What’s Up in Beer: Winter Fair, Happy Hour, New Brews, and Beer Fest

Life is better with heaters, and despite the cold conditions, there's something about sitting outside, sipping a beer in the warm glow of a heater (just remember to put the gloves on). Let’s take a look at the events that will accompany this tried and tested pastime in this week’s beer scene.

First up, get your holiday shopping done on The Hutong’s rooftop for their annual Winter Fayre with help from Arrow Factory between 11am-4pm (you can also practice some useful Christmas related Chinese before going).

El Nido have announced a new daily happy hour from 7-9pm. As part of the deal you can now buy a mix of any two beers and get one free on all their lovely stouts on tap or the bottles.

Great Leap Brewing will release the second annual batch of their Beer Dictator Quadruple IPA (10 percent ABV) on December 10, as well as their barrel-aged 2015 Beer Dictator (11.5 percent ABV), the third beer from the Great Wall Barrel Program. The 750ml bottled 2015 Barrel Aged Beer Dictator, and 2016 Beer Dictator with a die-cut collector’s pin costs RMB 288 and is available at all three GLB locations, and the same goes for the tapped variety (RMB 88 a glass). Considering there are only 80 bottles, you better hurry up to score your own.

This Saturday (Dec 10) between midday-2pm, GLB partners with Omar Maseroli (the man behind Fiume and Mercante) for three courses that will be paired with selected beers from GLB, including the aforementioned 2016 Beer Dictator. To grab a seat alongside 50 other keen Italian food fanatics at the brunch, which costs RMB 300 (RMB 250 for GLB members), email jimmy@greatleapbrewing.com.

North Capital's have bagged a new series of ciders from Zeffer, New Zealand, including their Crisp Apple Cider, Alcoholic Ginger Beer, Red Apple Cider, and Hopped Cider. 

Two beers from Jing-A (Mandarin Wheat and Flying Fist IPA) can be found at Chunxiu Lu's new huge food-court-style eatery The Crib, which encompasses 20 restaurants spread out over two floors.

The sailors at Slow Boat have released two new beers for the winter season: Safe Harbor Christmas Ale with 7 percent ABV (RMB 45), which will warm you with its hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel; and a Jack-Tar Scottish Ale with 5.9 percent ABV (RMB 40), which is a rich and malty with a subtle toffee flavor.

And finally, the China Craft Beer Exhibition at the southwest corner of Workers' Stadium is currently slinging brews from 20 Chinese microbrews, 18 homebrew associations, and 10 foreign brands as we speak (there's never been a better  reason to ditch work early). Alternatively, they'll be doing the same again on Saturday, 11am-11pm, where RMB 150 (get your 50-kuai-off ticket here) scores your free-flow beer throughout the day. Come and find us at E5, where we’ve got presents for the brave drinkers, ho ho ho!

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Photos courtesy of the venues