Spotlight: Stumbling Along - A pint with Stumble Inn owner Shane Neill

Shane Neill is the owner of Lucky Street bar The Stumble Inn. The bar has just celebrated its half-year anniversary, and with its large selection of imported beers, was well-equipped for the party. We asked Shane a few questions about recent Lucky Street happenings and his views on Beijing’s bar scene.

Stumble Inn’s neighbor White Rabbit recently closed its doors for the time being. Were you a fan? White Rabbit’s sudden closure was a sad loss for Beijing. While I didn’t regularly party in there – and to be sure at times sharing a wall with them had its problems – they offered something simple and unique for the Chaoyang area, as well as top-notch DJs.

And does the White Rabbit situation have any implications for The Stumble Inn?
Every weekend we enjoyed the early Rabbit crowd, and often stayed open until 8am to facilitate their end-of-night return. Still, our Ladies Night on Saturday and our Free Shot Fridays draw their own crowd. Regarding regular bar activity, we’ve had few, if any, troubles with our customers (or White Rabbit’s) since we opened in January. We keep an eye on what’s happening, particularly on weekends, but I don’t think we’ll need to police it heavily.

How much effort went into building your beer collection?
It took us just 11 days to gut the premises and build The Stumble Inn, before opening to a huge crowd on January 16th. While working 17-hour days on the site, rigging electronics and laying flooring, we were also negotiating with several beer suppliers to get the most eclectic mix possible. The target was 50 beers, which we managed to have in stock on opening night. We have a good relationship with our suppliers and get a lot of support from them. We’ve since added about 12 new beers to the arsenal. We’ve also managed to acquire beers from almost every province in China. When I’ve managed to complete that set, we’ll be adding the “China Beers Club” challenge to our “Wall of Fame.”

What is your favorite beer?
Tough question, that. I’m Irish, so I’m fond of the Guinness. Honestly though, if I’m out for the night I’ll probably end up drinking Carlsberg or Tsingtao draft. My favorite of our “boutique” beers is definitely Leffe Blonde, but it’s quite a heavy one, so I wouldn’t stick on it all night.

What is the most popular beer among Stumble Inn regulars?
No prizes for guessing. We sell far more Tsingtao than anything else, but a lot of the Australian beers like VB and Pure Blonde sell very well. It really depends on the crowd we get in. If we get a lot of Americans, we’ll sell out of Rogue’s, and two Englishmen could drink us out of Suffolk Vintage.

And are there any beers that just don’t move?
I wouldn’t say we have any particularly unpopular beers, but the dark ales and bottled stouts are acquired tastes that don’t suit everyone.

Do you find Chinese customers have different tastes to laowai drinkers?
First-timers to the bar, whether Chinese or laowai, usually end up trying a few different beers. I’ve noticed a lot of Chinese people developing a taste for Guinness. Generally though, customers will end up back on bottled Tsingtao or our draft beers. Our head barman, Mario, is also one of Beijing’s best mixologists, so his summer punches and signature cocktails sell almost as much as our beer.

You reward drinkers who work their way through the entire beer list with a crate of their favorite brew. How many people have finished the challenge?
So far, three people have made it the whole way through the list. David “Luffo” Lewis started on our opening night and finished just ten days later. He is now the proud owner of a Stumble Inn shirt with “LUFFO 1” on the back. An American known only to us as “Roach” decided to break that record, and finished in six straight days during Chinese New Year. Lastly, another American named John took the leisurely approach, drinking two beers on each visit, and finished about a month ago. There are about three other customers who are close to
finishing.

What is special about running a bar in Beijing?
My favorite part of running a bar in Beijing is also its greatest challenge – our clientele are from every corner of the globe. This means we draw a very eclectic crowd, but of course this also means we must try to cater to many different tastes – music, entertainment, food and drink.
I wouldn’t trade it though. The experience of working with my Chinese staff and meeting my international customers is something I’ll take with me wherever I go.

What trends in the Beijing bar scene have you noticed over time?
I’ve been here for three years now, watching the waves of bars come and go. Beijing reinvents itself every few months, but I’ve definitely noticed bar owners trying to fill certain gaps – live music in particular. The more worrying trend in my mind is that we’re heading towards a Shanghai style of clubbing, with high-priced bars and clubs becoming the fashionable norm. In any case, there’s no doubt there’s a lot more variety and choice now than ever before.

Do you see yourself continuing in this line of work well into the future?
I’ve worked on the marketing/design end of the service industry for many years. This is the first year where I’ve stepped front of house and put my money where my mouth is, and sometimes it’s hard to believe I wasn’t doing it all along. I’ll definitely continue to grow the business in Beijing for the foreseeable future. Although I know it’s “just a pub” and a place to get drunk, I really do believe that pub culture is an important social outlet that can help set the tone for a city.

What is your favorite place to stumble into or out of?
I lived in Wudaokou for my first year in Beijing, so Lush always has a special place in my booze-ridden heart. I rarely have time to get out that way anymore though. Without a doubt I consider Danger Doyle’s – run by my good friend and business partner Glenn Phelan – to be “my local.”

What new developments can we expect at The Stumble Inn?
We’ve recently refurbished our second level, “B2: The Stumble Down,” which has already hosted Beijing rock band The Bad Apples. Expect to see many additions to our live music and DJ sets. I’ve also put the word out to any and all that the use of B2 is free to anyone who wants to run an event. Suggestions so far have included a “Clothing Swap-o-rama,” amongst others. Details will be posted on our Facebook group and website.

Lush
Daily 24hrs. 2/F, Bldg 1, Huaqing
Jiayuan, Chengfu Lu (across from the Wudaokou light-rail station), Haidian District. (8286 3566) 海淀区成府路华清嘉园1号楼2层（五道口城铁站对面）

Danger Doyle’s
Daily 10am-1am. 3/F,
Bldg 5, China View, 2 Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District. (6591 3337) 朝阳区工体东路2号中国红街大楼5号楼三层

The Stumble Inn
Daily 4pm-late. 29 Lucky Street (Haoyun Jie), Chaoyang District.
(5867 0248) 朝阳区枣营路北口好运街29号