Mark Your Calendar: 8x8 Brewing Project is Coming in October

As any good Bavarian knows, October is a prime beer-drinking season – a fact that the brewers at local favorite Jing-A are well privy to, which is why they’ve slated Oct 16-17 for their annual 8x8 Brewing Project (which will give you plenty of time to recover from Hot & Spicy Fest 2020 this weekend!).

If you aren't familiar, 8x8 is not just another beer festival. Each year, 16 breweries from across China are called upon to pair up and create a brew just for the fest. The result is eight creative beers that you won’t find anywhere else. For a good example, look no further than Jing-A’s own collaboration with Baltimore's Stillwater Artisana last year, in which they whipped up a Cola & Ginger Sour Ale.

On top of the eight collaborations, 30 more rotating beers will be available on tap. Tickets are available now, ranging from the 3-hour pass for RMB 150 to the VIP all-access pass for RMB 650, which will have you sipping at all four sessions and will also give you the chance to try an exclusive rare bottle. There will be food at the fest for a few extra bucks, but all tickets let you drink for free from your very own 8x8 sampling glass that you can take home afterward.

Jing-A won’t be the only Beijing brewery at the project either – Slow Boat and Nbeer will also be representing the capital, while True Man Brewing will represent our neighbor, Tianjin.

While previous 8x8’s have gone international with the breweries, things will be kept domestic this year. “Given the state of the world, it’s going to be an "all-China" 8x8 this year,” Jing-co-founder Alex Acker told the Beijinger. “We've got some really interesting new breweries participating, like Wumu in Xi'an and Maha Nine from Hohhot, and the list represents a really nice geographic spread across the country.” Incidentally, the fest will be Wumu Brewery’s first appearance in Beijing.

“It's been a tough, unprecedented year for craft beer in China,” Acker said, adding, “This 8x8 felt like a chance to get the community together, toast to overcoming the challenges of 2020, and really, throw a well-deserved, awesome party like every year!”

We’ll cheers to that.

READ: Comida Picante: Go South of the Rio Grande at Hot & Spicy Festival 2020

Images courtesy of Jing-A