Tom Ashton Makes Great Leap to Role as Brewmaster at Upcoming CBD Brewpub

As 2016 speeds towards its inevitable conclusion and with hangovers fresh from last weekend's homebrew fest, we're tempted to call it a year – there couldn't possibly be one more ounce of craft beer news left in Beijing's collective tank.

But then another update comes out of nowhere, like the first rays of morning sun on your tired, booze-soaked retinas: a new gastropub is on its way to Beijing, to be headed by none other than Great Leap veteran Tom Ashton.

It'll be a high class affair situated in the Shangri-la family's new five-star Hotel Jen, which is slated for a spring opening in 2017 in the first 22 floors or so of the soon-to-be-completed China World Tower B complex.

Its opening will give Shangri-La a handful of hotels within site of one another in the CBD: Kerry Hotel Beijing, China World Summit Wing, China World Hotel, and Traders Hotel. Hotel Jen Upper East Beijing is already in operation.

RELATED: Hotel Jen Joins the CBD

Located on the first floor, the new venue will be a modern 250-seat gastropub with pool tables which can turn into dining tables, big screens for watching sports, and tons of beer brewed on site.

Ashton took the role of brewmaster in October, after six months at Shanghai Brewery in Shanghai and two years as brewer at Great Leap Brewing in Beijing.

Ashton said the brewery is still in the commissioning stage and aims to be open in March.

“My philosophy is using the best ingredients available, whether they are imported or local," Ashton said. "We're looking to create a beer range inspired by international styles from around the world: German Kolsch, English Porter, Belgian Saison, New World IPA, New Zealand Golden Ale, as well as ciders.”

All the beers and ciders will be brewed on site using copper brewing tanks in the middle of the venue that are laser-etched with the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

With larger ambitions than merely being an F&B venue for hotel guests, the new brewpub will have its own entrance, and aims to make the same sort of crossover to a local audience that Shangri-La's long-running Centro in the Kerry Hotel has done for 13 years.

Similar to The Brew at the Kerry Hotel's Pudong location in Shanghai, this new brewpub could quickly find a place in the hearts of the quintillion people who work within a 500-meter radius of its CBD location. We're counting the days till the release of its first batch of beers. Stay tuned and we'll let you know when we hear more.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of Hotel Jen