Buzz Beer Launches New IPA and Cider Line After Laudable COVID Relief Efforts

When COVID-19 first hit following the Chinese New Year, Buzz Beer – no, not the beer from the Drew Carey Show, the one that got its start slinging bottles of its Osmanthus flower and honeyed profile namesake brew – suddenly found themselves sitting on about 10,000 cases of beer that they could no longer sell. The locally-owned beer brand distributes across China, but province by province, the bars that carried Buzz were forced to close.

For Buzz founder Yang “Jason” Xiuzhe, the challenges have been twofold as his other business, Mexican restaurant Loca Loca, was also (and still is) heavily affected due to the mass exodus of students who usually make up the bar’s primary customer base.

And yet during the pandemic's full-blown crisis period, when most business owners were reimagining ways to stay competitive in a tough and unpredictable environment, Yang and his partners decided that the most important action to take was helping those struggling more than they were.

“When the epidemic came, the Buzz team held an emergency staff meeting,” says Yang. “It was February, when masks were extremely scarce, so we decided to raise masks from dealers nationwide.” In just 72 hours, the team managed to collect over 7,000 masks to be donated to hospitals in Wuhan, where they were urgently needed.

Their efforts didn't stop there, however. Once things began to ease up a bit, the team decided to show their support for the recovering bars that stock Buzz by giving away roughly 10,000 liters of beer.

But of course, bars aren’t the only ones who are benefiting from the return to normalcy, lest we forget about bar-goers, who not only can once again guzzle down classic Buzz flavors, but also try some of the brand's newer recipes. One such newcomer to the hive is the Buzz IPA, a beer that certainly packs a punch but preserves the familiar extra-carbonated texture that Buzz drinkers know well. The beer, crafted by the first Asian brewer to attend the World Beer Awards, was launched toward the end of 2019, but the outbreak put a temporary halt to its distribution. Now, it’s finally getting into the hands of China’s burgeoning community of IPA enthusiasts.

Even more recently, the brand launched a new line of ciders called Swee. A number of different flavors are available, from Strawberry Lemon to Kumquat Lemon. The Beijinger editorial team tasted the Honey Citron Tea made with pomelo, and were struck by its well-balanced flavor profile – not too sweet, not too tart – that is hard to come by with ciders.

If you’re looking to try Buzz beers or ciders for yourself, you’re almost certain to find them at the next Beijinger festival. But if you can’t wait until whenever that will be, then look for them at the likes of The Mission and Heaven Supermarket as well as actual supermarkets like Hema and Bianlifeng.

READ: Booze News: Re-Up This Weekend With the Best Alcohol Delivery Options Available

Images courtesy of Buzz Beer