Newbie Brewery Xuan House Falls Far Short of Its Craft Beer Competitors

If done right, the opening of a new craft beer joint can reverberate throughout Beijing's food and beverage scene, inspiring a crowd of curious beer aficionados to stop by and compare the pints on offer with other breweries like Slow Boat, Jing-A, Arrow, Great Leap, or the recently opened inaugural Beijing branch of Boxing Cat. Xuan House Brewery, however, opened its doors near Shaungjing's Hopson One mall just over two months ago with barely a whimper. It's so discreet, we only we only realized it was there, when we spotted it on the way to try another bar in the neighborhood.

Things were decidedly quiet when we stopped by on a weekday afternoon, half an hour after its 4pm opening time. There was not a soul inside save for the wait staff, which could be seen as a bad omen considering the brisk business that more established breweries in Sanlitun and Xinyuanxili see in the daytime.

Nevertheless, our curiosity got the better us and we settled in at one of the many booths throughout the bar. If and when people do come, Xuan has plenty of room for them, with half a dozen long booths on the ground level, and about twice that on the second floor. There are eight tanks behind the bar (all of which looked smaller than the gleaming metal iterations you see at other, more popular breweries around town). The interior was very softly lit but the decor, all woodgrain with a few silly-looking animal characters painted on some of the walls, was clearly trying to give off a warm and welcoming vibe. The staff also had a sunshine-friendly way about them, giving us big smiles, seating us promptly, taking our order and speedily bringing the pints over, all of which can likely be chalked up to their eagerness to serve some customers on a very sleepy evening.

We started with their American IPA, named, with comical directness, "American IPA." It was very hoppy, as fans of this ale demand, but it was also surprisingly light and summery, bordering on fruity. It was nothing remarkable by any stretch, but had flavor and fairly strong kick, though the lack of ABV listing on the menu caused our eyebrows to raise, while the RMB 60 price listed was about 20 kuai more than what the beer should've cost considering what you get. That's not the only overpriced brew on the menu (here's looking at you, RMB 62 "German-Style Black Beer Pint"). The cheapest, meanwhile, is the regular old German wheat at RMB 48. Smooth and crisp, it will work well enough during these waning days of summer, though it was otherwise a bit bland.

And while the beers were something of a disappointment when it comes to value for money, Xuan should absolutely go back to the drawing board when it comes to their pub grub. Their RMB 85 signature hamburger had more bread than beef, although the patty was juicy and tasty enough despite its skimpy size. Before tucking in we took a peek under the upper hunk of bread only to find the layer of fries on top of the meat – what we can only assume to be an homage to Slow Boat’s most famous burger. Their classic hamburger, at RMB 68, and their devil's burger, at RMB 66, are both more reasonably priced, not to mention pastas (priced between RMB 38-58) and pizzas (RMB 38-66).

READ: Two-Time Champ Slow Boat Brewery Sails to Third Burger Cup Victory

None of this is to say that Xuan is an out-and-out flop. It's at least a step up from the consistently disappointing Panda Brew (the only bar I’ve ever gone to where the beer tasted flat), and has much friendlier service than the indifferent staff at Legend, though Peiping Machine has Xuan beat when it comes to variety, flavor, creativity, and ambiance.

But when you compare Xuan to the top-tier foreign-run breweries in Beijing, like the vastly superior Beersmith only one subway stop away, not to mention to the plethora of sterling craft beer spots around Sanlitun and Xinyuanli, Xuan will really need to up its game. That's because if even one of those competitors opens a branch in Shuangjing, then they won’t even be able to make the puny claim on their logo, which declares Xuan House to be the best craft beer spot in the neighborhood. Luckily, for now, it has that title by default.

READ: When Beer Beckons: Asia's Best Beer Festivals This Autumn

Considering the dearth of craft beer in the immediate vicinity as well as the growing number of expats and discerning Chinese customers in Shuangjing, there's certainly a market for Xuan. Hopefully, they can address the flaws that we encountered and capitalize on its strengths like friendly service, cozy atmosphere, and the solid enough flavors of their wares. But if they don't patch over the yawning gaps soon, it won't be long until a more savvy craft beer purveyor rushes in to fill the void.

Xuan House Brewery
Daily 4pm-1am. 109, Bldg 4, South Shuangjing Shuanghuayuan, Chaoyang District (185 0009 7158)
朝阳区惠力东路双花园南里三区华夏银行北

Photos: Kyle Mullin