# Beer In China



## jonocarroll (5/4/11)

I'll be visiting Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China in a couple of weeks (teaching 'research article writing skills' to Chinese engineering-physics researchers for a week... w00t!) so of course I'll be on the look-out for any decent beers recommended. I believe I'll also be stopping over in Hong Kong, so I've been through DanRayner's recent thread... avoid HK Lager, Blue Girl; Maybe find Rickshaw porter, Brooklyn Brewery.

Any recommendations of widely-available beers? I'm keen to try fresh Tsingtao (青岛啤酒; _Qīngdǎo_) for comparison, and I reckon I might have tried Harbin (哈尔滨啤酒; _Hā'ěrbīn_) here, but what about Reeb (力波啤酒)? Snow (雪花啤酒)? Yanjing (燕京啤酒)? Zhujiang (珠江啤酒)?

Should be an interesting trip. I'm heading over with a qualified English/French linguist, and I've only scratched the surface of my prescriptivist-English jokes so far. I wonder if the name Graham Sanders will get me very far with the local farmers?

Fēichng xixie nǐ.

Gānbēi!


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## peas_and_corn (5/4/11)

QuantumBrewer said:


> I'm heading over with a qualified English/French linguist,



Does the linguist also know Chinese? That would be helpful.


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## jonocarroll (5/4/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> Does the linguist also know Chinese? That would be helpful.


When we first met for an interview, I was told she knew "yes", "no", and "beer"... Sold.

I've been studying Mandarin (pinyin) in what little spare time I have... Wŏ hushō yīdiăn. Apparently the students all speak formal English anyway (and likely know more prescriptive English than most Aussies) but it's polite to try one's best.


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## matr (5/4/11)

To say beer in Mandarin it's Pijiu pronounced something like pi-ew jew.. From what I remember.. Learnt it on the plane on the way over..

I generally drank Heineken over there. Usually out of a can at the hotel. I did also drink Tsingtao.. Drinkable but not the best.. I also drank other types which I can't recall but were equally shite.

Bars will usually sell the large bottles of Heineken or Tsingtao but no guarantee they are going to be cold..

Just stay away from the underground mens karaoke bars... Seriously!!! you have been warned...

This was in Beijing so where you are going may be different..


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (5/4/11)

Same in HK - I learned to say thankyou, please, yes, no, the numbers (as I was in the market, and needed to barter for my goods). The locals do appreciate it.

Got these 1L asahi cans, and enjoyed that, Munchenal in HK (sold at almost all 7-11) and I actually liked the white label (local only) Tsingtao - it was slightly rough, used rice, but there was something about it I actually liked in a non-beer snob manner. I don't rate the Asian brewed Carlsberg, and it's overpriced.

The supermarkets have supercheap beer if you are looking at buying to drink at the hotel (or in the streets).

We met a yank in the markets and asked him why he was drinking in the streets, and he said that no-one seems perturbed by it. SWMBO asked in the local 7-11 and they said that there isn't any law against drinking in public (given that the food stalls spill into the streets of the market and people BYO to all those, it would be way too hard to enforce anyway), so I wandered around drinking Munchenal at the markets. Good fun.

Goomba


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## jonocarroll (5/4/11)

Cheers, guys - great stuff!

Yep, pjiŭ - one of the first things I learned. The tones are what's going to throw me every time.


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## seemax (5/4/11)

Having travelled through China quite a bit in last few years I've tried pretty much all the popular local beers.

Most over too sweet and under hopped, and usually around 3% ABV or so - such as Snow, Yanjing, etc.

In Nanjing (the old capital) there is an American bar serving Hoe, Bud, Stella, and other Euro beers in bottles. There is also an Indian restaurant that has an A4 page full of beers in bottles... lots of UK stuff, stouts, ales, wheat, no APA's sadly.

Shanghai has a few microbreweries/world beer bars so plenty of choice there.

You MUST try hot pot for a meal... it makes your mouth tingle in a way you have never known...

Enjoy!!

PS Most places assume you want beer at ambient, so asked for "beer ice" - something along the lines of "bing pe-gee-oh"


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## pat_00 (5/4/11)

I've travelled around China a lot, am semi-fluent in Mandarin (emphasis on semi).

Didn't really find any beers I liked, I've tried all the ones you listed and many, many more. Most chinese beers taste similar, like a watered down tsingtao with less hops, eck. Speaking of which, I was in Qingdao for the first time a few months ago and the fresh beer isn't too bad. It's definitely a novelty drinking beer out of a plastic bag 

I can tell you now, you will eat some of the most amazing food you will ever eat. Especially in Sichuan. 

Good luck!


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## Rod (5/4/11)

Be careful with local brew

When I went on a holiday I was in the supermarket looking at local brew

cheaper than from mini bar

came across a brew which had a label -- formaldehyde free

does that mean the others had formaldehyde


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## jonocarroll (5/4/11)

Rod said:


> does that mean the others had formaldehyde


Yes. It was only recently banned in China. Terrible, I know. :icon_vomit:


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## bum (5/4/11)

QuantumBrewer said:


> The tones are what's going to throw me every time.


Yep. But they know that. As long as you look like you're making an effort you'll find people will be pretty helpful. Actually, even if you just smile politely you'll get by. If you can nail the phrase "Sorry, I do not understand" and work on your mime skills you shouldn't have too much trouble.

As for the beers, Anchor Red Crown was the "best" beer I had when I went to China last year but only because I could at least taste DMS - every other beer tasted like air. Just focus on the food.

