With the Beijing Olympic Games only a month away we thought we would feature a Chinese beer today. Harbin is one of China’s premium beers, this super premium pilsner style lager has won some pretty prestigious awards including the China Top Brand Award twice. The beer has a interesting fruity aroma which comes from the Qindao Dahua hops which is grown in the remote north western provinces of Heilongjiang. The beer undergoes a long and cold aging process which helps give the beer a really fresh and crisp finish. The beer originates from Harbin which is home to those amazing ice sculptures and castles you see every year. The brewery is China’s oldest dating back over 100 years. When drinking beer with Chinese people it is customary in China to consume beer from smaller “toasting” glasses, using the traditional Chinese phrase: “Gan Bei, ” which means “bottoms up “,or more literally,” dry the glass.” And as we said in the title of today’s story the beer is so tasty, if pandas drank beer this would be the one we think they would enjoy the most.
Yanjing Beer Co Ltd is based in Beijing and is the largest brewer in Asia employing over 20,0000 employees. The company produces over 3.1 million litres of beer alone and are one of the major sponsors of this years Olympic Games so expect the name to be well know by the end of the games in August. The beer is quiet popular throughout the world but Tsingtao is usually the most stocked of the Chinese beers. Nether less the Yanjing is a good beer with a smooth malty taste with a touch of honey and hops. As you would expect it goes well with spicy Asian dishes and is best served a little colder than the average beer. It takes a bit of the sweetness off the taste. The new clear bottles have been specially treated to prevent ultra violet damage from the sun, but like all light colored bottles they are best kept in the dark. So next time you are out for some yum cha or sweet and sour chicken ask for a Yanjing you wont be disappointed.
We couldn’t help ourselves when we did the artwork to this and had to add a cute little Chinese character. Well the eyes will be on China and especially Beijing this year with what promises to be the biggest and most spectacular Olympic Games in History, who knows Sydney might end up loosing the crown for the ‘Best Olympics Ever’. Well rest assured the marketing teams will be working hard to put even more Chinese products and my guess beer will be no exception. The biggest Chinese beer outside China would have to be the crisp and refreshing Tsing Tao and with a new bottle and label it has made the first step of trying to become the beer of 2008. Time will tell but the Chinese sure are dominating with everything else we buy- can they conquer the beer market. Time will tell. Anyway stock up on a few bottles and prepare for the Olympic spectacular.
Baisha Beer is brewed by one of Inbev’s breweries in Changsha, China, Inbev is responsible for some of the world’s biggest brands including Stella Artois, Becks and Brahma. They have just launched a pretty elaborate mythological themed ad which is well worth a look and is getting rave receptions in the advertising world. The brewer is currently undergoing massive expansion plans which will see an increase of over 50,000000 litres of beer being produced a year.
