Great Leap Brewing, Lush Big Winners at Reader Bar & Club Awards; Slow Boat Brewery Taproom Best Newcomer
Great Leap Brewing and Wudaokou favorite Lush were the big winners at The Beijinger 10th Annual Reader Bar & Club Awards, held at the futuristic Galaxy SOHO complex in Chaoyangmen.
Lush emerged as an early multiple winner in our pre-announced categories, picking up awards in four categories: Best Open Mic, Best Quiz Night, Best for Students, and Best Wudaokou. Josh Lally made it five when he won Best Manager for both Lush and Pyro Pizza, along with two Outstanding prizes, for Lally in Personality of the Year and for Lush as Best Survivor.
But the evening belonged to Great Leap Brewing, which won Bar of the Year, along with Best for Daytime Drinking, Best Hutong Bar, Best Local Craft Beer, Best Outdoor Drinking, Friendliest Bar/Crowd, and Personality of the Year for Carl Setzer. It also received an Outstanding prize for Best Beer Selection. "I am always humbled by the Beijing consumer," Setzer said later at Great Leap Brewing's new Chaoyang location, which opens officially June 1.
Other multiple winners included Migas, with four wins for Best Place to Find a Date, Best Rooftop, Best Sanlitun, and Most Beautiful People, along with Outstanding nods for Bar of the Year, Best Events, Best Place for Networking, Best Value, and Best View. Atmosphere – China World Summit Wing and Centro – Kerry Hotel Beijing each won two categories, for Best Place to Impress Visitors and Best View, and Best Hotel Bar and Best Networking, respectively. Centro also received an Outstanding prize for Best CBD.
Best New Bar went to Slow Boat Brewery Taproom, with Outstanding nods to Cu Ju Beijing and Plan B. Over 500 people attended the Awards party. Check back Sunday for a full list of the winners in all of our categories.
Full disclosure: Cu Ju's owner, Badr Benjelloun, also serves as True Run Media's CTO.