What’s Up in Beer: Puppy Pub Crawl, Great Leap, Jing-A, and Slow Boat New Brews, Legend Beer Second Location

The heat is definitely here, threatening to reach an outrageous 36 degrees Celsius this weekend, so we'd advise you to gulp down some ice cold beer to keep calm and focused. We may be a little biased but our 2017 Burger Cup at Galaxy Soho will undoubtedly be the best place to do just that, all the while chowing down on the city's best burger offerings and dancing to some damn fine entertainment. However, there are some other beery happenings that you might also want to check out (kinda, maybe, perhaps).

First up is the non-profit organization A Voice for Animals' Mutt Crawl on May 20, 2-9pm. For RMB 100, you will get free shots, drinks, and a barrage of drink deals at several pet-friendly venues across Gulou, including 4corners, The Dirty Duck, Chill Bar, Seven Bar, and If Bar. So grab your four-legged friend and enjoy a day of pooches and sun this Saturday (though you don’t need a dog to attend, just head along to share the love all in the name of swell cause).

Next up, Great Leap Brewing has released their annual spring beer, Dubbel Happiness, to commemorate the birth of the brewery's founders' son. For the occasion, the team dry-hopped Styrian General hops and fermented them with two Belgian yeast strains to give it a hint of fruit and a heady 7 percent ABV. It is available at all three locations now. 

Over at Jing-A, they've put their Single-Hop Helles back on tap. Brewed with Saaz hops and light malts, this lager is designed with one thing in mind: to smooth over your summer afternoons. The helles is added to Jing-A's increasingly large range of refreshing summer beers (Tuhao Gold Pils, Worker’s Pale Ale, Mandarin Wheat, and Party Beer Helles) with ABVs of 5 percent or less.

When you're not mourning the closure of Slow Boat’s Dongsi location with their big blowout goodbye party tomorrow (May 20), which includes 5 kuai pints of Monkey's Fist, head to the Sanlitun Brewpub for their new Banyan Blonde Ale (RMB 35, 5.5 percent ABV). This newbie is gold in color, has a citrusy aroma and comes with a subtle creamy finish.

Elsewhere, Legend Beer's second location (pictured at top) went into soft opening earlier this week. Unlike their massive brewpub at the west gate of Workers’ Stadium, this new spot is tiny with barely enough room for five people. But that hasn’t stop locals from grabbing a beer and drinking outside (standing only) on Dongzhimenwai Xinzhongjie.

Altogether, there are six beers on tap, the same as at their first location, most of them reminiscent of German-style beers, including a wheat, two IPAs, a lager, and a schwartzbier (RMB 18-25 for 500ml). The food menu is simple and made up of reasonably priced bar snacks, like french fries (RMB 16), deep-fried curry puffs (RMB 25), and a classic beef burger (RMB 36). If you still have the urge to try local street food, grab a spicy rabbit head from next door Laojietu (老街兔), which will win you admiration from the hardier neighboring baijiu drinkers.

And finally, the BHS Sunset Beer Run is due to take place next Thursday (May 25). Join the sozzled-but-healthy crowd at sunset, before being led through four Dongcheng venues: 5Lmeet, Jianguo Bar, Regain Element, and Peiping Machine. The event starts at 6.30pm, and following a simple warm-up, the run will get going at 7.31pm (the time of sunset) and finish at 9.31pm. participation costs RMB 200 without membership card. RSVP via WeChat: Someet2015.

And on that note, get out their you wonderful people, and make the most of the sun! See you at the Burger Cup!

More stories by this author here.

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

Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang