[4] In 1922, under the influence of a post-World War I depression, the government attempted to nationalise the liquor industry by placing it under the exclusive control of the Monopoly Bureau.

[10] Exports of the product to Tokyo began to rival Sapporo Beer, the leading Japanese brand.

[4] Although by then its competitiveness in terms of productivity and quality had improved from its early days, the company was still a long way short of profitability, and relied upon the monopoly to cover its losses.

[4] Merchants vied for local market distributors and vendors licences issued by the Monopoly Bureau, and corruption was reported to be rife.

That decision may have led to the replacement of the island's thick, malty pre-World War II ales with the light, bright, crisp and sweet German-style lagers that have been brewed as Taiwan Beer ever since the brand's name change.

[7][10] In the late 1940s, after the Chinese Nationalists had lost the civil war in China, more than 800,000 of them retreated to Taiwan, where they came to account for around 10% of the population.

That influx, combined with the departure of Japanese nationals, led to changes in consumer preferences, but initially demand for beer was not much affected.

Many American advisors and military personnel were stationed on the island during that period, especially after the signing of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1954, and their presence caused a beer sales boom.

[1][7][12][15] The recipe was altered not only to make the brew sweeter and less bitter, but also to absorb a surplus of locally produced rice that was suppressing prices and thus limiting the incomes of farmers.

[15] In 1964, the Monopoly Bureau responded to an increase in demand for beer by cooperating with Dominion Breweries of New Zealand in learning, practising and adopting the patented brewing technique of continuous fermentation.

[4] In November 1965, Taiwan became part of the Rest and Recuperation (R&R) program, under which US military personnel could take a short vacation in a number of places in Asia.

[11]: 5 In 1987 Taiwan lifted martial law[11]: 6  and, under pressure from the US government,[17] opened its beer market to foreign imports from America and Europe.

[15] At the start of that year, laws fully opening Taiwan's liquor market to competing products went into force,[12] and the already reduced tariffs were eliminated.

[19][20] Within two months, TTL started shipping Taiwan Beer to China; the following year, the corporation began brewing the product in Jiangsu Province.

However, according to figures released by Taiwan's Ministry of Finance, its market share has dropped dramatically in recent years, from nearly 85% in 2009 to only 70% in 2015 and just 60% in 2019, in each case by volume.

[15][21][9] They have a distinct character and flavour, generated by the addition of locally produced ponlai rice to the malt during the fermentation process.

[13][15] The rice imparts both a smoothness[15] and a sweetness,[22] and has been said by one reviewer to add "... a certain umami and sake-like note not found in most Asian lagers.

[26] Taiwan Beer is served cold and best complements Taiwanese and Japanese cuisine, especially seafood dishes such as sushi and sashimi.

[24][27] It has also been exported successfully to China, the United States, Japan, Korea, France, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Cambodia.

[28] The "Gold Medal" brew, which was introduced in April 2003[18] and became Taiwan Beer's top-selling style that year,[19] has a higher maltose content than "Classic", and therefore a smoother taste.

The R&D team at the Wuri Brewery carried out many experiments with the temperature, humidity and pressure of subsequent processes to formulate the best methods of making the fruit beers, which have been much appreciated and generated positive reviews.

[7] Taiwan Beer is a national icon strongly identified with Taiwanese culture,[28] and a symbol of local resilience and pride.

[9] During a trade dispute with the People's Republic of China in December 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, Joseph Wu, even described it as "... the great taste of freedom".

[10] Another view of the brand, as expressed by a Taiwanese private sector website, is: "Táiwān Píjǐu (Taipi for short) represents a side of Taiwan that doesn’t make it into glossy tourist brochures and feel-good TV advertising.

Taipi stands for the quotidian, the earthy, and the comfortable—it certainly isn’t high-falutin’ culture, but it is strongly identified with the real Taiwan, beyond the shiny skyscrapers of the capital or concerts of classical Chinese music.

Advertisements have featured Taiwanese celebrities such as rock guitarist Wu Bai, who was appointed as the public face of Taiwan Beer in 1998,[17][18] and diva A-Mei, who became a spokesmodel for the brand in 2006.

The complex is made up of two large buildings, a red-brick one and a green-tiled one, flanked by a number of smaller wooden-framed and other structures.

Inside the buildings, modern automated items of equipment, including stainless steel mash tuns, are in operation.

[24] Restaurants and nightspots proliferate at the 'beer village' adjacent to the Wuri Brewery, which has become the centre of Taiwan's beer culture.

[11]: 7  Its main mass market competitor is Long Chuan,[11]: 7  which is brewed in Neipu, a rural township near Kaohsiung City.