Slow Boat Brewery Wins 2016 Burger Cup for Back-To-Back Titles

The Beijinger’s month-long quest to find the capital’s tastiest burger ended Monday afternoon as voters chose Slow Boat Brewery as the champion of the 2016 Burger Cup.

Slow Boat sailed by 2016 cinderella and future Slow Boat Sanlitun neighbor Q Mex, taking their second-straight burger cup title and cementing their place in the pantheon of Beijing patty-and-buns greats.

The champion's voyage to victory included bouts of smooth sailing, as they coasted by Helen’s Café and Loft Eatalicious in early rounds of balloting. They then forded testy waters in the form of matches vs Café Flatwhite and Union Bar & Grille; and of finally rough seas to navigate past both Great Leap Brewing and Q Mex.

But no matter how delectable the competition seemed, the brewpub’s lineup of burgers stood fast and weathered the storm. And it wasn’t just their famous Fryburger that helped garner votes; it was a team effort played out by the entire menu, from their blue cheese-laden Anxiety Burger to their tofu burger.

The other contested match-up in the championship round saw Great Leap Brewing #12 Brewpub prevail over Feast (Food by EAST) for third place (see below for the complete 2016 rankings). And as always, take a peek at the final bracket below to see how your favorite Beijing burger joint fared overall.

Although our champion remains the same, it's been a tumultuous year for the burger business in Beijing.

Two of the new Top 10 – #4 Feast and #7 Fatboy's – are completely new to the rankings, having appeared in the bracket of 64 for the first time in 2016. Four others made their Burger Cup debut ranked 30 or higher: Ahava (16), Billy's Fish & Chips (24), Drunk Craft Beer & Restaurant (29), and Chat Room (30). All in all, 20 percent of our 2016 bracket is new to the city.

It was also a year for burger-slingers to say goodbye. One in 10 of last year's top 64 are now in burger heaven, having closed up shop since the last time we conducted this poll. Burgers that now only exist in memory include those once served by Flamme, Groovy Schiller's, Twilight, Rumi, The Den, and Frank's Place.

Other burger places saw their rankings rise dramatically this time around. Café Flatwhite moved up 12 spots to reach #14; Burger Me rocketed from last year's #58 to this year's #26, a jump of 32 slots; and Jamaica Blue made a leap of 21 places from #49 to settle at #28.

Foodies of Beijing not only ate their fill of burgers over the course of the 2016 Burger Cup, but also broadened their dining horizons in the process. All in all our respondents report the following changes in burger behavior and perception during the past month:

• 84 percent have learned about new burger places they had not heard of before;
• 77 percent have tried new burger places they had not tried before;
• 72 percent have eaten their favorite burgers more than usual;
• 71 percent have consumed more beer than usual;
• 68 percent have eaten more burgers than usual; and
• 65 percent changed their opinion on their favorite burger in Beijing.

In our final round of voting we also asked you where good beef comes from, and Australia kicked the ass of its meaty rival the United States, with more than half our poll saying Australia came to mind when people thought of exporters of great beef. Here's the top 10 according to our voters:

And with that, voting in the 2016 Burger Cup is complete. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the 97 best burgers in Beijing, ranked by you from 1 to 97. The number in parentheses is the venue's final ranking last year:

1. Slow Boat (1)
2. Q Mex (9)
3. Great Leap Brewing (4)
4. Feast (Food by EAST) (New)
5. Blue Frog (5)
6. Union Bar & Grille (6)
7. Fatboy's The Burger Bar (New)
8. Plan B (11)
9. Home Plate (3)
10. The Local (2)
11. Katchup (17)
12. Let's Burger (7)
13. Jing-A (16)
14. Café Flatwhite (26)
15. Luga's Villa (18)
16. Ahava (New)
17. The Big Smoke (8)
18. 4corners (14)
19. Lush (23)
20. Stuff'd (19)
21. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (13)
22. Lily's American Diner (12)
23. Frost Coffee, Cocktails and Dining (10)
24. Billy's Fish & Chips (New)
25. Biteapitta (32)
26. Burger Me (58)
27. Morton's of Chicago (35)
28. Jamaica Blue (49)
29. Drunk Craft Beer & Restaurant (New)
30. Chat Room (New)
31. Kenny's Burgers (22)
32. Loft Eatalicious (21)
33. Paddy O'Shea's (37)
34. Bistrot B (48)
35. Ramo (36)
36. Blue Marlin (New)
37. 8-Bit (New)
38. Nola (30)
39. 1F (27)
40. Nasca Café (74)
41. The Smokeyard (60)
42. Pinotage (39)
43. Bunny Drop (New)
44. Beer Mania (42)
45. Temple Bar (25)
46. Village Cafe, Opposite House (20)
47. He Kitchen (New)
48. Grandma's Kitchen (43)
49. The Garage (15)
50. Peter's Tex-Mex (53)
51. Laker's (52)
52. Burger Break (61)
53. The Cut, Fairmont Beijing (34)
54. Helen's Café (62)
55. Grinders (47)
56. Burger Counter (64)
57. Eudora Station (51)
58. VSports Bar and Restaurant (New)
59. Park Side Bar & Grill (59)
60. Dongli Brewery (New)
61. Yuppie Yummy (28)
62. Koli’s Camp (New)
63. The Filling Station (33)
64. Paulaner Maximilian (31)
65. The Bookworm (40)
66. Irish Volunteer (41)
67. XL Bar (65)
68. Veggie Table (New)
69. Caravan (New)
70. Angel Burger (formerly Angry Burger) (66)
71. Park Square (63)
72. Serbia Burger (New)
73. Hungry Horse (45)
74. Cannon's Eatery (New)
75. Dr Cactus (New)
76. Windy City (46)
77. Uncle Sam's (75)
78. Food Studio, Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel (69)
79. The Corner (70)
80. Waspark (55)
81. Pebbles Courtyard (68)
82. Craft, Crowne Plaza Lido (67)
83. One East (71)
84. Rolling Rolling (New)
85. North Capital (New)
86. The Kitchen Table, W Beijing Chang'an (72)
87. Must Guette (76)
88. Steak Exchange, InterContinental Hotel (78)
89. MRL (80)
90. The Golden Era 50's Diner (73)
91. Hub Kitchen (New)
92. Little Britain (77)
93. Landmark Café (New)
94. Old Bike Café (New)
94. The Old Bike Café (56)
95. Pentalounge, Penta Hotel (81)
96. Fuel, Langham Place (79)
97. Nanluo Big Burger (New)

Photos: Zeus