Beertopia
A skinny Chinese girl pours a tall pint of beer into her mouth at a bar in Sanlitun.
"This is a Dragon Boat Festival beer for summertime," said 27-year-old Yaoyao, who quit her usual Chinese branded bottle to try the Dragon Boat summer ale.
The beer is locally made by Slow Boat Brewery, Beijing's latest microbrewing outfit, in a 1000-square-meter microbrewery located in Changping district.
"I think it's the first time I have had craft beer; it's strong but quite refreshing," she noted. "It's a bit more expensive because it's like homemade beer right?" Yaoyao asked.
Her boyfriend was trying a dark beer. The young couple is among a growing crowd of Chinese beer enthusiasts who are discovering craft beer.
Missing stronger stouts that don't come in a bottle or a can, a handful of foreign entrepreneurs started experimenting with their own beers in Beijing.
Since then a range of ales, blonde and dark, honey and tea tinted, burst onto drink lists around town.
Microbrewers gained a quick following because of their hand-crafted beer and are setting the example for eco-friendly business models in China's capital.
A local pint
If you find your way around the alleys off Doujiao Hutong you'll get to see how a microbrewery operation can fit inside a courtyard.
One room with three big containers, a giant coffee filter and large test tubes is enough to ferment 32 recipes and produce about 600 liters of beer in 24 hours.
"We just realized that we were paying way too much for beer that wasn't that good. I missed fresh beer," recalled German-American brewer Carl Setzer.
Pioneers of brewing beer in town, 30-year-old Setzer and his wife Liu Fang own The Great Leap Brewery (GLB) that opened in 2010.
"We both hated our jobs and loved beer. We started making our own at home," recalled the self-taught brewer, who built his brewery from scratch.
In the past two years, the couple left their jobs as security consultants, opened GLB's second location at the Great Wall and is about to inaugurate a third one and a factory.
GLB beer is notoriously hand-crafted and seasoned with local ingredients, such as organic honey from the Great Wall, Sichuan peppercorn, Oolong tea and amber wheat.
"Our beer is the only one in the country that uses 98 percent Chinese malts, 100 percent Chinese hops and incorporates Chinese flavors," explained Setzer.
Inspired by the 1940s song "Slow Boat to China," Slow Boat Brewery came on board in February this year.
"We noticed there was no craft beer in China and every time we'd go home we'd see that in the US there's more and more craft beer. It's everywhere," noted Chandler Jurinka, 45, who teamed up with 29-year-old brew master Daniel Hebert.
Slow Boat produces 10 different styles of American-style craft beer.
"It is brewed entirely by hand. We use a wide range of hops to distinguish our ales, as well as specialty yeast, which adds to our beers' distinctive taste, clarity and smooth finish," explained Jurinka.
Beer revolution
Beijing had to wait until 2010 to have its first alehouse. Entrepreneurs agree that brewing beer in China is a high-risk business, so passion and knowledge are essential.
"We don't just roll kegs down the street. Brewing is scientific, it's all about time, ingredients and temperature," noted Jurinka, who said it took Slow Boat over a year to get the license to distribute their ales.
"We're very small," said Setzer. "Raw material suppliers laugh at you when you ask to buy 100 kilos because their average order is 10,000 tons."
The entrepreneur shared tales of dealing with barley containing bugs and engineers who used lead to make the machinery without considering health implications.
Sourcing high-quality ingredients locally is a main challenge and essential to guarantee top quality, said both the brewers.
GLB imports 100 percent of its yeast from France, and up to 5 percent of specialty malts from Germany, to combine with local products. Slow Boat imports all of its ingredients from abroad.
Situated in areas like mountains and a hutong, foreign breweries are also proud of their green and sustainable ways. Aside from the yeast import, the industry of crafting beer has a very small carbon footprint.
With the exception of one electric pump, the technology of modern microbreweries is similar to the one used back in the 19th century.
"Our entire system is gravity-fed so we use few pumps and very little electricity," explained Setzer.
"Our electricity bill is probably less than the one of this bar," said Jurinka. "Ours is a steam brewery; steam is our main source of energy and we're using natural gas to generate it," he explained.
"We don't bottle, so our water usage is very little," Jurinka continued.
Slow Boat also reuses kegs to avoid any waste, alongside other ingredients. "We give the leftover high quality grains to local farmers to feed their livestock. Villagers take our yeast and a portion of our grain," he explained.
Ruling glass
"I have been away from Beijing for almost two years now and from what I can tell, things have changed drastically," said Xenon Yuan, creator of the blog chinabeergeek.com.
Yuan started his bilingual beer blog in 2009 because he felt there wasn't "a more dedicated, beer-knowledgeable voice."
"I wanted to expose both English-speaking expats to some of the craft beer 'revolution' that has been taking place back in their home countries, and also for local Chinese to learn that beer can be just as diverse and exciting as wine and spirits," said Yuan.
"It's bound to explode," said Setzer, who co-founded the homebrewers society and teaches home brewing classes.
Entrepreneurs say that the arrival of more microbrewers is good for business since it will stimulate people's interest to discover more about craft beer and try other brands.
This is particularly the case in Beijing.
"Beijing is more of a beer city, whereas Shanghai is a more cocktail and wine city. The biggest Chinese brands and enthusiasts are here," said Setzer.
However, despite the rise in popularity of beer, Chinese consumers are not yet sensitive to the variety and complexity of the drink. "Wine's popularity is certainly rising, but Chinese consumers will still tell you that the French do the best wine and the Germans make the best beer," noted Jurinka.
"We're trying to show our drinkers that ales don't all taste the same, that American beer is not just Budweiser and it can be as good as German or Belgium beer."
Tips for take-away tipple
1. Opt for beer in brown bottles over clear glass or green bottles. Ideally consume it immediately.
2. Most beers are not meant to be stored for ages, so keep them cold in the back of a refrigerator and away from direct light.
3. Try to pair beer with whatever you're eating. Lighter beers go well with salads and fish dishes, while strong beers pair nicely with hearty meals.