Great Leap to go

Great Leap Brewing closed their doors for a private party this evening, but they were kind enough to let me grab a growler to go. They'll be open again at 9pm...

Gotta love free enterprise!

Great Leap Banana Wheat, Porter, Stout and Pale

Never had a banana beer? This is a serious treat, a banana wheat. Sweet, strong banana flavor and a masterful balance. Yes, fruity beer is sacrilegious but in this case all is forgiven. It tastes like candy and love. Rock on!!

The porter has an excellent balance and full roasted malt character, while the pale is a robust interpretation of the type.

The beers are priced on a sliding scale based on how much they cost to produce, which also tends to arrange them in a good order for tasting. Starting with the lowest priced beers will preserve more sobriety and taste buds for the flavor onslaught provided by the excellent stout. For a beer lover in Beijing, visiting Great Leap is a must.

Great Leap Brewing

This well-hidden brewery in the hutongs of Beijing offers rotating taps for the intrepid beer enthusiast. Offering an assortment of brews credited with launching the brewery movement in the capital, and soon to expand production and distribution capacity, they have become a sanctuary for expat beer lovers.

Local regulars grab growlers of pale ale or stout to go, and smiles abound. There are usually around 6 taps of tasty libations to be sampled here.

I elected to start with the IPA called Little General. Yum. Served cask temperature with a nice balance of hoppy tang and a full body, this certainly is a welcome brew for an IPA fan in China. At 6.9%, it beats all the local beer handily for potency. It goes without saying. This is the place for beer in Beijing.

Hours are now 3pm-midnight (depending on the level of business) Tuesday through Sunday. Well worth your effort if you are a beer fan in China's capital.

Spring Reign by Ninkasi

Tasty even from a bottle. When there is no tap in sight, Spring Reign in a bottle is nice to see!

Ninkasi Double Red

Excellent, hoppy and fully red in character with a sassy finish.

Hop Lava at Night Light

The Night Light is a sweet little neighborhood restaurant and bar that does nearly everything right. Good food is complemented by excellent beer, and while Hop Lava is an old friend, that's all right by me. It's local, tasty, tangy. Nice.