Bir pletok is the Betawi spiced "beer" of Jakarta — a non-alcoholic infusion of ginger, lemongrass, cloves and other warming spices, coloured a deep ruby red by sappanwood (secang). Despite the name there is no alcohol in it at all; it is steeped, sweetened and served warm against the rain, or poured over ice in the heat. Aromatic, gently spicy and brilliantly red, it is the heritage drink of Jakarta's indigenous Betawi community.
Bir pletok is a heritage drink of the Betawi, the indigenous people of Jakarta, and is widely documented as a Betawi specialty. Popular accounts explain the "beer" in its name as a borrowing of form rather than substance — a warming, celebratory drink to set beside the alcoholic drinks of the colonial era, but kept alcohol-free in keeping with the community's Muslim custom; the onomatopoeic pletok is often said to echo the rattle of ice and spices shaken together, though such etymologies are not firmly established. Its signature red comes from secang (sappanwood), a long-used natural colouring across the region.
Warm and aromatic, the drink leads with ginger's gentle heat and lemongrass brightness, backed by the sweet-warm spice of cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Sappanwood adds little flavour but a striking jewel-red colour, and palm or cane sugar rounds it out. The finish is clean and faintly peppery, soothing rather than sharp.
The whole spices are simmered slowly in water so their aromatic oils infuse fully — ginger bruised rather than grated to release its pungency gently, lemongrass bashed to open the stalks. Sappanwood chips give up their red pigment to the hot water over a long steep, the colour deepening the longer it sits. Sugar is stirred in at the end, and the drink is strained clear before serving warm or over ice.
Variations
Recipes vary by household and spice box: some add cinnamon bark, cardamom, nutmeg, pandan or a knob of galangal, and the sweetness can come from palm or cane sugar. It is bottled and sold as a souvenir of Jakarta, drunk hot in the rainy season and iced when warm, and a little extra sappanwood deepens the colour to near-crimson.
On the Palate
Where Bir Pletok sits in the Indonesian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min active + 25 min waiting
- 15 min
Bruise the ginger and bash the lemongrass stalks to open them up.
Watch outBruise the ginger and bash the lemongrass rather than grating them — cracking them open releases the aromatic oils gently into the long steep.
- 25 min
Bring water to a simmer with the ginger, lemongrass, cloves and a stick of cinnamon.
- 33 min
Add the sappanwood chips and let everything steep over low heat.
- 418 min
Simmer until the liquid turns deep red and smells strongly of spice.
Watch outSteep the sappanwood low and slow until the liquid turns deep red — the color builds only over a long infusion, so don't rush it.
- 53 min
Stir in palm or cane sugar to taste until dissolved.
- 64 min
Simmer a few minutes more to marry the flavours.
- 72 min
Strain the drink to remove all the spices and wood.
- 81 min
Serve hot in cups, or cool and pour over ice.
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