What’s Up in Beer: Jing-A Co-Brew and New Pop-Up Concept, New Batches at El Nido, Kiwi Brew at Beersmith
We'll start this week with some disappointing news before moving onto the amber good stuff. Having visited Imbeer’s beer festival last Saturday, we can honestly say that the event was a letdown due to poor organization. Problems began at the gate when they claimed that the RMB 50 for three vouchers were "sold out" – difficult to swallow given that they were vouchers, and an obvious ploy to force people to buy 12 vouchers for RMB 150. Despite those snafus, I did get to try some nice brews from the distributors present. With that out of the way, let’s see what beery goodness Beijing has to offer us this week.
First off, Jing-A is set to release a new collaboration brew on Monday (Jul 16) with Black Project Spontaneous and Wild Ales of Denver, Colorado. Titled Sky Temple, this bottled beer utilized the American brewery's coolship – a wide, flat, and open-topped vessel used for cooling freshly brewed beer wort, allowing "local microbes in the crisp Colorado air to enter the beer, resulting in a sour and funky fermentation." Jing-A then refermented the resulting brew with the addition of dried Chinese hawthorns. The result is a pink-blush beer with tart and fruity overtones and a lingering complexity. Mug Club members can enjoy a preview tasting flight of Sky Temple from today, Jul 13, at 6pm at Jing-A's Xingfucun Brewpub. RSVP richard@jingabrewing.com to save your spot.
With the beginning of the end of the World Cup looming, Jing-A is offering RMB 10 off on all beers during the final at both their Xingfucun Brewpub and Damei pop-up beer garden locations, as well as a late night food menu at the former and a full menu at the latter. We're sad to say that the Damei beer garden will also close after the match but not before the big blowout party on Sunday (when France plays Croatia at 11pm).
But with one closure comes an opening, as Jing-A is set to open a follow-up pop-up (named Jing Jing, shhh ...) at Jing Yaa Tang's sunken garden in the Opposite House next Thursday, Jul 19. Stay tuned for a first look and more info once we've visited.
Over at NBeer, they've brought a bunch of beers back on tap, such as their Jieshan 219 Sour IPA, NB wheat (which won Gold at the Australia International Beer Awards this year), Queen’s Sour (a Nordic sour co-brewed with Dugges), Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Milk Stout, Einstok’s Arctic Pale Ale and Toasted Porter, Sputnik Pale Ale and Transmission West Coast IPA by England's North Brewing Co, and the 12 percent ABV Brush Imperial Stout by Omnipollo and J. Wakefield Brewing.
Things are warming up at El Nido's new digs at The Other Place with some new imports, such as Blueberry Spaceship Box Cider (5.5 percent ABV, and RMB 130 for 200ml) and Desert Monsoon Mead (13 percent ABV, RMB 150 for 200ml) by Superstition Meadery, Hoptologist Double IPA, Cita Extra Pale Ale from Knee Deep, Batch 15 IPA, Blackberry Sour from Black Market, and Must Kuld Porter from Pohjala. Each beer is limited so head over before they run out.
After releasing two ciders last week, Beersmith has another new option this week in the form of their Mainland Sour Ale brewed by Beermsmith's Kiwi brewmaster Tom Ashton and Fraser Kennedy of Goose Island Shanghai. This brew uses only ingredients sourced from New Zealand’s south island (the "Mainland") and the result is a pale ale with a hoppy twist and a tart and refreshing finish thanks to Nelson-grown Kohatu hops. The beer, which weighs in at 5.2 percent ABV, is on tap now and costs RMB 48 for 330ml or RMB 55 for 440ml.
The Great Outdoors also has a number of new imported cans and bottles, including a Punk in Drublic Hopped Lager, VirtuAle IPA, I’m Peach Double IPA, and Brett Export IPA – all from Stone Brewing.
Finally, a Fifa World Cup-themed pop-up bar has opened outside of Sanlitun's Topwin Center. It's organized by smzdm.com and koubei.com, and you can head over to play games, win prizes, and even get a beer on the house courtesy of NBeer until Jul 15. Click here to read more about what's on offer.
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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang
