Craft beer flows in middle-class China

SHANGHAI (AP) — “Panda Beer,” “Little General,” “Flying Fist IPA” and “Mandarin Wheat” are among the offerings on tap at a craft beer exhibition this week in Shanghai dedicated to expanding the palette of Chinese consumers and promoting sales of highend brews.

The 2018 Craft Beer of China Exhibition features breweries like Rasenburg Beer, Myth Monkey Brewing, Lazy Taps, Goose Island and Boxing Cat Brewery that are sharing tips on the latest technology and sales trends as Chinese shift from legacy brews to more experimental, refined and expensive flavors.

From taps at the expo flowed creative mixes of flavors and traditions, a swirling cocktail of Chinese ingredients, barley, hops and spices from around the world.

“After drinking (craft beer), it feels much better than the domestic industry beer, and then you just can’t leave it,” said Yu Shiqi, a 40-year-old craft beer consumer at the expo who dreams of brewing his own.

There is money to be made in China, which drinks a quarter of all beer worldwide, and small-batch brewers and giant multinationals are cashing in.

Though craft beer is far from upstaging local beer behemoths like Tsingtao that dominate the $28-billion national beer market, it is rising in popularity as small breweries open up in China’s major metropolitan areas like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.