In my book, Yanjing >>> Tsingtao. Especially the "golden" one, almost tastes like proper beer. And it's supporting local products, after all.

Maybe your xiaomaibu owner refills Yanjing bottles from expired Tsingtao kegs at the back of the shop and then sells you with a smile on their face.

And the cheapest Tsingtao beer in the big bottles - the most disgusting sh*t ever with that rubber-sugary taste.

Tsingtao is sh*t in general. Only the canned and the small bottle one are passable.

In one of my threads years ago, I had told you that the Yanjing beer can result in the headache.

I don't drink Yanjing beer for many years. for local beer, I only drink Beijing draft or Tsingdao beer. Beijing draft is better, taste lighter, very nice.....

I have often had headaches from Yan Jing beer as well but it is cheap and they have so many different kinds. I never drink the absolute cheapest Yan Jing in the green bottles or white cans, but some of the others are ok, the green cans are good, I think it dry beer maybe?
Tsingdao I absolutly hate, tasts like crap! Hated it in the U.S. and still do here.
Beijing draft? Is that the one in the white cans, brown bottles, just says Beijing beer on it? I am worried they are coming from the same company anyway! I know Budwieser is really famous for headaches and they seem to make many beers here in China like Harbin, Beijing draft, maybe others, at least those use Anheiser Bush's special lettering on their products so maybe they are just stealing that.

anyway, good topic, would like to know good beers here that don't cost a ton, I am recently drinking Calsburg beer, little more exspensive but tastes ok, stronger, 4.3% I always look at the first when buying, the strength! any of you look at that as well?

Have seen PBR lately in Beijing, funny it is very expensive here, treated like some special beer but in the U.S. it is crap beer, the cheapest of the cheap! I saw it was more expensive here than Coors Light which is the complete opposite in the US.

Tiger beer is ok, usually at the high end as for price here but has good alcohol content and tasts ok, I was under the impression this one is also under the umbrella of Budweiser and think it might be headache beer as well but not sure.

Snow is pretty good, I started drinking that when I first arrived, I liked the clear bottles the best, I think it was Snow Dry or something like that. I felt the cans tasted really crappy though, especially Snow light.

and no I did not eat the cans!

There's some kind of incredibly expensive PBR available here; I can't be bothered to find a link but some have probably heard of it. >500RMB a bottle or something like that.

Obviously, they're targeting the "buy whatever's most expensive" nouveau riche crowd.

I'll bet it's selling pretty good.

I used to drink Yan jing, I preferred the taste, plus tsingtao never seemed to get me drunk, quite a failing in a beer I think. Never had any heart problems or stomach problems from it, but this was a few years ago, maybe they've started adding a new 'secret ingredient' now.

I agree Yanjing is absolute dog sh*t, but thought Qingdao was more reliable.

However, last night I was with some friends and was drinking local shop-procured Qingdao from small bottles all night.

Had five of these and midway through the fifth I had a pounding headache and had to cut the night short and go home.

Woken up this morning feeling like sh*t and it's 2pm and I still have a throbbing headache (quickened heartrate too), despite having nowhere near enough beer to normally give me a hangover.

Anyone else experience this lately? I think the incidence of fake Qingdaos must be on the rise again. Going back to Guinness or imported German lager even though it's expensive.

Well, that is the strong point about Hong Kong.

Cheap imported beer. Like "Bear Beer" 7,7% alcohol, great stuff.

Even Sonderberg, a Korean beer isn't that bad:

Same price as Skol and Bear Beer...

I'm not a fan of tsingdao.
But i had this dark (somewhat like ale) version of tsing dao, on draft, at the brick a few weeks ago. It's pretty damn good.

Although there's a Korean BBQ chain in Beijing that brews their own that's not bad.
Of course, as an American my taste in beer is suspect.

Well, there is also a cheap and strong BEAR BEER available in Hong Kong. Two for 11 HKD (10 RMB).

I don't recommend to buy it though. Most guys here get already heart and belly problems with the percentage of 1 - 2 percent of alcohol when drinking mainland beer. So 12 percent would be lethal. No joke!