An exciting event we held at our Sinan Mansions location on January 22nd was the release party for King Louie Imperial Stout. This was the first BCB release party for a new beer and it was a great time for everyone. I was able to give a brief talk about the brewing ingredients we use to make this beer and walk the guests through the flavors of the beer while answering a few beer questions. We had approximately 40 guests sample the beer and it was enjoyable to mingle with the crowd. The "booziness" of the 8% ABV beer provided some funny stories with lots of smiles. You can find additional pictures here: (King Louie Imperial Stout Release Party)
I was also able to chat with a friend that homebrews as he recently found out his time in Shanghai is coming to an end. Therefore we discussed brewing a batch of beer together at the brewery and settled into brewing an Imperial Brown Ale based upon a recipe he had brewed at home.
The following week we held a Brewmasters Dinner at Sinan Mansions. We seated 26 guests for the five course pairing meal while discussing each beer and food pairing as the night rolled on. The food was amazing as Chef Sean hit a grand slam with the food. While each course was outstanding the highlights of the pairing were course 2 & 4. The second course was a beer braised scallop with crispy lemon pumpkin bread pudding along with house cured bacon and poblano chili relish. The beer pairing was Contender Extra Pale Ale and the sweetness from the scallop and the tartness of the bread pudding complemented the tropical fruit notes of the beer. The bacon and semi-spicy chili relish really helped finish off the dish by cleansing the palate. Course 4 was a beast of a dish as it was coffee rubbed beef short ribs with baby spinach, lemon & tangerine gremolata, parsnip mash and a bourbon-sour cherry glaze. The beer pairing was Southpaw Winter Warmer so the coffee and orange peel notes of the beer complimented the dish incredibly well. The bourbon-sour cherry glaze was divine combined with the tender short ribs. I'm already looking forward to our next Brewmaster's Dinner; most likely in May during Shanghai Beer Week.
Later that week Dave Mast and I brewed Undercard Imperial Brown Ale at the brewhouse. It was a fun day for Dave to brew on a professional system and know that he can drink this beer when he visits Shanghai in May. The recipe was also interesting for me as it allowed us to try a few new processes in the brewery including mash hopping, first wort hopping and adding some chocolate malt to the mash just prior to vorlauf. The staff at the brewery was a bit bewildered by these processes but they took the new techniques in stride as I've been know to throw a curveball their way. The beer is tasting quite hoppy in the fermenter. I've recently dry-hopped the beer with 2 kilograms of Centennial hops so I'm really looking forward to this hoppy, higher alcohol brown ale!
Just prior to CNY our keg shipment arrived to Copenhagen and the 30 Liter kegs arrived safely so Mikkeller could pour the 2 kegs at their world famous location in the Danish capital city. The reception of TKO IPA and Contender Extra Pale Ale was fantastic as the kegs were kicked in about 2 days time. We even received a little spike in our Ratebeer ratings as the Danish "tickers" invaded the bar. (BCB Contender EPA Ratings) Thanks guys and hope to see you at Copenhagen Beer Celebration (Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2013) on May 3rd & 4th! We're very excited to attend this event and meet beer freaks from all over the world. We'll also get to try some world class beer in an amazing setting. I suspect I'll get some "beer inspiration" and walk away with a few new ideas to bring back to Shanghai....cue a big ass grin! I also intend to bang a few brewers cages and invite them to China for some more collaboration brewing projects.
During the Chinese New Year holiday I was able to work on some planning for Shanghai Beer Week and get emails sent out to potential participants. Even though is was during holiday many people responded and expressed interest so I think SHBW 2013 (Shanghai Beer Week) will be massive! The Sinan Mansions Beer Festival on the last weekend of SHBW will also be larger as we're featuring a 2 day festival this year. I'm incredibly excited for these events this Spring due to the interest they're already receiving.
I was able to escape the relentless fireworks of CNY in Shanghai and head to Beijing for a couple of days. Oddly enough Beijing was much quieter, partly due to the fact that 9 million people left the city for the holiday. Yes, I said 9 million people! Therefore it was the most enjoyable trip to Beijing I've experienced as traffic was a breeze and taxi drivers seemed to actually want your business. The trip coincided with the release of Yunnan Amber at Great Leap Brewing as Carl and I collaborated on this beer for the second time. The "meet the brewers" event was casual and an opportunity to chat with other beer minded individuals from Beijing. The GLB staff brewed Hop God 120 during the event so it gave guests the chance to see some "live brewing" while sampling the taps. Carl is also excited about his new brewpub coming online this Spring so we checked out the new location near Workers Stadium. It's going to be a SUPER addition to the Beijing beer scene and will allow him to crank out more beer in a wonderful setting. The 10 hl brewhouse looks at home in the building amongst lots of classic looking tile. I'm excited for Great Leap Brewing and look forward to hoisting some beers with them when it opens. If all goes as planned we'll brew a collab. beer on their new system later this Spring.
The last exciting news is that we've entered the Australian International Beer Awards for the third year in a row. The last 2 years we've picked up some medals so we're hopeful to get some hardware this year. We'll send 3 of our core products including TKO IPA, Sucker Punch Pale Ale and Standing 8 Pilsner. We'll add King Louie Imperial Stout to the mix as I feel this beer has a good chance of placing well. While medals are always nice it's something we cannot expect. However, I can expect to get good feedback on the comment sheets from the International panel of beer judges in the largest beer competition in the Asia-Pacific region!
Until next time...may your glass be full of craft beer!
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