Bringing the brew to the people, with Kasster, Jasmin, & Chris from The Mad Tapper.
Sprawled over the booth couch are Kasster, Jasmin, and Chris — collectively, they form The Mad Tapper, which imports craft beers and ciders from New Zealand and Australia.
As I fire away at my questions, it is Kasster who tries his best to take a stab at them, often at the urging of his business partner, Jasmin, and Chris, who was hired to join them while on holiday in Singapore.
“Like everyone else, we just enjoy a good drink. We’ve tried stuff overseas and we knew it was much better than what we had in Singapore, which is why Jasmin and I took the plunge to do this,” said Kasster.
“It was clear to me,” said Jasmin. “Passion over everything. So I left my fund management job at the end of 2015.”
Both Kasster and Jasmin go on to tell me how back then, despite drowning in work at their day jobs, they had to do deliveries during lunch breaks and even after work. But two months into their venture as mad tapper, they knew this was something they wanted to pursue full time.
“Launching at beerfest asia was probably the first big thing we did. Everything had to be done ourselves. Booth setups, inventory, marketing. We even had to get friends to work for us for free, four days straight, The learning curve was crazy,” said Kasster.
“That, and five months of working till two in the morning.” Jasmin looks at me as she says this, stupendous in her own disbelief at how fast time has passed.
“Festivals are always fun,” says Chris, with a glazed look on his face. “It makes the job more fun. And there are a lot of breweries and importers who find themselves turning into half importers and half event organisers. That’s where you have to take it.”
I nod in agreement, and explore the idea in my head. It all begins to make sense to me, like the beer that is swirling around my tongue. Knowing how much work has been put into importing them, makes it that much tastier.
“I guess it’s more of a people industry, and less about the food and drinks,” says Chris, concluding himself.
“It’s like serving an amazing dish. It’s tangible,” adds Kasster. “When you introduce someone to craft beer, and they taste it with guidance and expectation, their mindset towards what beer can be, changes. It’s significant.”
“And it’s just fun going to a bar as a guest, and secretly hearing people talk about your products,” says Jasmin, leaning forward in her seat. Scenes of her eavesdropping are clearly replaying in her mind.
“Oh, nights out at a customer’s place is always really fun,” says Chris. “They become your friends. Free drinks. It’s great.”
“For me, if i get to wake up early, get breakfast, hit the gym, and clear emails by lunch, that’s a good day for me. If nothing screws up with logistics and my day looks open, I might head to a customer’s bar to chill out, before having an early night. Ending the day without problems, is virtually impossible, but that’ll be a really good day for me,” says Kasster.
“If I can end my day with a couple of tastings at three or four places, followed by a dinner event or something, where they’ve got your beers at the bar, that’ll be perfect.”
“That’s a lot of drinking,” says Jasmin, to which Chris responds with a pause in expression. Clearly he doesn’t agree. “I just want to see more girls drinking beer,” she says.
I thank them for their time before turning to leave, feeling like I’ve left my friends at a bar. From behind me, I hear them scuttle back their conversation about work, and smile to myself without them knowing.
