What's Up in Beer: Beer Run, Vietnamese Beer Debut, Oktoberfest Party, and Beer Week!

Tracy Wang, Senior Editor | Sep 22, 2016 3:00 pm | Add a comment | 2387 reads

It’s getting chillier and chillier, which makes us want to savor the last of the warm autumnal days drinking outside before winter finally makes its cruel descent.

First up, this year’s last Sunset BHS Beer Run is this Thursday (Sep 22), and these events will be hard to say goodbye to given that it's become something of an addiction. Join the beery tour at sunset, and you will be guided though six Dongcheng venues: No. 9 Beer, the Big Smoke, Heaven Supermarket, Home Plate, Slow Boat Brewpub, and Nbeer Saniltun. Compared to the normal four-bar length, this time you and your liver may have to be a little more prepared. Gather at No. 9 Beer at around 6pm and head off into the night at 7.11pm. RMB 300 if you don’t have a membership card. RSVP (WeChat: BJbrew).

Also this Thursday, Pasteur Street Brewing Company from Saigon launches three of their beers in Beijing: Silk Road Jasmine IPA (6.5 percent ABV), a medium-bodied American West Coast-style IPA, having a bready malt flavor, and aroma of citrus, pines, and tropical fruits; Toasted Coconut Porter with 6.9 percent ABV, which is brewed with fresh coconut from Ben Tre and roasted malts; and Passionfruit Wheat Ale with 4.5 percent ABV, which is an award-winning beer with a light and crispy body as well as a fruity aroma. You can find these beers at two locations in Beijing:

At Arrow Factory Brewing (Liangmaqiao location), RMB 35 for a whole pint, or RMB 90 for the set of three (limited to 20 sets in total). Or RMB 140 for a set of three beers and chicken wings (limited to 10 sets in total). 

At Jing-A Taproom, get a bowl of bún chả (rice noodle salad) with grilled meat skewers and fresh summer rolls, all for a set-menu price of RMB 100, provided by 4corners. If you are not interested in Vietnamese street food and want to get straight to the suds, RMB 35 will get you a pint from Pasteur Street Brewing, starting at 5pm. It's sure to get busy, to make a reservation call Jing-A at 6501 8883.

That's not all, Arrow Factory and Jing-A will choose one lucky drinker to send on a round trip to Saigon, Vietnam (they will fund the ticket up to RMB 2,000). Here are the details on how to enter:

  • Follow the WeChat accounts of both Arrow Factory and Jing-A, and order one of Pasteur Street's beers on Thursday night (Arrow Factory Liangmahe & Jing-A Taproom will both have three of their beers on tap).
  • Share a picture of yourself enjoying that beer on your WeChat Moments or on Instagram (remember to tag @pasteurstreetbrewing), along with the text “Arrow Factory and Jing-A: I want to drink Craft Bia in Vietnam!"
  • Send a screenshot of your shared post to both the Arrow Factory and Jing-A WeChat accounts along with your name and phone number so they can easily contact you if you are the lucky one!

On September 25, Great Leap Brewing will release the Honey Ma Lager at GLB #6 (the hutong location), which is a Chinese style Oktoberfest beer. And of course Oktoberfest isn't complete without bratwurst: Andy's Sausages will be there to grill classic German sausages in the courtyard during the party (1pm-5pm on September 25). RMB 100 will get you two beers and a sausage, and the new Honey Ma Lager will be available for just RMB 25 all throughout the day. 

As you may already know, the Third Annual Autumn Craft Beer Festival has been transformed into Beer Week. During September 23 to 30, get guest tap beers at RMB 35 per pint (Chengdu Harvest, Cider Republic, Boxing Cat, Wuhan No. 18, Bubble Lab, Xian, and Master Gao). Get in on the action at the following locations:

RELATED: Brace Yourself for Beer Week! Slow Boat's New Festival to Be a Citywide Suds Extravaganza

The kick-off party will be at 7pm at Slow Boat Brewpub on September 23. Besides, you can pick up a free booklet from all six breweries above, which contains the information about the beers and where you can drink them, also includes how to win the prizes.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos courtesy of venues