Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation

The company today known as TTL had its origins in a government agency established by Taiwan's Japanese colonial government in 1901. The Monopoly Bureau of the Government-General of Taiwan (Chinese: 臺灣總督府專賣局) was responsible for all liquor and tobacco products in Taiwan as well as opium, salt, and camphor. The Bureau began brewing Takasago Beer in 1922 through the Takasago Malted Beer Company (founded in 1919). Light and dark varieties were offered, though the price of Takasago Beer varied widely over the course of its manufacture depending on the availability of imported Japanese beers and the contingencies of the economy. As World War II reached its conclusion in the 1940s matches, petroleum and standard weights and measures also came under the Monopoly Bureau's authority.

After the war, the incoming Chinese Nationalists preserved the monopoly system for alcohol and tobacco. Production of beer was assigned in 1945 to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau (臺灣省專賣局). Takasago Beer was renamed Taiwan Beer in 1946. The following year, production of Taiwan Beer was assigned to the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (臺灣省菸酒公賣局). In the 1960s locally produced Formosa rice was added to the fermentation process, resulting in the distinctive local flavour for which the beer is known today.

Taiwan entered its modern period of pluralistic democracy in the 1990s. Laws went into force in 2002 as Taiwan prepared for admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that opened the Taiwan market to competing products. In 2002 the Monopoly Bureau gave way to its successor, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL, 臺灣菸酒公司).

As of 2003 TTL has introduced four new Taiwan Beer brews: Gold Medal, Draft, Mine Amber and Mine Dark. Taiwan Beer remains the island's best-selling brew and is one of the most recognized brands in Taiwan's business world.

In 2022 TTL purchased 20,000 bottles of Lithuanian rum which were originally to be shipped to China. The rum was in danger of being denied entry to China because of a diplomatic dispute between Lithuania and China which involved Taiwan.

Plants

TTL has 9 wineries and distilleries, 4 breweries, and 2 tobacco plants.

Marketing

TTL marketing strategies include advertisements featuring celebrity endorsements by popular Taiwanese figures such as A-Mei. A basketball team named Taiwan Beer, popularly nicknamed 'The Brew Crew,' is sponsored by the company. The Taiwan Beer Bar and Beer Garden is a brewpub in Taipei. The Factory, near the Wujih station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail, is the site of an annual Taiwan Beer Festival (台灣啤酒節) held every summer.