Hop To It

Slow Boat Brewery

Microbreweries are all the rage in the West, but up until recently in Asia they were scarce as hen’s teeth. What a joy then to leave the baijiu firmly on the shelf, for another (dare we say) more palatable Chinese specialty?
 
We’re talking about pure, delicious home-brewed beers from Slow Boat Brewery, with options for lager lovers and IPA enthusiasts alike. Opened in 2011, Slow Boat is only China’s second microbrewery, founded by Americans Chandler Jurinka and Daniel Hebert, and operating in the city’s Changping district, near the mountains on the outskirts of Beijing.

Feeding the growing Chinese interest in artisanal foods and drinks, Slow Boat specializes in brewing “American style craft beer”, which means brewing with German specialty malts, as well as the finest hops and yeasts, and notably without preservatives or chemicals (and anyone who has had the misfortune to have an Asian beer gueule de bois will know precisely why that’s so important).

The result is a exceptional selection of sips, including the medium-bodied American-style Captain’s Pale Ale, the deeply malty All Hands Amber Ale, the Monkey’s Fist Mango IPA (with hops specially imported from USA’s pacific northwest region, plus limited edition seasonal treats like the lighter-bodied Dragon Boat Summer Ale and Crazy Ivan Cream Ale.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, or rather your pint of beer, there are several restaurants with Slow Boat on tap, but we’re partial to the tables at Bang! Bang! Pizza and Home Plate BBQ. You may as well make it an All-American kind of evening, right? Ganbei!