What’s Up in Beer: Slow Boat and GLB Go to Tianjin, Tap Takeover at Peiping, Jing-A Team Up With The Rug Café

Tracy Wang, Senior Editor | Jul 27, 2018 12:42 pm | Add a comment | 2657 reads

As we approach the weekend, Beijing's craft beer scene is warming up for two days of sunny weather following an onslaught of rain. Among the boozy highlights are new imports, beer deals, and some tempting Beijing brewery happenings in Tianjin (which should lure those among us in need of a change of scenery but short on vacation days).

First up, Slow Boat Brewery coordinates their second “Drunk on a Train” trip this Saturday, Jul 28. This go around they're teaming up with Palms L.A. Kitchen (who will whip up tacos on site) and Tianjin's We Brewery who'll play host to the whole sordid cross-city affair. Major bonus: Beijing’s most famous drag queen, TigerLily, will be on hand to host and MC all the fun while We Brewery and Slow Boat will provide beer and cocktails from afternoon to night.

To get in on the fun, nab a train ticket for the 1.59pm C2051 train from Beijing South Station to Tianjin Station, for which you’ll be rewarded with a free canned beer during the 30-minute ride (meet the crew, donned in Slow Boat attire, at the waiting area in front of the ticket check for the train). Or you can just swing by We Brewery to join the party (4 Yiheli Xi’andao, Tianjin). Rumor has it that the Slow Boat crew have already booked an Airbnb as a party house (shh ...). So get your ticket and get on board for some good, boozy times.

If the aforementioned event doesn’t help tempt you all the way to Tianjin, then get a load of this: Great Leap Brewing is also heading to the seaside city, coordinating a tap takeover at both Beer Cool locations (93 Chongqing Road and F/1 Nankai Joy City, Tianjin) throughout Saturday and Sunday, Jul 28-29. There will be five beers from GLB's Allied Series available: Longan Honey Ma, Blind Monk Amber Ale, Honey Ma Saison, The Martial Imperial Stout, and Noble House Imperial Pilsner. They'll also be serving three GLB signature beers: Edmund Backhouse Pilsner, Banana Wheat, and Little General IPA on tap, all sold at RMB 35 per pint.

If you'd like to go deep, there’ll also be a drinking challenge for which interested patrons will receive a punch card – those who drink five beers are eligible to take home a GLB glass, or eight beers will get you a GLB T-shirt. Check the poster above for more information.

Peiping Machine will have a Temple and Kaiju tap takeover at both their Gongti and Fangjia Hutong locations this Friday-Sunday, Jul 27-29, hosting 11 beers from these two Australian breweries, such as double IPA, tropical ale, American stout, and black IPA. There'll also be drinking games and promos to entice you trying evey beer they've got:

  • Buying two different beers will get you an opener
  • Buying four different beers will get you a free bottle of beer from either Temple or Kaiju
  • Buying six beers will get you a hat
  • Buying eight gets you a T-shirt, and
  • Buying all 11 beers will net you three more beers for free

Over at Jing-A, they're launching Guava Xanadu, a super-tropical sour wheat beer that features a big dose of tangy guava nectar, perfect for the mid-summer heat, and the latest brew in their “Xanadu” sour series.

And the Jing-A action doesn't stop there. The brewery and The Rug Café have partnered up to provide several special sunset beer sets at the café's Wangfujing location from Fri (Jul 27) onward throughout this summer. What's more, you can get fish stick curry puffs and barbecue rib pairings with any of Jing-A's beers for RMB 75. For RMB 95 you can also get a garlic and chili porcino or vegetarian pizza with a beer, while a kimchi beef onion ring burger with two beers costs RMB 145. Just drinking? A pair of Jing-A beers on their own costs RMB 70.

Also good news for lovers of Jing-Jing, Jing-A's new pop-up terrace spot hosted by The Opposite House's Jing Yaa Tang: the fans are now in place for those wanting to stop by for a drink and snacks prepared by Jing Yaa Tang's chef Li Dong without breaking a sweat.

Over at The Opposite House's sister hotel, Xian Bar at East Hotel is launching a new brew – Xian Strawberry Wheat Beer (RMB 55) – as well as a yakitori Friday night menu, including teriyaki chicken, homemade barbecue sauce marinated Australia beef skewers, eel yakitori, miso okra, a meat platter, and a seafood platter to match the light pink and mildly sour beer throughout the summer evenings. Don’t forget that happy hour runs from 5-8pm with half-price on all beers, pizzas, and cocktails.

And while Wangjing is a bit off the beaten path for us, our recent trip to the northeast neighborhood's Dao Taphouse was made all the more worthwhile by their new imports on tap: Common Grounds Triple Coffee Porter and Salty Kiss Gooseberry Gose by Magic Rock; Siren Craft Brew’s Pompelmocello Grapefruit IPA; and Lervig’s 3 Bean Stout (with a hefty 12 percent ABV at RMB 150!).

More stories by this author here.

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