Tours, tastings and articles - Week 49.

     The week in the brewery was average pace but of course we had some excitement with a few visitors and some unexpected equipment issues. After blogging last week I was able to wrap up an article on the Chinese Craft Beer Scene for The Brewer & Distiller. If you're unfamiliar with this publication it's the monthly trade magazine from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in the UK (IBD UK). I'm pleased with the content of the article and look forward to seeing the finished 2-3 page article in the magazine come early 2013.

     The week started off fairly normal as we kegged some more TKO IPA and Sucker Punch Pale Ale. This emptied one of the bright tanks and we were able to transfer Ringside Red to the bright tank. We're beginning to brew this beer on a more frequent basis as it's proven to be very popular in the pubs. It's a malt driven lager beer weighing in at 5% ABV featuring some Vienna malt and a small proportion of different caramel malts. The hop bill is European influenced so we have additions of Hersbrucker and Czech Saaz. The taste is complex while still being approachable to people that are only accustomed to pale colored beer. This brand has sold enough that we have designed a standard label for this brand and it looks like this:

     We also brewed more TKO IPA to keep up with demand. I always enjoy brewing this beer as I'm a hophead and the hop aroma while we brew is pretty spectacular. Towards the end of the week our glycol compressor stopped working all the sudden. Luckily it stopped early in the morning before we had begun mashing in the planned brew of the day. Without this compressor we cannot keep the beer tanks cold and cool our wort while transferring to the fermenter. We fixed the compressor that afternoon as our ace mechanic was tied up a bit and in Pudong most of the day. In the meantime I had some visitors at the brewery and was able to show Chase around the brewery and taste some beer with him. He's writing an upcoming article for Hops Magazine (Hops Magazine Online) and will feature Southpaw Winter Warmer as the brew of the season. This is pretty exciting for Boxing Cat Brewery as we enjoy the coverage and of course working with this local trade magazine focusing on beer culture in China. Later in the day a visitor from Taiwan stopped by as she is gathering material and photos for an upcoming book she is publishing on craft beer in China. I'm excited to see Ellaine's finished book although I understand it will be late in 2013. I'll have to buy a copy when it's published and share some details! The social gatherings just kept continuing as I met with Michelle from the Chinese edition of Hops Magazine and some beer enthusiasts visiting from Beijing. Pints were hoisted as we discussed craft beer and the emerging homebrewing culture in China.

     The equipment issue caused a little hiccup in our schedule and kept our tour guests from seeing a live brew in process but these issues are unavoidable. We wrapped up the week by brewing Standing 8 Pilsner and finally kegging some Southpaw Winter Warmer. I've experienced a lot of inquiries regarding our Winter Seasonal beer so I'm happy to report it will begin to pour next week at each location. We were also able to transfer Cat Scratched Celt to the bright beer tank and let it condition for a few days before we release this collaboration beer with The Celt Experience from Wales. This means we'll have two amber beers pouring very soon but they will be completely different as one is lager and the other is a hoppy US West Coast style amber beer. I think this will be fun for our customers having Christmas gatherings soon followed by New Years and Chinese New Years. This time of year there are lots of parties happening.

     I was able to enjoy some US craft beer with a few fellow beer lovers on Friday night and it was a real treat. We shared 9 different beers as the theme was Imperial Stout & Porters. I always appreciate gatherings like this and was thankful Rudy from Kaiba held a table for our impromptu tasting. My favorite beer of the night was Belgian Style Yeti from Great Divide Brewing in the US. Big thanks to Brent for hauling over some bottled beers!

Until next week....May you enjoy some wonderful Christmas Beers!
   
   

Week 48- Another collaboration beer!

     The past week turned into another busy week as 2 new beers were released and some out of town visitors were at the brewery. We released a small portion of Bare Knuckle Barleywine to each shop and the response has been terrific so far. I think people are surprised it's served in a wine glass but once they hear that it's 10.2% ABV the smaller serving starts to make sense. The tasting notes from fellow beer lovers include complex flavors of chocolate, raisin, caramel and light coffee. The hop notes are present but over-shadowed by the sticky flavors of the beer. I'm setting a couple barelywine kegs aside to let them age a bit more in our keg cooler. I think the beer will change a bit in the next 2 months. Overall the drinkability of this beer is impressive and has already "kicked" a few people sidewards! I'm super pumped for the barleywine aging away in the used Jim Beam bourbon barrels.

     The first brew of the week was our popular collaboration brew; Yunnan Amber. Carl from Great Leap Brewing came down Tuesday night so we could talk shop and of course drink some beer. I tapped Bare Knuckle Barleywine for him and Leon and of course Leon was rather late to our "meeting". Anyway....Carl and I brewed Yunnan Amber on Wednesday and the brew day was silky smooth. Later that evening we met with a freelance reporter doing an article for Shanghai Daily. We're excited to see the article she presents and get craft beer additional media exposure! I expect the article will run in the next 10 days or so. The beer won't pour until just before Christmas if the schedule unfolds as I expect. If you're not familiar with Yunnan Amber you can read a bit out the beer here: (Yunnan Amber- City Weekend Shanghai) Hopefully the new Great Leap brewpub project opens early in the 2013 and I'll make the trip to Beijing to brew a new collaboration beer with Carl. More fun collaboration brews ahead!

      The remainder of the week we needed to keg some beer including the stout I brewed with Jesse from Harmon Brewing. We kegged Split Decision Stout on Thursday and sent it to the bar on Friday so we would pour the beer for his going away party. In addition we kegged some TKO IPA as our inventory was getting a bit low. This beer is one of our best selling core products and something the expat community often thanks me for. They need their hoppy beers in China! Of course I'm also a fan of hops and often drink this beer. I'm also pleased with our new company logo and all the brand logos. The look is more universal across all beer brands and incorporates some Chinese so it can appeal to a greater audience. A sample of the new TKO label in case you hadn't seen it yet.

     The party for Jesse on Friday night was incredible. It makes me realize how many people know Jesse in this massive city. He will be greatly missed by many friends! The response to Split Decision Stout was great and it was fun to let people know that we brewed the beer together. Essentially it was Jesse's idea and I just put the puzzle pieces together to execute the beer. The overwhelming crowd arrived thirsty Friday night as we ran low on Palisade Lager and the staff decided to tap a keg of Barleywine in its place. Needless to say the party really kicked into high gear!

     On Saturday night another friend from Australia was in town for a beer tasting. Dave is a commercial airline pilot and a fellow craft beer fanatic. He always arrives with luggage full of wonderful beer to share with us. We of course try to reciprocate the offer but our choices are rather limited in Shanghai for bottled beer. The selection was excellent and included great beers like Russian River Redemption and Brewdog Dog A. We didn't crack into all the bottles so his next visit we'll have a massive tasting! Hopefully I can find some good beers over Christmas vacation and contribute! In the meantime I hand bottled some Bruce ChiLee IPA so he could take some back to Sydney and share with his beer mates. It's rather rewarding to spread the craft beer love and I look forward to some Aussies checking this beer into their Untappd (https://untappd.com/) database!

Until next week.....may your glass be full of great craft beer!