Beijing's Newest Brewpubs You Won't Want to Miss

Following our first and second roundups of this year's newly opened brewpubs and beer bars, Beijing continues on its fast march to developing one of Asia's most active beer scenes (lucky for us, as beer lovers). In this third roundup, we take a look at the fresh-faced brewpubs that opened in past few months and are worth a visit.

Slow Boat Brewpub Sanlitun
After six-month wait, Slow Boat Brewery finally opened at 6 Nan Sanlitun Lu in September. With more than 170 seats in total, 16 beers on tap, it also provides its popular award-winning burgers, as well as salads, fries, desserts, not to mention the lovely pancakes and waffles for brunch.
Read our first impressions here.

Joyous Shop & Bar 酒仰
Hidden in B/1 of Shangdu Soho, this bar has about 40 seats, and one of the largest selections of bottled beer in Beijing. Among the 200 kinds of beers, are popular options like Dogfish Head, Brewdog, Flying Dog, Rogue, Stone, Karl Strauss, Bush, De Molen; Belgian brands such as Chimay, Hoegaarden, Lindemans, Duve, La Chouffe, and Vedett; as well as rarer beers such as Speakeasy, Evil Twin, and Belching Beaver. Plenty of Chinese bottled beers are also on offer too, such as Panda Brew, Master Gao, and Reberg. If a pint is what you're after then grab a glass of Nbeer, Chengdu Harvest, or Master Gao.
Read our first impressions here.

Tiny
Opening in September on Xinyuan Jie, Tiny offers a more relaxed drinking environment when compared to the hustle and bustle Sanlitun. The 36-square-meter bar is small but cozy, and provides nine beers all from Wuhan Bubble Lab, including one pilsner, one saison, four IPAs, one porter, an ale and a stout. There are also salads, fried dumplings, fish fillet, sausage on the menu.
Read our first impressions here.

Steamrhino 蒸汽犀牛
The team behind Dongli Brewery opened this swish brewpub on Xindong Lu in October, offering eight beers, all brewed on site. There's a bunch of food too, such as salads (RMB 20-58), burgers (RMB 38-88), and main dishes, of which we'd highly recommend the soft and juicy grilled lamb chops, which were served with a host of vegetables and all seasoned with Himalayan sea salt and rosemary. Overall, we can see Chinese local customers flocking to Steamrhino for its sleek decor, good food, but somewhat middling micro-brews.
Read our first impressions here.

High Town 海棠精酿
Taking over Particles Kitchen in Nali Patio, High Town offers three beers brewed on site (Wheat Beer, High Town IPA, and Osmanthus Ale), as well as nine imported beers on tap, including Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, Kentucky IPA, No. 18 Milk Stout, Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, Firestone Ale 31, Finn Pilsner Lager, Foxes Rock Red Ale, Liefmans Cuvee Brut, and Cider Republic Apple Cider. The American takes on a number of different dishes were also surprisingly well-conceived, and we especially enjoyed the quesadillas (RMB 68), and lava cake (RMB 58).
Read our first impressions here.

Craft Art & Craft Beer 霄云绘
Unfortunately, not all new beer bars can be good, Craft Art & Craft Beer giving us fair warning that some people just don't have a clue. Although boasting 14 taps, with offerings from Peiping Machine, Dead Pony Club from Brewdog, Evil Twin, Ballast Point, and Rogue, three out of 14 were sold out and of the five we tried, four tasted weird. Both the attitude of the owners, and the pigeon-sized chicken that we had the misfortune of ordering, were both equally disappointing.
Read our first impressions here.

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos: Tiny, Tracy Wang