What’s Up in Beer: El Nido’s 7th Anniversary, Qingming Deals, New Brews, Hutong Food Week

After a pretty gloomy week the sun is back again! In preparation to make the most of the Qingming drinking weather we've checked the forecast and it looks like we're in for three sunny days in a row, with temperatures reaching as high as 24 degrees Celcius on Monday. Most excellent. Let's get to it!

Fangjia Hutong's veteran bottle bar El Nido turns seven years old on Sunday (Apr 2). To celebrate, owner Xiaoshuai is making all drinks half price from 3-4pm and 9-10pm. There'll also be a barbecue on the terrace with sausages courtesy of Andy’s Craft Sausages. Currently on tap they have Carolus Classic; Brooklyn Lager; Arrgh Pale Ale, White IPA, IPA, and White from Lost Coast; Barley Wine, 3 Bean Stout from Lervig; Pilsner and Lizard of Koz from Founders; Calling, and Pale Ale from Boulevard; and Mosaic Session Ale, and Tower 10 IPA from Karl Strauss. 

Remember that Jing-A and Taiwanese Taihu Brewing collab pineapple cake-infused beer that we mentioned a couple weeks back? Well, it's now ready to be tapped! The simply named Pineapple Cake Pale Ale has 5.5 percent ABV, a bright gold color and comes infused with a burst of fresh pineapple, as well as citrus and passion fruit notes from the Riwaka hops, and a sweetness from Taiwanese pineapple cakes added to the mash, and a biscuit finish. Also, not to steal this new brews' thunder, but one of our favorites, Dongbei IPA, is back on tap again. 

Important to note is that Jing-A's new wholesome Brewer’s Brunch will be available on Saturday and Sunday and through the remainder of the holiday, lasting four days in total, April 1-4.

Jing-A's Mug Club sign-ups also start tomorrow, April 1. The new round of members get even more perks, including access to Mug Club Mondays, which involve with a free glass of their selected or small-batch beer on the first Monday of each month. Current members can renew their memberships for RMB 100, and inviting a friend gets you a free beer.

Also in aid of the coming Qingming Festival, Arrow Factory will have a buy-one-get-one-free deal during the four joyful days at both locations. Just a tip: the Liangma River Brewpub is closed on Monday, and the Taproom in the hutong opens at 5pm on both Monday and Tuesday. For sports lovers, Arrow Factory Liangma River will continue to show Premier League and China Super League games on their big screens during opening times.

Over to Great Leap next, where it’s the time of the year to join their Collective membership. Each brewpub has 88 vacancies for new drinkers to challenge the chairmanship of other drinkers monthly; can you believe someone drank 108 pints within three weeks? Collectivists get free birthday beers, RMB 25 beers on a monthly Collective Day, exclusive access to limited release brews, and a 550ml mug to enjoy it all in. Memberships costs RMB 400 for one location, RMB 750 for two, and RMB 1,000 for all three venues. 

Finally, if after all of this you have some time and the desire to drink even more beer, revel in the Hutong Food Week (April 1-9), which includes a number of ongoing deals on food and beers, such as buy-one-get-one-free Monkey’s Fist IPA at Slow Boat (Dongsi location) and buy-one-get-one-free on Jing-A's Flying Fist IPA (RMB 45 per pint) at White Tiger Village.

Cheers to that and enjoy your holiday, Beijing!

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos courtesy of venues