China Beer Geek: Xenon Yuan on Beijing’s Beer Culture

Beijing-based American Xenon Yuan created the blog, Chinabeergeek.com, “as a place to help fellow beer enthusiasts find their way amidst what is often unfairly categorized as a barren landscape for quality brews.” He also works as a sales representative of Dxcel distributors, who provide China with most of the American craft beer in its still-developing market.

What is a geek, and why China beer geek?
Beer “geeks” prefer the term over something like “expert,” since that often morphs into another word: “snob.”
Chinabeergeek was simply an easy-to-remember site name, and I didn’t want to limit myself to just Beijing.

How do you see the future of beer brewing in China?
As locals start to explore and discover how diverse beer can be, inevitably there will be more attempts to create more than just your typical, pale rice lagers. It will take time, but I sense that the change in the past three years is already going at a faster pace than the six years prior.

What is the most amazing beer you have ever tried?
This is always a difficult question. Just like wine, there is a “perfect” beer for potentially every different mood, setting or meal. And any such experience, no matter how transcendental, is ultimately subjective and contextual. But if I had to narrow down to just one style of beer, I would follow in the footsteps of Garrett Oliver (brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery and a renowned author on beer) – and choose Saison (a style of farmhouse ale) for its combination of complexity, refreshment and amazing versatility with food.
For the record, I also rate my beers and tasting notes. Although I have a backlog of at least 500 more handwritten entries, you can keep track of my beer reviews at beeradvocate.com (username tai4ji2x), which can be viewed by overall score.

What are the main differences between a beer tasting and a wine tasting?
Actually, the format is often quite similar to wine tastings, which themselves can be quite varied. Let’s get one thing clear from the start: cheese goes just as well (if not better) with beer. You won’t find many cows on a vineyard, but farmers traditionally had beer with their meals. And the Belgians have long known of the affinity between cheese and beer.
I suppose if there is any difference, it is that there tends to be less spitting. The “beer crowd” likes to justify this by saying that the taste buds for bitterness are concentrated near the back of the tongue, but the jury’s still out on that.
It is certainly arguable, but I would say that there is a wider range of flavors with beer, since brewers are not restricted in their ingredients and methods to the same extent that winemakers are.

Desert island. Pool party. Thanks giving turkey. Beijing duck. Hummus. Filet mignon. Hunan. Which beers do you drink?
Saison for the desert island, and maybe for the hummus as well. An American pale ale or IPA for the pool party – I assume there are burgers and hot dogs poolside? Biere de Garde for Thanksgiving. A German bock or doppelbock for Beijing duck. Filet mignon is not my favorite steak, but a lightly tart Flanders ale (such as Rodenbach Grand Cru or Liefman’s Goudenband) might work, as would most darker Belgian ales. I also like (English or American) brown ales, and sometimes even imperial stouts, with my steak. Hunan would be nice with Saison (again!), wheat beers (both German and Belgian), or a classic Czech pilsner.

Best venues for beer in Beijing?
I’m the type that just can’t stick to a narrow range of beers. Thus it’s hard for me to select the “best” venues in Beijing. For what it’s worth, I like the selection – particularly of American craft beer – they’ve chosen at Eudora. Other places to find American microbrews include Apothecary and Union Bar and Grille. I also like the broad selections at Beer Mania, NOLA, and perhaps also Danger Doyle’s (only when their happy hour is in effect). When I’m in need of some of the rarer Belgian beers though, I have to go to Morel’s or The Tree. Similarly, for German (-style) draft beers, my best bet is often Paulaner, Drei Kronen, or Schindler’s – if my wallet can handle the splurge.

