To Beer, or Not to Beer: Slow Boat at Bang Bang or Q Mex Brunch?

Slow Boat Brewery and Bang! Bang! Pizza are teaming up for a bash on Saturday and Sunday with the fantastic deal of three beers and a pizza for RMB 88. Meanwhile, Q Mex is launching their weekend brunch this weekend. The lucky can hit up both, but I've only got time for one. Ay, there's the rub.

To beer, or not to beer, that is the question:
Whether 'tis better for the liver to pass up
The Brews and Pizzas of outrageous discount,
Or to gorge myself on a sea of Mexican brunch,
And by gluttony eat it: to food coma, to sleep
No more …

Okay okay, that's more than enough Shakespeare mangling for one day. You'll have to excuse me, this conundrum has got me waxing melodramatic.

Here are the deets for this weekend:

Bang! Bang! Pizza

In honor of Bang! Bang! becoming Slow Boat Brewery's eighth distribution point in Beijing, the two have teamed up for a "Lucky 8 weekend." You'll be able to get three pints of Slow Boat beer and a pizza for RMB 88 from noon to close on July 7th and 8th. That's one helluva deal. If you've been saving up to try some of Slow Boat's new beers, now's your chance.

They'll have four beers on tap: Monkey's Fist Mango IPA, Dragon Boat Summer Ale, Dogwatch 1600 Wheat and Captain's Pale Ale. From what I've heard, that Mango IPA has been quite the hit around town lately. The Dogwatch wheat beer has some interesting flavors to it too.

Co-founder Chandler Jurinka tells me they're bringing in extra taps for the weekend. Expect things to get very exciting.

Q Mex

As the new kids on the block, these guys have been having some minor service hiccups, but I'll happily forgive them if they'll keep churning out good Mexican food. Especially if they happen to be huevos.

Q Mex is still finalizing the brunch menu for this weekend, but I got an early peek at it and it's looking quite fun. So far they've got five choices for brunch cocktails, including sangria and margaritas, available either a la carte or free flow. The food menu is dubbed "The Art of the Egg" and has a wealth of choices in the RMB 45-50 range. Sides, salads and sweets are also available.

Brunch will run from 11-3 on Saturday and Sunday, and should become a regular weekend affair.

So there you have it. The Whips and Scorns of time roll on and you're left pondering what dreams may come from beer and pizza or margaritas and eggs. Ahem, sorry.

Photo: Hamlet: Stephen Poff, Beer: The BJ Reviewer (hack photoshop job by Josh Ong)