong Province, where they can welcome customers for brewery tours. Even though Yoon is an international beer judge and master brewer, he keeps the bigger picture in mind. “Just enjoy the beer; don’t get too serious about it,” he says. For Yoon, craft beer is all about enjoying the experience with friends and family.