World of Pour Craft: Beijing Microbrewing is Bubbling Over

Seasonal drops are one of the things we love about craft beer, so as The Summer of the Craft Brew II gets underway, here's a look at what to expect in the coming months.

京A (Jing A)
Newcomer 京A plans to roll out a full line-up of draft beers at The Big Smoke this month, in addition to its original home at 4corners. They hope to host more pop-ups and tap takeovers at bars around town as well. Eventually, they plan to keep four permanent drops and have two smaller batch or seasonal varieties.
The Worker’s Pale Ale is light but generously hopped, while the Flying Fist IPA packs a greater punch and has fruity notes. The Emperor’s Best is an English-style brown ale, while the Mandarin Summer Wheat is a smoother Belgian-style drop.
Sun-Thu 10am-midnight, Fri-Sat 10am-1am. Lee World Building (down the alley from Frost Nails), 57 Xingfucun Zhonglu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区幸福村中路57号楼利世楼

Drei Kronen 1308 Brauhaus
You won't find their fine German ales anywhere else in the city, but the imposing Brauhaus alone is reason to rock up and try one of their three permanent drops: one lager (Helles), one dark beer (Schwarze Krone), and one wheat (Felsen Weisse). The three-story space has a rooftop bar with fantastic views of Gongti.
Daily 11am-2am. 1-3/F, Bldg 5, China View, Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District (6503 5555)
皇冠自酿啤酒坊, 朝阳区工体东路中国红街5号楼1-3层

Ellingen Brauhaus
The two permanent Paulaner drops (available on-site only) are served naturally, unfiltered and unpasteurized, just the way your average Teuton likes his grog. The Helles is light, with a smooth but malty taste, while the Dunkles is full-bodied and intense.
Daily 11am-midnight. B114-115, 2 Jinchengfang Jie, Financial Street, Xicheng District (157 1284 4602)
埃利金啤酒屋, 西城区金城坊街2号金融街购物中心B114-115号

Great Leap Brewing
They’ve upped the ante with the opening of their 500sqm brewpub north of Gongti (see p33). Most of their current catalogue of 35 beers are seasonal, and every month they circulate a new drop. They retain at least 12 different beers on tap all year round (including house favorites The Pale Ale No. 6, Honey Ma Gold, Cinnamon Rock Ale and Little General IPA), but now they can stretch to 30.
Great Leap doesn’t distribute, but this is an excellent excuse to stop by the Bar of the Year’s new venue to try them at the source.
1) Daily 11am-midnight. 12B Xinzhong Jie, Dongcheng District (6416 6887); 2) Thu-Sat 7pm-midnight, Sun 2-7pm. 6 Doujiao Hutong, Dongcheng District (57171399)
大跃啤酒, 1) 东城区新中街乙12号; 2) 东城区豆角胡同6号

Malty Dog
The quality of Malty Dog brews has continued to improve. They currently have eight different drops on tap (available on-site only). The six brewed in-house include their Hops American Ale, the lighter Niubi Wheat, a strong dark IPA, and for the sweet-toothed, a Chocolate Stout.
Tue-Thu 6pm-1am, Fri-Sun 6pm-2am. 51 Beiluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District 东城区北锣鼓巷

Panda Brew Pub
Panda has plans to expand beyond their modest Beixinqiao Toutiao home, but for now you’ll find the light and aromatic Honey Ale, the American-style rust-colored Pale Ale, the very light citrusy German-style Wheat Beer, and the hoppy locally sourced Black Ale, though the brewers say they’re tweaking that recipe to make it smoother.
An additional two seasonal drops will always be on offer. The current guest ales are the Bailey Wine – a rich Belgian tripel, and the currently unnamed Guanyin tea beer, a golden brew.
Daily 6pm-midnight. Beixinqiao Toutiao (20m east of Yonghegong Dajie), Dongcheng District
东城区北新桥头条 (雍和宫大街往东走20米)

Paulaner Brauhaus
The Kempinski Hotel’s brauhaus makes no attempt to hide the links to its Munich mother – and why should it? It’s a top-ten selling German brand.
You can pick up Paulaner products around town, but the Sanyuanqiao brauhaus features a brewmaster from the mothership in Germany to ensures Paulaner’s high standards are met.
Their regular in-house brews include the Helles (a light beer), the Dunkles (darker, stronger and fuller bodied) and the Radler (a shandy alternative).
Daily 11am-1am. Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (6465 3388 ext 5732)
普拉那啤酒坊餐厅, 朝阳区亮马桥路50号凯宾斯基饭店

Slow Boat Brewery Taproom
By far the biggest craft distributors in the city, their ales can be found in no fewer than ten venues across Beijing, including The Bookworm, The Local, Home Plate Bar-B-Que, Main Street, Ocean Grounds, Susu, Xian and XP.
Between eight and 12 beers are in production at any given time, while the taproom aims to always have at least 12 of its 20 taps firing at once. The Captain’s Pale Ale and the fruity Monkey’s Fist IPA are favorites, as is the crisp Dragon Boat Ale – a summer option with roots in Germany.
Tue-Wed 4pm-midnight, Thu 5pm-1am, Fri 5pm late, Sat 2pm-late, Sun 2-10pm. 56 Dongsi Batiao, Dongcheng District (6538 5537)
悠航鲜啤,东城区东四八条56号

Tipsy Face
The city’s newest microbrewing operation is starting slowly after installing its brews at Pass By Bar, Malty Dog and Heping Brewpub. The operation was started by the two members of the Beijing Homebrewers Society who won first place at last year’s Beijing Craft Beer Festival competition. Tipsy Face currently produces six brews and are looking to add a further four throughout the summer.

Photo: The Beijinger