Well before Singpore rose to economic heights as one of the Four Asian Tigers, those notable countries that showed tremendous growth post-1970, Singapore could take pride in its first beer, Tiger. Founded in 1932, Tiger is a light pilsner, straw-colored with a quick to dissappear head. The slight creaminess makes it an appropriate complement to spicy South Asian cuisine, curries and the like.
In 1956 Tiger received a literary plug in the form of A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess' novel Time for a Tiger. The now legendary bit of gossip mythologizing the title is that Burgess hoped that by mentioning the beer he would recieve a complimentary case, which makes him sound like every other writer we know. Nothing can keep a writer from trying for free booze. Nothing.
That said, next time you're rummaging through the aisles at the beer distributer, thinking of buying your umpteenth six-pack of Brooklyn Lager, reflect on the title of Anthony Burgess' novel about colonialism. You know what time it is.
