Enjoy a Week of Craft Brew Specials as Beersmith Celebrates 3 Years

When Beersmith opened in Beijing's CBD it marked a relative gamble for its parent company, Hotel Jen. In an area populated by and synonymous with cocktail bars, the area was severely lacking good beer options, but would a venue specializing in malt for the masses take off? Three years on and any concerns as to whether beer would stick in the area have been assuaged, and anyone who has been to Beersmith over the past couple of years can attest to the fact that the bar is one of the most consistently lively venues in the city.

Their winning formula can be boiled down to three distinct factors: good beer, good food, and a live band that draws crowds and keeps them there. Now as part of their three year anniversary, May 22-29, Beersmith will play host to daily beer specials, a beer passport complete with freebies, and beer masterclasses headed by Beersmith's head brewer and Melburnian, Wilson Hede. Below, we caught up with Hede to find out what you can expect if you visit Beersmith over the coming days as well as how the brewery has been dealing with the various restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s been over two years since we last checked in with you. What have you been up to since then? What have been some of the biggest developments at Beersmith?
It has definitely been some time since we last spoke. Since then, we’ve been busy brewing plenty of new beers and developing our seasonal beer program. As I go through and count them, we’ve released over 30 unique beers in the last 18 months which is something brand new nearly every two weeks. Our food offering has also really developed – from an increased focus on high-end gastropub-style dining through to our recent addition of a meatless menu all driven by our Chef Maiker Valdivia.

What about in the Chinese craft beer scene in general?
The scene is really going from strength to strength. Whether it’s new brewery openings or increased shelf space for craft, I see great quality beer in more and more places. The last year in Beijing has shown a lot of the breweries here further pushing the boundaries with local ingredients whilst simultaneously making clean, modern styles worthy of international acknowledgment.

Beersmith is on the cusp of celebrating three years in the biz. What have been some highlights of the brewpub for you personally?
Tweaking our core range over time before undergoing a brand refresh was a highlight. The process of refining already great beers and dialing in the nuance will be something I always enjoy, especially over such a wide variety of styles.

Food-wise, the transition of the kitchen under our Chef Maiker has also been a highlight. Moving past a ‘high-end beer pub with a burger’ and into true gastropub territory with some really innovative sharing dishes, and the attention to detail on the grill has increased the overall experience even more. He lifted it to a whole new level within the blink of an eye.

Otherwise, finally brewing a beer with Buddha’s Hand – I’m not sure how many fruit wholesalers and nurseries I contacted in Australia trying to find it when I was still there. I guess I had to come to China to get a hold of it!

You’re due to host several brewmaster classes in the coming days. What can attendees expect to learn?
We’re going to be taking attendees through the basics of the brewing process and ingredients, and then dig a little deeper into why we make the exact beers that we do. We’ll also be pairing each of the four beers with food in a tapas style, so the idea is that people will walk away with some knowledge on how they can best match beer with food.

It’s no secret that the past four months have been challenging for the city’s F&B outlets. What specific challenges has Beersmith faced?  How did you overcome them?
The weirdest feeling was drinking beers in an empty bar on those Friday nights during the time we were closed. Very strange feeling when thinking that normally you wouldn’t get a seat on a similar day a few months back. On the other hand, it gave us a lot of time to think about how we will come back, brainstorming and discussing the future of craft beer, our menu, entertainment, and other stuff.

The main reason we decided to close was to ensure our staff was safe. We put everyone up in Hotel Jen [and] put several safety measures in place to avoid any risks. Our people got cross deployed into other functions that kept the business running and were essential, for example, the brewery staff supported the security and engineering department.

In terms of getting some revenue during the closure, we focused a lot on developing waimai business channels. In the past, we didn’t really focus that strong on waimai. In retrospect, this positively forced us to develop and look into new revenue channels, which we will continue to focus on in the future.

Our house band Soul Shake has always been part of the experience at Beersmith and they’re not currently here. In terms of overcoming those changes, the focus for us is firmly on our beer, food, and service and having people return time and time again because of that.

Finally, what do you hope to achieve in Beersmith’s next three years?
For me, it’s all about continuing to increase the innovation and quality that people expect from our beers and starting to push the boundaries. Maybe in three years we’ll have brought our yearly Russian Imperial Stout from 8 percent ABV (2018) or 12 percent (2019) to something deliciously excessive like 20 percent. I guess we’ll wait and see!

Find out more about Beersmith's week of celebrations here and about their beer masterclass sessions here.

READ: These Are the New Beijing Venues That Dared to Open During COVID-19

Images courtesy of Beersmith