What’s Up in Beer: GLB's Chef and the Brewer, Jing-A's Black Tentacle, Chez Gerard Party

It's here. The sunshine, the breeze, the rare blue skies, and the ice-cold beers. Everything right now seems borne for long, summer days spent outside on a terrace or balcony. So, without further ado, let's get to the best of this week's golden nectar news.

First up, Great Leap Brewing hits us with their annual collab with Australian brewery Moon Dog Brewing on Jun 2. This year, they've created a Champagne Mimosa (9.5 percent ABV ), a bright yellow and hazy beer brewed with orange juice. It'll be available on draft at both locations for RMB 60 per 340ml or in limited edition 750ml bottles for RMB 148.

To celebrate the release, GLB has also teamed up with Opposite House's elegant dim sum eatery Jing Yaa Tang for their latest Chef and the Brewer event on Jun 1 at 7.30pm. Li Dong, Jing Yaa Tang's head chef has developed a five-course meal specifically for the occasion, each matched to an accompanying GLB beer. The meal will climax with a round of the kitchen's popular roast duck paired with the Barley Champagne Mimosa.

The event is also notable for being one of the first times that Great Leap has paired their beers with Chinese dishes. The event costs RMB 528, which will get you unfettered access to the food, beer, and a bottle of the Leaping the Dog Barley Champagne Mimosa to take away. Since seats at Jing Yaa Tang are limited, email jimmy@greatleapbrewing.com to reserve a spot.

Lastly, GLB burgers fans will be ecstatic to hear that their Xinyuanli location (#45) has taken over the mantle of the now deceased #12, adding four kinds of burgers to their menu (RMB 50-65).

Jing-A, meanwhile, has launched their new Black Tentacle, a collaboration with Barnaby Struve of Stigbergets Bryggeri (Gothenburg, Sweden). This 11 percent ABV ink-black imperial stout comes with aromas of chocolate, bourbon, oak, and hops and took six months to brew in total, partly because the beer was rested on bourbon-soaked oak before being kegged. It costs RMB 40 per 250ml or RMB 118 per 750ml bottle.

Have you found time yet to go visit Chez Gerard’s new digs at 45 Beiluogu Xiang yet? If not, head over this weekend to celebrate their successful move this Saturday (Jun 2) from 2-7pm where there'll be 50 percent off cheeses and charcuterie, as well as dumplings provided by Mr. Shi and four kinds of their bottled beer – Worker’s Pale Ale, Flying Fist IPA, Tuhao Gold Pils, and Dongbei IPA – from Jing-A. If you show up in Tuhao chic or a Dongbei-style floral-patterned fabric, then your first bottle is free. The most eye-appealing contestant will also get a special gift.

Staying in the hutongs, Great Outdoors has released four new brews on tap, including their Wild West IPA, Snorkeling Pilsner, Blackout Weekend Cider, and a Belgian Bouncing Wheat. They've also recently launched several bottled beers such as Hilma Vanilla Fillpin’ Burgers Fries IPA, Fatamograna Oat/Wheat IPA, Bianca Mango Lassi Gose, Flyktsoda NE IPA, Noa Pecan Mud Cake Imperial Stout (one of our favorites), Mazarin Oatmeal Pale Ale, and Selassie Imperial Coffee Stout from Omnipollo. To pair with the brews, you may also want to grab one of their new sausage platters, including moreish sausage made with kimchi which goes particularly well with their hoppy Wild West IPA. Their patio on the second floor has also now officially opened, giving us one more reason to head over.

In Sanlitun, Slow Boat has released a new beer, The Deep Diver Wheat (pictured above), which is a light, sweet, slightly cloudy American wheat. It is named after Wang Pingxian, a scientist and pioneer in Chinese marine geological science, especially in the field of paleoceanography. Slow Boat says that this beer is a “natural complement to breakfast and brunch dishes,” especially the new Mourning the Morning breakfast burger or as the perfect remedy for late nights or early wake-up calls. Also, both the Sea Anchor Imperial Vanilla Stout and the Koh Chang Lemongrass Saison are back on tap.

Finally, if you noticed that the entrance of Arrow Factory Liangma River has some ominous-looking tarps over the tanks, don’t panic, it’s not closed. All you need to do is make your way to the rooftop as usual in order to enjoy some beer and sunshine. On that front, they have Hefeweizen from NBeer Pub (4.8 percent ABV), a Bavarian wheat beer, and Tiao Dong Who IPA from Wuhan No. 18 (6.2 percent ABV), which is named after the annual jumping in Weidong Lake in Wuhan. This one goes particularly well with the sunshine thanks to its hoppy character and tropical fruit, caramel, and earthy notes.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang