Beer Does Not Contain Alcohol

Jakarta is dry during Ramadan - well of spirits and wine that is. It is funny to me that you can still buy truckloads of beer but wine and anything stronger is not served in restaurants and bars. Even nightclubs close down too! A few months back supermarkets discreetly stocked wine and some of the more upmarket ones displayed quite a good range. That all changed and they are only allowed to sell beer now. I thought the whole point was alcohol - so are we assuming beer doesn’t contain alcohol? I had dinner the other night at a swanky establishment called Rustique Wine and Grill. I knew what the response was going to be as soon as I asked for the wine list. "Maaf, we are not serving wine because of Ramadan." I felt like ripping the sign off the door or suggesting they change their name to Rustique Grill. Being a soak these days I opted for the only alcohol that was being served - beer. It came in a large white mug that one would have coffee in. What a laugh! To make matters worse the steaks this establishment purported to specialise in, were the most expensive and worst I have ever eaten.