What’s Up in Beer: Two New Brews at Jing-A, 15 New Imports at NBeer, and Slow Boat Super Bowl Deals

Hey beer drinkers, welcome back! Congrats on surviving CNY (with a special thanks to The Big Smoke, Great Leap Brewing, and Slow Boat Taproom who saved us by staying open during the week-long holiday). You might finally be getting used to these firecracker-heavy days, the lack of our favorite restaurants and Taobao deliveries, and other things that remind us of old Beijing – less traffic, less people, blue skies, and an overall slower pace. The good news is that most of the city's brewpubs and bars have finally reopened. That’s a good reason to raise your glass, right?

To mark Jing-A Taproom's reopening today (Feb 3), the team releases two new seasonal beers: a Pomelo Xanadu (5.5 percent ABV), the latest in the Xanadu series of Berliner Weisse-style beers that is soured with lactobacillus and loaded with pressed pomelo juice for citusy notes and a lower hoppy bitterness; and a Lucky 8 Lager (6.5 percent ABV) with a hoppy and citrusy aromas and, thanks to the addition of fresh pomelo, the perfect way to celebrate making it halfway through a grueling two-day work week.

NBeer Pub (Huguosi location) has 15 new bottled beers including four sour beers from Swedish Tempel Brygghus: Monstrosity, Gehenna, Surpene, and Morker. And they also have beers from Swedish Dugges Bryggeri, such as their High Five IPA, Never Mind the Bollox Double IPA, Topical Sunrise Sour Fruit Ale, All The Way Session IPA, Tropic Folk Sour Fruit Ale, Orange haze IPA, Avenyn Ale American Pale Ale, Mork Lager. Three new drafts: Dugges Bryggeri’s Black Currant Organic Nordic Sour, Tropic Thunder Sour Fruit Ale and Omnipollo’s Fatamorgana Imperial IPA call also be found on tap.

Super Bowl lovers, Slow Boat Sanlitun Brewpub has three brand-new big screens on the third floor to make sure you don't miss a second of action come February 6. They're also offering a special breakfast on the day (opening at 6.30am), with 10 percent off if you choose the winning team.

RELATED: Where to Watch Super Bowl LI in Beijing on Monday, Feb 6

This is the first What's Up in Beer in the year of Rooster and, as you may have noticed, it is more on the sour side. A greater variety of beers are coming soon, so you'd best prepare your liver!

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of the venues