Leaps and Bounds: Beijing's Brewing Scene Just Got Bigger

Oh, craft brewing. You’re partly to blame for all of these news articles that you see nowadays that proclaim Dongcheng to be the new Brooklyn or some other claptrap. But we’ll forgive you because of the improvements that you’ve made to the city’s drinking culture. A decade or so ago, dedicated microbreweries began jerry-rigging equipment to provide an alternative to the mass-produced swill that passes for Chinese beer; this year, for the first time ever, there were enough decent microbreweries to float a legitimate Best Local Craft Beer category in our Reader Bar and Club Awards. Not surprisingly, Great Leap Brewing walked off with the laurels. With the opening of their new brewpub, I think it’s safe to say that craft brewing has truly arrived.

The brewpub will be serving everything they have served before and more, thanks to the state-of-the-art, imported brewing system that crushes the combined capacity of Great Leap’s original hutong bar and their brewhouse out at the Great Wall. When we visited, there were only five beers on tap – the classic Pale Ale #6 (RMB 25), East City Porter (RMB 25), Prosperor blonde ale (RMB 40), Little General IPA (RMB 40) and the new Banana Wheat (RMB 50). They plan to have 15 beers on offer, including the now available Kolsch and Honey Ma (RMB 35), before the end of the month, in addition to draft craft sodas (think ginger beer), standard mixed drinks and house wine.

This huge venue – with its copper vats, dark wood booths, clean white tiles and a window stretching the length of the room – conjures up a steampunk cross between a church and a Victorian swimming baths. And, OK, we’ll happily admit that it looks like a Brooklyn pub, in a good way.

This is a bar that you will want to drink in. And eat at too, trust us on that. The burgers, designed by Kin Hong of Taco Bar infamy, might be as good as everything else. It’s a safe bet that Great Leap will be adding to those awards next year.

Great Leap Brewpub 大跃啤酒
Daily 11am-midnight.12B Xinzhong Jie, Dongcheng
District (6416 6887) www.greatleapbrewing.com
东城区新中街乙12号

Also try: Slow Boat Brewery Taproom, Drei Kronen

Click here to read the June issue of the Beijinger in full.