What’s Up in Beer: Bye Bye GLB #12, New Seasonal Brews on Tap, and Meet the Brewer

It’s been a harsh week for beer-lovers, what with news of the beloved Great Leap Brewing #12 shutting down today (May 10). We thought that we were strong enough to take yet another blow from the Great Brickening, but this is really ramming home the point that nothing is sacred. As the great Oscar Wilde said, there are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. In our case, we got what we wanted, but tomorrow it will be gone.

READ: Beijing Craft Beer Lovers Shocked by Sudden Closure of Great Leap Brewing #12 Venue

We reached out to Great Leap co-founder Carl Setzer, who just arrived in Denmark for the Copenhagen Beer Celebration, to ask him what GLB #12 means to him and his wife and co-conspirator Liu Fang. He had this to say: “#12 means more to us than I can describe in words. Liu Fang and I just want everyone to know that it ripped our heart out to not have any other choice than to announce the closure. Seeing everyone come out over the last couple days to show support in anticipation of the 10th has left us speechless and tearful. I’ve watched families grow up in that space over the last five years, including my own. We accomplished what we set out to accomplish and have no regrets. We only hope that Beijing continues to support our two other locations and come out and support our newest retail project as well as our march towards nationwide distribution.”

Bid farewell to the venue today or grab a drink for solidarity at #6 or #45 or one of their special Allied Series at Home Plate, Bloom Burst, Great Friend Outdoors Club, 4 Corners, 3 Little Pigs, Dao Brewpub, or Rootpop. For now, we look forward to more details about GLB's upcoming 30-draft-strong Lido location. Thank you for the fantastic five years, GLB #12.

As dramatic as all that is, it's not the end of the world, though it can't help but be compounded by the fact that Jing-A Taproom 1949 is still offline. Even so, they have two new refreshing small-batch brews at their Jing-A Xingfucun Brewpub. The first of which is titled Ice Ice Baby (6.6 percent ABV), an IPA using 100 percent Cryo Hops (the concentrated lupulin of whole-leaf hops, giving "twice the resin content of regular whole leaf and hop pellets") from Yakima Chief – Hopunion. The result is a pint that has aromatic notes of juicy lychee, grapefruit, lemon zest, piney hop resin, and a hint of black pepper.

There’s also their Pai Huanggua (拍黄瓜, smashed cucumber), which is a refreshing gose (sour wheat ale) inspired by the ubiquitous Chinese appetizer. This one was brewed with heaps of freshly crushed cucumbers and a hint of sea salt. Thankfully, there’s no garlic added during the brewing process, but if you like, feel free to request a garlic garnish (recommended for purists only).

Slow Boat also has two new seasonal brews on tap: Flying Boat Sour and the Sanya Spinnaker. The former is a kettle sour dry-hopped with Simcoe hops for a fruity palate and aromatic finish; whereas the latter is an easy-drinking session IPA with subtle hoppy and herbal notes and a 4.2 percent ABV, making it a beer brewed for “hopheads who want to drink in volume.” The Spinnaker gets its name from the sailboats of Sanya, Hainan province, the host of last year’s Youth Sailing World Championships.

Last but not least, Little Creatures on the first floor of The Crib, have a Meet the Brewer event tonight (May 10) from 6.30-8.30pm. Head over to shake the hand of their Hong Kong brewmaster Jum Ryan, flown in specially for a one-off beer class. Attendees get a free pint and snacks. Call 135 5292 5825 for more information.

As always, thanks for reading, and stay strong! 

More stories by this author here.

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

Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang