Beijing

Take a hike, Tsingtao! Be gone, Bud Light! Err… skedaddle, Skol! Yep, drinkers around the world are turning their backs on big brand beers and celebrating the rise of the craft brew. In China beer traditionally means light lager with an even lighter price tag, but craft ales have finally caught on in the capital. These days everyone has an opinion on what beer to drink and where to drink it (including us), so we’ve put together this guide for incoming visitors, to help you look like you know the score when it comes to craft beer in Beijing. Cheers!

Great Leap Brewing

The thirsty pioneers who started it all. Way back in the dark days of 2009 it was a single brew – the now legendary Pale Ale No. 6 – sold from a trestle table at the 798 Art District. Fast forward five years and they’ve got three venues, a line-up of over 20 beers and have helped steward the scene to maturity with everything from beer festivals to homebrew classes. Their success isn’t just by virtue of being first; it’s down to the single-minded ambition of the founders, American-born Carl and Chinese partner Liu Fang, who have a knack of seeing the bigger picture while putting all those little details in line. And making exceedingly tasty beer, of course.

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