Booze News: Maovember Booze-nanza, Drink and Draw, IPA All-You-Can-Drink, Wild West Brewery Takeover

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

Boozy Maovember events

First things first, the annual celebration of facial hair in the name of bringing awareness to testicular cancer and charity, Maovember, comes to an end this week and you better believe it'll be a boozy blowout. Starting Friday night, the Beijing International Ice Hockey team will be unleashing their goodwill on the noblest of sports at the Shamrock Irish Pub (née The Irish Volunteer): flip cup. Head over at 7pm and throw down RMB 100 per head to join a team of five and access to a welcome shot and tournament beers.

Then on Saturday, nurse your head with a Sarawakian cuisine and wine lunch pairing courtesy of Kakikopi's Jasmine Kho and fellow Malaysian Lee Yeanyean, chief winemaker at Grace Vineyard in Shanxi. Starting 1pm at Kakikopi, the RMB 388 lunch will span appetizers, several family-style dishes, as well as dessert. Diners are encouraged to dress colorfully to also celebrate Diwali, while all proceeds go to the Library Project.

Finally, to mark the end of this year's month-long event, two Beijing chefs – Jeff Powell of That One Place and Ray Heng of Pebbles – head to Paddy O'Shea's on Saturday from 8.30pm onwards for a faceoff like no other: a "celebrity chef pickle juice contest." All you need to do is buy a shot of Jameson and select your pickle juice chaser of choice from one of these gents. Rinse, repeat, fight the hangover. All proceeds go to the Library Project so rest assured come Sunday that your pain was not in vain.

But that's not all, because Jing-A is also in on the Maovember action, launching a special preview of their new Marselan-powered Grape Ye, along with several other Marselan wines from across China. Kicking off at 2pm at Jing-A's Xingfucun venue, Lee Yeanyean from Grace Vineyard and Marselan specialist Tong Lili of Manzhouxiang Winery will pair up with the Jing-A crew to guide attendees through the intricacies of the Marselan and their brewing process respectively. Spots are limited, so best to RSVP.

Drink and draw at Nugget

If you're a proponent of the Hippocratic belief that "life is short, art is long" then perhaps you'd enjoy whiling your hours away drawing at Nugget's weekly drink and draw event, with a drink in hand of course. Every Thursday at 8pm, accomplished artists and dilettante doodlers come together to draw a variety of models and objects. If you're lacking in materials, have no fear as there are pens and paper on hand. Get the full details here.

Whiskey and steak night at Char

Riding strong after winning a Michelin Plate last in the week, Char at the Intercontinental in collaboration with Switzerland's Säntis Malt whisky, invites you to indulge on Nov 25, 6.30-10pm, during their one-off whisky and steak night. For RMB 588, diners will be treated to a four-course steak dinner plus whisky pairing – and not just any whiskeys, but Swiss whiskies that ride the line between scotch and bourbon. Switzerland is relatively new to the Wihisky industry, having only lifted their ban on spirit production in the 1999. Thereafter, Santis Malt began aging whiskies the beer barrels used by Appenzeller Bier. But whether that narrative intrigues you or not, it's not a bad way to celebrate entry onto Beijing's shortlist for fine dining fame.

All-you-can-drink at Glou

On Saturday, 5-9pm, newest member of the bar family, Glou, gets lush with an all-you-can-drink Jaipur IPA. For RMB 188, you get unlimited access to canned Jaipur IPA from the UK's legendary Thornbridge Brewery, as well as a chance to win 24 cans of the good stuff for later. All you'll need to have done is downed a glass of beer in the fastest time once all times are tallied at the end of the night. There are certainly worse ways to start a Saturday night. Save your spot here.

Toast pop-up at Great Leap

On Friday, Great Leap #12 has invited favorite hutong restaurant Toast at The Orchid for a beer and hummus matchup. For RMB 100, you'll get a two beer and hummus set, including three hummus varieties: vegetable, eggplant, and mala beef. The fun runs between 6-10pm.

Guest bartender at Union

This Thursday, 8-11pm, Union at The Opposite House invites their latest bartender in what is shaping up to be a strong weekly event. This time around, it's the turn of Roger Yamagishi. Bartender at Shanghai's Sober Company, ranked number 42 in 2020's World's 50 Best Bars list and #12 in Asia, Yamagishi is a "classically trained bartender and barista with seven years' experience over two continents and four countries and an extensive knowledge of spirits, cocktails, and the history of alcohol." Read the full details here.

Nine new beers on tap at Prodigy

Finally, in a week packed with booze news, there's just space for nine new tipples courtesy of Wild West Brewery in Chengdu, now tapped at Xingfucun's Prodigy Brewpub. Run by a husband-wife duo, Wild West has been a fixture in Chengdu since opening 12 years ago, later rebranding as a craft beer taproom. This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there'll be daily deals on the nine beers stocked, including the likes of China White Belgian, Misty Mountain Pale Ale, Black Dirt Porter, and Cosmic Thing Hazy Double IPA. Get the full list here, and happy weekend!

READ: Make Like a Turkey and Gobble up These Thanksgiving Deals Around Town

Images courtesy of the venues, thebrewerybible.com