| Beer in China | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 中国啤酒 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國啤酒 | ||||||
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Beer was the dominantalcoholic beverage in China through theHan dynasty, after which it was eclipsed byrice wine. Modern brewing appeared in the late 1800s, brought to China by Europeans who brewedpale lagers, such asTsingtao. Both beer production and consumption of local and imported brands grew increasingly popular in the 20th century. In the 21st century, China became the world's largest consumer of beer, commercial scale brewing expanded, andcraft beer began to spread beyond expatriate communities and make inroads amongst the Chinese population.
Production and consumption ofbeer inChina has occurred for around nine thousand years, with recent archaeological findings showing that Chinese villagers were brewing beer-type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on small and individual scales.[1] Made with rice, honey, grape, and hawthorn fruits, this early beer seems to have been produced similarly to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[2] Ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals ofXia,Shang andZhou dynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li (醪醴 inoracle bone script). However, after theHan dynasty, Chinese beer faded from prominence in favor ofhuangjiu, which remained the case for the next two millennia.
Archaeologists uncovered ancient beer brewing equipment in an underground room built between 3400 and 2900BC inChina.[3][4][5] A research report published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America[6] said that the Mijiaya Site[7] provided the earliest evidence of beer-making in China,[8] indicating that people had mastered the beer brewing technology[9] around 5,000 years ago.[10]
Modern beerbrewing was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, whenPolish people established a brewery inHarbin, with another three following (also in Harbin), set up byGermans,Czechoslovaks andPoles respectively.Japanese also established in 1934 inMukdenManchurian Beer, which later becameShenyangSnow Beer and then acquired in 1994 byChina Resources Enterprises.[11]
The emergence of craft beer in China started in the large metro areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.[12] Once primarily of interest toexpat drinkers, local consumer interest in premium brands and local and imported craft beers is currently on the rise.[13][14][15] However, Chinese government regulations have been cited as an obstacle facing new breweries or those wishing to expand bottling distribution.[16]
Chinese beers often containrice,sorghum and sometimesrye in addition tobarley. Some beer is produced that usesbitter melon instead of hops as thebittering agent.
Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers containedformaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage.[17][18][19][20]
Despite the fact that estimates say between one-third to half of East Asian people, including Chinese people, haveAsian flush syndrome, which influences the ability to process alcohol,[21][22] China is deemed the world's largest beer market in terms of global consumption, followed by the United States and Brazil.[23][24]
Snow Beer, produced byCR Snow is the best-selling beer in China, holding 21.7% market share,[25] having recently overtaken Tsingtao Beer, produced byTsingtao Brewery, which is the brand most widely exported to other countries. Tsingtao Beer is brewed in the city ofQingdao (formerly spelledTsingtao inEFEO Chinese transcription) which was a German base in the time ofunequal treaties and late-colonial western influence in China. The Germans needed beer for their sailors, soldiers and traders, and production continued after they lost the city to the Japanese inWorld War I.
Apart from Tsingtao, other major Chinese brewing groups includeChina Pabst Blue Ribbon,[26] Yanjing, Sie-Tang Lio andZhujiang Beer. Many major international brewers now have interests in, or joint ventures with, Chinese breweries, and popular international brands such asCarlsberg are now produced in China. This gives them access to the Chinese market while providing capital and expertise to help upgrade local brewing standards, albeit at the cost of variety.
Beer isbrewed in Hong Kong, which has a large brewery owned bySan Miguel Corporation of the Philippines, as well as a microbrewery producing several beers for the local market.
Brewpubs are gaining popularity in China, primarily in major cities which have a resident western community, though there are a few exceptions in more remote locations like Bad Monkey Brewery inDali Old Town, Yunnan. Shanghai Brewery, Boxing Cat Brewery, The BREW and Dr. Beer are some of the more prominent craft breweries in Shanghai. In Beijing, several craft breweries such asGreat Leap Brewing, Jing-A Brewing, Panda Brew Pub, andSlow Boat Brewery have become staples in the local nightlife scene. Another popular brewpub is Kaiwei Beer House, a chain based inWuhan. Craft beer festivals have been popularized since the early 2010s in Beijing and Shanghai. Two popular beer festivals in Shanghai, Shanghai International Beer Festival and Shanghai Beer Week, were both started in 2012.
In 2015 market share of imported beer reached 1.14% and volume increased by 58.9% to 538.5 million litres.[27]
Note: This is a partial list of China's major breweries. The vast majority of China's breweries serve only their local vicinity.
There is a growing consumer inclination towards less strong beer in China as health conscious individuals are seeking wholesome and lower caloric options in their choice of beer, and consumers who want low alcohol and healthier drinks are noted to be mainly young women.[28] According to a study by market intelligence agencyMintel, China has the highest amount of product launches of low or zero alcohol beer (below 3.5 percent ABV) in the Asia Pacific region in 2016, and over one in four (29 percent) beers launched in China in that year, were of low or non-alcoholic beers.Tsingtao Beers launched the firstnon-alcoholic beer in China in 2012 with its product, 'Qingdao 0.00', that is brewed from Czech hops and Australian barley.[29][30]
Jonny Forsyth, a global drinks analyst of Mintel firm, stated "...(the) research indicates that Chinese consumers, in general, prefer less strong beer in terms of ABV, compared to the global market". Consumers in China tend to gravitate towards tried and trusted brands for their purchases in low or non-alcoholic beers, with big companies likeHeineken andTsingtao enjoying massive support from consumers based on sales and annual profits.[31]
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