Booze News: Mardi Gras at Home Plate, Great Leap's Invitational Craft Beer Festival

Feeling thirsty? Wet your whistle with Booze News, our weekly wrap-up of the week's best bar deals, parties, drink concoctions, industry gossip, and more.

Mardi Gras Drag Brunch at Home Plate

Ring in Mardi Gras with a dozen drag queen performances, discounted Slow Boat brews, and a Home Plate brunch buffet. All the fun gender-bending entertainment comes courtesy of Haus of Lily, who will serenade you with melodies worthy of festival day in New Orleans. RMB 250 (for brunch buffet and the chance to win prizes). Mar 9, noon-3pm. Home Plate BBQ (Sanlitun)
 

Great Leap's Invitational Craft Beer Festival

The popular Great Leap Brewing invitational craft beer festival will return, from Mar 29-31, playing host to a half-dozen craft beer purveyors from across Europe. You'd better hit up their WeChat page now, because tickets for this artisan suds extravaganza are selling quickly. Secure yours, and you'll be able to try beers from Denmark's Warpigs Brewpub, Norway's Lervig AS, England's Siren Craft Brew, and others. RMB 228 (single session), RMB 628 (weekend pass), or RMB 1,028 (deluxe all-access pass). Mar 29-31. 13 Compound, Nafu Hutong
 

Pucker Up with Jing A's Latest

If you're craving something sour enough to make steam come out of your ears (see the suffering yeye above), then here's a brew for you: Jing A's new Suan La Tang. If you haven't already guessed by the name, it's a sour and spicy beer, which the brewers attribute to their love of Chinese soup.

The Sanlitun brewery also has a handful of Women's Day discounts on Mar 8, including a free drink with every meal purchased for all female patrons between 11am-3pm. Groups of three can also order an RMB 69 six pack of Tuhao Pilsner on their Weidian store. Scan the QR code in the poster above for more details.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Women's Day related parties, events, and discounts. For a comprehensive list, click here.
 

Slow Boat's Luck of the Irish

Beloved Dongzhimen sports bar Paddy O'Shea's is now serving Slow Boat beer at a rock bottom price. You can snatch up the craft brewers' Zombie Pirate Ale for only RMB 35 during Paddy's happy hour: Mon-Fri 2-8pm, Sat and Sun 2-6pm.
 

A New Liangmaqiao Craft Beer Option

The recently opened, ritzy Hello Mart shopping plaza has generated quite a bit of buzz in its Liangmaqiao neck of the woods. And while many visitors have been drawn to its dozens of food court options and pricey retail section, beer lovers are sure to instead flock to its sprawling fridge and 30-odd tap bar. 

Prices for a pint of draft range from a reasonable RMB 45 to a far too steep RMB 90. On the cheaper side of that selection is a number of Grimbergen Belgian ales, while the priciest pints include the RMB 90 Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter and the salty, sour RMB 75 To Øl Gose To Hollywood Gose.
 

Hulu's Wednesday = Wine Day

Finally, if you're looking to wine and dine today, or on any hump day in the near future, then stop by Taikoo Li's Hulu restaurant. The casual venture opened by fine dining masters TRB offers a midweek RMB 298 sharing style menu with four glasses of French wine. Better still: cough up an extra RMB 100 to get truly tipsy with their free-flow deal.
 

Bespoke’s Craft Beer Walk

Bespoke Travel Company is coordinating a walking tour of popular hutong taprooms including Great Leap. Scan the QR code above for more information. RMB 330. Mar 10 4pm-6pm. Begins at Shichahai Subway Stop

READ: Tanker Taproom Steadily Chugs Along in an Otherwise Parched Dawang Lu

Photos courtesy of the organizers