What’s Up in Beer: 8x8 Beer Fest, Stone Beers on Tap, GLB’s 7th Anniversary, and More

Tracy Wang, Senior Editor | Nov 2, 2017 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 1229 reads

People say blessings come in pairs, but this week they come in threes! There will be 14 beers shipped in directly from Stone this weekend, followed by the free flow 8x8 beer fest at UCCA organized by Jing-A, and finally the Karl Long Challenge in celebration of Great Leap’s seventh anniversary. I’m not sure about you, but we couldn’t be more thrilled as Friday is fast approaching. I mean, come on guys, when will you ever have this good of an excuse or chance to drink so many proper and rare craft beers in Beijing?

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the Stone products on the shelves in Beijing, or even Taobao, such as their Go To IPA, Pataskala Red IPA, or their milk stout, but now they are flying 14 varieties of fresh beers into our lovely city straight from San Diego. Scan the QR code to get into Peiping at 4pm, or come later to join the meeting with co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, as well as CEO Dominic Engles from 7-8.30pm at Peiping Machine Gongti (8 Gongti Xilu), anyone who buys three pints of Stone drafts will receive a commemorative t-shirt.  

Then we have the two-day 8x8 beer fest organized by Jing-A at UCCA on Nov 3-4, with four sessions and a whopping 136 different beers in total (each session will be 32 beers with 8 collab beers).

  • Cloudburst Brewing (Seattle) x Bubble Lab (Wuhan)
  • Gigantic Brewing Co. (Portland) x Moonzen Brewery (Hong Kong)
  • Breakside Brewery (Portland) x NBeer (Chengdu/Beijing)
  • 10 Barrel Brewing Co. (Bend) x Fat Fat Beer Horse (Xiamen)
  • Culmination Brewing (Portland) x Master Gao (Nanjing)
  • The Commons Brewery (Portland) x Taihu Brewing (Taipei)
  • Holy Mountain Brewing (Seattle) x Jing-A Brewing Co. (Beijing)
  • Parallel 49 Brewing (Vancouver) x TAPS (Shenzhen/Chongqing)

To go with the beers, there'll also be tasty food from Common Burger, Pak Pak and Susu, Palms L.A., and Jing-A's barbecue offerings. Also, DJ Jay 1,2 will be on the decks both days, and you can also get temporarily tattooed by Needles & Pins. Each session costs RMB 300, or you can get a pass to all session for RMB 988 or a VIP pass for RMB 1,188. Check here for the whole beer list, and here (or scan the QR code) to buy the tickets.

Great Leap Brewing is celebrating the seventh anniversary of Beijing craft beer on Saturday (Nov 4) with a series of beery events. The annual anniversary beer Three Door Tripel will be back with its 12 percent ABV, being brewed with honey and Osmanthus tea, which will be on tap on Friday for RMB 60.

For those who think you can drink a dozen pints without any hesitation, the yearly drinking orgy of the Karl Long Challenge is back, you can drink 15 selected beers at GLB three locations for RMB 300 on Saturday (Nov 4) during their operating hours, anyone who visits all three locations and finishes the pints will be rewarded a limited-edition t-shirt. Good luck!

For the not-keen-to-move drinkers, RMB 100 will get you any four beers on the menu at all three locations on Nov 4. Come over and send your greetings in your own way. Happy birthday, Great Leap Brewing!

There will be a brewmaster’s dinner at the Boxing Cat Pop-Up Store on Nov 4 at 7.30pm. For RMB 288, you will get a four-course dinner paired with special beers prepared by brewer Matt and chef and founder Kelley Lee, including an El Presidente Lager with Mexican snackles, Crouching THAIgher Lager with kanpachi tiradito, Champagne Supernova Berliner Weisse with roasted scallop and risotto, Cognac Barrel Aged Barleywine with Berkshire pork tomahawk, and Donkey Punch Porter with malt loaf. Book your seat by calling 6593 5087.

Tom Champion from Little Creatures Hong Kong and Tom Ashton from Beersmith at Hotel Jen have teamed up to brew a beer dubbed TNT, which is a hoppy Australasian session IPA with 4.5 percent ABV, featuring generous hops from Australia and New Zealand, where both the brewers come from. They also double dry-hopped, with Galaxy and Motueka hops, to develop aromas of tropical and stone fruits. This beer will be launched on Nov 7 at Beersmith and Nov 8 at Little Creatures Kennedy Town.  

Finally, NBeer has Midnight Pumpkin Ale on tap at both locations, this seasonal beer has 7 percent ABV, and is brewed with 200kg roasted pumpkin, with infusions of vanilla, nutmeg, clove, coriander, and a dash of ginger.

During this beery, cheery weekend, there is plenty to celebrate. Don't get stuck at home, watching other people have fun on your WeChat moments. Come out, drink craft beers, and share the love!

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos courtesy of venues