Craft brewing in Beijing began around 2010, when a handful of small brewpubs opened in courtyard houses and started making beer that had nothing to do with the light lagers sold everywhere else. Fifteen years later the city has dozens of breweries, most of them with their own taproom, and a drinking culture that is closer to Portland than to a hotel bar.
What to drink
Start with a local pilsner or a wheat beer, then move to the IPAs, which are usually the strongest part of the lineup. Beijing brewers like to work in Chinese ingredients - Sichuan peppercorn, osmanthus, hawthorn, jasmine tea, even baijiu barrels - and the results are more interesting than they sound. Seasonal fruit beers appear in summer and heavier stouts and porters in winter.
Where to go
Sanlitun and the lanes around it hold the largest concentration of taprooms, and the hutong brewpubs north of the Drum Tower are the most atmospheric - bare brick, long shared tables, and a courtyard to stand in. The 798 area has a couple of larger brewery taprooms with food. Most places serve pints in the 40 to 70 yuan range and offer tasting flights of four or five small glasses, which is the efficient way to work through a menu.
Practical notes
Taprooms generally open in the late afternoon and run until midnight; a few close earlier on Mondays. Food is usually pub-style - burgers, pizza, fried chicken, sausages - and some places have kitchens run by separate restaurants next door. Bring ID, as venues check age for anyone who looks young, and note that smoking indoors still happens in some smaller bars.
Worth combining with
A late afternoon of hutongs followed by a taproom is one of the better evenings in Beijing: walk the lanes, have dinner at a small local restaurant, then finish with a flight of beers somewhere with a courtyard. It is also a reliable way to meet Chinese drinkers who speak English.
