What’s Up in Beer: New Brews at Great Leap, NBeer, and Slow Boat, Beer and Cigar Pairing, GLB Fundraiser

It's an outrageous 38 Celcius degrees today, but thankfully, aside from your favorite ice coffee and bubble milk tea, we also have beer. Mouthwatering, ice cold beer.

To mark the occasion of beer, Great Leap Brewing brings their Hidden General IPA back on tap today (June 9) at all three locations. Simcoe and Mandarina hops give it citrus and orange notes and a subtle, bitter finish. At 4.5 percent ABV, its a laidback and sessionable IPA that slips down nice and easy. If you didn't know, the beer is named after Mulan, the Tang dynasty-era general who fought to protect her country (and in the process spawned a Disney movie of the same name).

The folks at new CBD mega-brewery, Beersmith, headed by former GLB brewmaster Tom Ashton, have also launched a similar offering, their signature new world IPA, "brewed with a combination of American and New Zealand hops, resulting in tropical fruit and citrus notes with a bitter finish." To mark the event they'll be selling pints of stuff buy one, get one free, today only (Jun 9).

There are also several beers back on tap at NBeer Pub, including Muddled Fixation IPA, a New England-style IPA with 6.2 percent ABV; Summer IPA with 5.9 percent ABV, Oyster Stout with 5.2 percent ABV (only at Huguosi location); and a Passion Fruit Lager with 3.5 percent ABV (only at Huguosi location). They're also featuring some brews from other cities like Hops Typhoon from Zhuhai, which is an American pale ale with 5 percent ABV, and Devolution APA from Dalian (6 percent ABV).

Then there's Slow Boat, who, as well as having once again made it into the Final Four of the Beijinger Burger Cup (vote here for your favorite buns), have brought back one of their old favorite brews on tap: Sea Level Chocolate Stout, featuring a boozy and rich chocolaty flavor and 7.9 percent ABV.

They also now sell several ciders from Zeffer, a brewery in New Zealand, including Red Apple Cider (on tap), a full-flavored cider with 5 percent ABV; Hopped Cider with tropical and citrus flavor and 5.4 percent ABV; Apple Crumble Cider with 5.4 percent ABV, and infused with cinnamon, vanilla, and blackberry leaves; and Crisp Apple Cider with 5 percent ABV.

When you think cigars, what jumps to mind as the perfect pairing? Single malt whisky perhaps? Well, if that gets you drooling, Drinking Buddies are organizing an event at Lee’s Kitchen and Bar at 4pm on Saturday (June 10), to discuss whether craft beer can also be paired with cigars. A selection of their beers will be sold at a discounted price of RMB 38 during the event, and a bunch of imported cigars will also be available for members at RMB 100 a cigar. When you get peckish, there’ll be lamb chuan'r and other barbecue options on hand to fill you up.

On a final note, it's with sadness that we say that American expat Nathan Waters, who suffered a serious stoke last week, has since passed away. Great Leap Brewing #6 will go ahead with hosting a commemorative event for Waters, contributing two kegs of Nathan’s favorite Honey Ma beer on Saturday (Jun 10). All proceeds of those two kegs will go towards Nathan’s family and his repatriation. If you can’t make it, you can also go to his Go Fund Me page to donate.

More stories by this author here.

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

Photos courtesy of venues, Mark Porter