If you're tall get ready to be stared at like you've never been stared at in your entire life. Have a good trip.


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## thedragon (5/4/11)

QuantumBrewer said:


> Any recommendations of widely-available beers? I'm keen to try fresh Tsingtao (青岛啤酒; _Qīngdǎo_) for comparison, and I reckon I might have tried Harbin (哈尔滨啤酒; _Hā'ěrbīn_) here, but what about Reeb (力波啤酒)? Snow (雪花啤酒)? Yanjing (燕京啤酒)? Zhujiang (珠江啤酒)?



Stay away from Yanjing. We attended a banquet with a Chinese friend one night in Guangzhau where the beer was included in the price - as much as we could drink, we could have. Yanjing was the crap they served up. It tasted so bad that we were forced to buy Tsingtao at an additional cost. Took one of the bottles home with us and took a photo of it as a reminder of the horrible taste:

Do not buy it. Do not drink it even if it is free.


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## Phoney (5/4/11)

seemax said:


> Shanghai has a few microbreweries/world beer bars so plenty of choice there.



Damn! What?

I spent two weeks in Shanghai last year and I scoured the place for good beer and the best I could find were euro beers such as Leffe & Erdinger (around $5 a bottle) in restaurants & fancy hotel bars - and when you could get a cocktail for the same price, i'd prefer the latter. There were a few 'hip' bars around the French concession / Bund area that I stumbled into but there wasnt anything particularly special that I could find in those either...


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## dj_yiakamon (8/4/11)

I was over in Shanghai in 2009 site seeing in the Bund area that was heavily under construction for the World Expo. I happen to glance down a side street off the main road on the bund and all i saw was the words brewery so obviously i ventured down and found a small microbrewery called the Bund Brewery. The only make 3 beers but the smell of malt mashing was too much to resist sitting in the place for a few hours sampling. They are based on german beers.


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## np1962 (8/4/11)

bum said:


> If you're tall get ready to be stared at like you've never been stared at in your entire life. Have a good trip.


 Not a problem for QB  One of SA's Seven Dwarf's of brewing.

For clarity:- I too am a proud member of the aforementioned group.

Cheers
Nige


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## brett mccluskey (8/4/11)

I've got a mate there at the moment,before Tibet and Nepal,have to send him this link http://www.cnngo.com/shanghai/drink/pintsi...er-china-080227


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## jonocarroll (8/4/11)

NigeP62 said:


> Not a problem for QB  One of SA's Seven Dwarf's of brewing.


Hey! I resemble that remark. <_< 

Keep the suggestions coming, and cheers to those who have posted already. I don't think I'm due in Shanghai at all but good to keep in mind.

I'm due to make a rice lager when I return - let's see if I still want to after this trip.


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## Phoney (8/4/11)

QuantumBrewer said:


> I'm due to make a rice lager when I return - let's see if I still want to after this trip.



Whatever you do, don't try the rice wine that you see intheir supermarkets etc.

(Unless you like the taste of metho)


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## matr (8/4/11)

phoneyhuh said:


> Whatever you do, don't try the rice wine that you see intheir supermarkets etc.
> 
> (Unless you like the taste of metho)




Baijiu..... Nasty Nasty stuff :icon_vomit:


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## bum (8/4/11)

Dunno if it is the same stuff you guys are talking about but I had this rice spirit when I was there. Was told it was 55% or something. Horrible.


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## matr (8/4/11)

Yup that's the one...


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## michael_aussie (8/4/11)

pat_00 said:


> .......
> I can tell you now, you will eat some of the most amazing food you will ever eat. ........


as long as you are adventurous.. and don't just go to "western" restaurants... you will see and eat things that will blow your mind

soak up the culture.. and dont waste too much time looking for amazing beers youll waste time you should be using to experience an alternative universe.


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## TonyC (8/4/11)

Slightly off topic,
But you must have a chinese massage, nothing like here, so keep your my minds above your navel. 2.5 hour massage for $13.00, and walk out feeling 20 years younger.Ask your local companions, as you can end up in the wrong one. If in Shanghai, the bund area can be entertaining, although crap beer.

Have fun.
Regards Tony


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## jonocarroll (2/5/11)

Okay, I'm back... actually, I returned a week ago, but had so much work to do that I've only logged in now and found 19 pages of unread threads.

China was very interesting. Thank you to all of you (including the person I went with) who managed to keep the fact that western-style toilets are a rarity a secret. h34r: 

Seems the main beer on hand was Snow, and although I counted 7 differently coloured labels, not a single person could tell me the difference between any of them. Tsingtao tasted much nicer fresh, but I only encountered it once. $1 for a 500ml beer seems okay, unless you get it served warm, or you realise it's 2.5% abv. Surprisingly okay body/malt/flavour mind you - I'll have to see if I can make something similar.

I got to try a heap of huajiao - sichuan pepper... freakin amazing stuff! Gotta track some of that down here.

It seems that Mianyang isn't very tourist-friendly/interesting, so there was a good chance that we were the only westerners for several kilometers in any direction. We walked through the city square after dinner and were surrounded by 30 or so people curious to see the strange folk in their city. This only served to draw a bigger crowd. Very odd experience that one.

Overall well worth the trip, but I don't think one could pay me enough to live there. I'm still coughing from the smog. $14 for a hot-pot dinner with drinks for two can't be beat, and I'll be on the lookout for somewhere that does it here.

Cheers!


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