Glou Your Lips to a Glass of Imported Craft Beer at This CBD Pub
Beijing’s most avid beer drinkers will have already popped over to Glou in the Central Park plaza during its soft opening to sample their imported selection. Now that the establishment has had some time to find its footing, remodeling its space and preparing a full menu of bar grub and fusion cuisine, it’s prepared to welcome the masses in for many a day and night glugging away – indeed, the name Glou (pronounced like “glue”) is derived from a French term that describes particularly gluggable beers and wines.
I visited Glou on a rainy night last week. The bars co-founder Jenn Raj tells me that on such nights, she enjoys sitting at the window bar, pint in hand, watching the drops pour down – and given the weather forecasts, customers in the coming days may find themselves doing the same. But once we finally see the sun again, they’ve got a lovely outdoor patio to sit and nurse a coffee or beer while Beijing summer lasts.
Raj is also co-founder of Drinking Buddies, a service that imports craft brews and ships them to subscribers who crave something more than the typical Belgian and American bottles that are common in the capital. But not everyone wants to do their beer exploration in the comfort of their own home, so Glou is an opportunity for founders to bring their imports to the bar-going crowd – and to serve those who believe in the superiority of fresh-from-the-tap pours.
That means that, like the subscription service, the bar is always updating its menu as new beers come along. At any given time, the tap carries around a dozen brews, and a couple dozen more can be found in colorful cans and bottles in the refrigerators. Beers on draught may include a mixture of imports and local brews – on our visit, local brews included a New England IPA from local brewer Crafters and a wheat beer from Chengdu brewery Dao Brew, while foreign breweries included Verhaeghe of Belgium, Thornebridge of England, Fierce brewery of Scotland, among several others.
Want to bring along your non-beer drinking friends? Not to worry, they’ve got a freshly updated cocktail menu as well.
Of course, if you won’t want to sit down for a few on an empty stomach. On the menu, you’ll find quite a few tantalizing options whether you’re looking to snack or have a full meal. The lighter items range from whole olives to spiced pork rinds. On the heavier end, we see a few nice takes on a few classics – the spicy chicken burger, pasta and salads, and sausage and cheese platters, to name a few. For the adventurous, I’d recommend the sliced beef plate – as long as you can handle the kick of the spicy Chinese-style oil. If that all sounds appetizing, they’ve got business lunch deals from Monday to Friday with free non-alcoholic meals with any big plate or just RMB 20 for a draft beer.
We're looking forward to better weather to spend at in what's bound to become a staple of the Central Park plaza – particularly during their daily 4-7pm happy hour with RMB 10 off all alcoholic drinks.
Glou 啤友汇
6 Chaoway Dajie, Xincheng Guoji, building 1, 101b， Chaoyang District
朝阳区朝外大街6号新城国际1号楼101B
READ: The Jing-A Empire Conquers Instreet With British-Style Sanyuanqiao Opening
Images courtesy of Glou