Any exciting events coming up in Beijing that beer lovers ought to know about?
If you find yourself near the Four Points Sheraton in Haidian this summer, they do a beer event on Fridays, where they feature two of my favorite American beers available in Beijing – Brooklyn Lager and North Coast Red Seal Ale.
I’m also trying to get some additional beers from Dxcel’s lineup into Beer Mania this summer. Keep an eye out for a possible promotional event there.
Further down the road, I like the seasonal Oktoberfest beers at Paulaner and Drei Kronen, since they usually adhere to the more traditional copper-colored style, called Märzen, which hasn’t been brewed for the actual festival in Munich since the early 1980’s. I wasn’t as impressed with DK’s offering two years ago, but they have since hired a new brew master, Andreas.
And finally, I’ll be working to keep chinabeergeek.com updated with events as well – whether or not they involve products I get paid for!

Eudora Station Bar and Restaurant
Daily 9am-2am. 6 Fangyuan Xilu, Chaoyang District. (6437 8331) 亿多瑞站, 朝阳区芳园西路6号

Apothecary
Tue-Sun 6pm-late (kitchen closes 1am). 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Chaoyang District. (5208 6040) 朝阳区三里屯北路81号那里花园3层

Union Bar & Grille
Mon-Fri 11am-11pm,Sat-Sun 11am-midnight. S6-31, 3/F, Bldg 6, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6415 9117) 优年美式餐厅, 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区6号楼3层S6-31

Beer Mania
Daily 2pm-late. 1/F, Taiyue Fang, Nansanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6585 0786) beermania.todayinchina.com
麦霓啤酒吧, 朝阳区南三里屯路泰乐坊1层

Nola
Daily 10.30am-11pm. 11A Xiushui Nanjie, Chaoyang District. (8563 6215) 朝阳区秀水南街11号

Danger Doyle’s
Daily 10.30am-2am. 3/F, Bldg 5, China View, 2 Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District. (6591 3337, VIP Hotline: 136 0139 1308) 朝阳区工体东路2号中国红街大楼5号楼三层

Morel’s
1) Daily 11.30am-1am. Gongti Beilu (opposite Workers’ Gymnasium North Gate, northwest corner of Chunxiu Lu), Dongcheng District. (6416 8802); 2) Tue-Sun 11.30am-11.30pm. East block, 27 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District. (6437 3939) 莫劳龙玺西餐厅, 1) 东城区莫劳龙玺西餐, 工体北路春秀路西北角工人体育馆北门对面; 2) 朝阳区莫劳红玺西餐, 亮马桥路27号东座1层

The Tree
Daily noon-2am. 43 Sanlitun Beijie (100m west of Sanlitun North Bar street, Youyi Youth Hostel, behind Poachers Inn), Chaoyang District. (6415 1954) 隐蔽的树, 朝阳区三里屯北街以西100米Poachers后面三里屯医院旁

Drei Kronen 1308 Brauhaus
Daily 11am-2am. 1/F, Bldg 5, China View, Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District. (6503 5555) 皇冠自酿啤酒坊, 朝阳区工体东路中国红街5号楼1层

Schindler’s Anlegestelle (Schindler’s Docking Station)
Daily 11am-late. 10 Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang District. (6463 1108) 申德勒码头餐厅, 朝阳区三里屯北小街10号

Schindler’s Tankstelle
1) Daily 10am-midnight. 15A Guanghua Lu (200m east of Ritan Park South Gate), Chaoyang District. (8562 6439); 2) Daily 11am-midnight. 1 Houshayu Zhen, Shayu Lu, Shunyi District. (8042 2291) 申德勒加油站, 1) 朝阳区光华路甲15号(日坛南门往东200米); 2) 顺义区沙峪路后沙峪镇1号

Paulaner Brauhaus
Daily 11am-1am. Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District. (6465 3388 ext 5732) 普拉那啤酒坊餐厅, 朝阳区亮马桥路50号凯宾斯基饭店

Four Points by Sheraton
Daily 9am-4midnight. 25 Yuanda Lu, Haidian District. (8889 8888) 海淀区福朋喜来登永泰酒店, 海淀区远大路25号