I'll be headed to Beijing and Xi'an for a week next week. Mostly we will be doing a whirlwind tour of the historical sites and stuffing our faces with delicious Chinese food, but I would love to know where the best places are to sample the better local offerings in these two cities. Even if its liquor stores and I have to drink them in the hotel room; I would still like to try a smattering of different styles. I did a search and there's only two relevant threads from the last two years; most of the threads have to do with Shanghai. I am not expecting Cantillon on the shelf or anything (though these are welcome), but would be interested in the local beer scene! Gan bay!
In Beijing I would suggest Great Leap (3 locations), Jing-A (京A) and Slow Boat. As for Xian, unfortunately I haven't been before.
I'll be sure to check out these three. I will probably need to bring a couple cans of Heady at this rate. Happy to share with anyone locally at these 3 places you listed above.
Okay, so I just got back. Was able to visit three places in Beijing and Xi'an. Slow Boat- I visited the taproom (not the brewery in Soho), and it was in a dark alleyway, haha. But it had a nice cozy feel to it, and the beers were solid. I liked the Mosaic IPA; the Monkey Fist was alright and they were all out of the Imperial Vanilla Stout, which I'd like to have tried. JingA- Went to the taproom in Soho, that place is crazy at night! Managed to down a couple pints; I think the Airpocalypse tasted like a sweeter Pliny the Elder; it was on the sweeter side but fairly fruity. Good beer. Oatmeal vanilla stout was solid, crushable and I'd drink it regularly if it were local, even though there wasn't much vanilla to be seen. The vibe of the place is cool, and the service was good. Near Wall Bar in Xi'an- affiliated with Xi'an Brewery; I think this place impressed me more than the others. I really liked their Citra IPA; it's pretty balanced and reminds me of a slightly sweeter Zombie Dust. Easy to kill one of these tall glasses (I think 16oz?). I liked the Coffee Stout as well. Not so much the Classic Wit. Milk Stout was not bad. Location along the South Gate was awesome as we were staying near the South Gate. I much preferred the outdoor seating to the indoor seating, however- lots of smoke and loud music inside, depends on what your jam is. TL;DR: If anyone goes to Beijing and Xi'an, I recommend going to JingA and Near Wall Bar, respectively if you are going to see just one brewery. Hope this helps someone out in the future, as I was kind of shooting in the dark on this trip!
Saw your message too late, bummer! There are some places which could have Cantillon (or other Lambics), but ain't cheap. There's a lot going on in the more self-organised beer clubs, where they share quite some nice bottles! NB Brewery recently opened a new bar showcasing one of the owners bottle collection (5000+), and they always seem to have a nice selection on taps (their own are standard, but other Chinese crafts).
Heading to Beijing in July. What places might have Cantillon or other Lambics that are worth checking out? We don't get anything distributed to my state in the US, so I'm always looking to find some to purchase or try while I'm traveling.
Hi, I assume just regulars can do the trick? I will ask around a bit with some friends, but dont have too high hope about Cantillon. Usually they also buy it from another country then share it with friends. There was a shipment of 3F to China, so finding some oude geuze, oude kriek, cuvee armand and even Hommage is possible. Let me know if you have any interest
Really anything would be awesome. I don't get to try any of these too often. I'm also heading to Shangai and Hong Kong, so any tips for those places would be great as well. It is my first time to China so I am really looking forward to the experience.
Sur Sure, just shoot me a PM, i can help. I follow up the market via Chinese There's not a lot of info in English.
Just FYI, I was just in Hong Kong and stumbled on a bar, The Ale Project in Mong Kok, which had bottles of Hommage, Oude Gueuze Golden Blend, and Westy 12. Pretty pricey (Hommage and Golden Blend were both over HKD 1000 for a 750), but could be worth it if you don't otherwise get a chance to try these. The place also had good food and good local and international taps, so definitely check it out.
