Given China has the largest population of any
county on earth, it is understandable that they also have
one of the largest beer markets, but that has not always been
the case. Today China has the 2nd largest beer industry in the
world and is tipped to exceed the US in the near future, yet in
1980 Australian beer consumption exceeded China's. Since China's
breweries have increased from near 200 to more than 600, giving
China a beer market some twelve times larger than Australia that
produces over 220 million hectoliters.
Despite this large
market not many of China's beers can be found out side Asia, but
a few can be found at specialty shops and Chinese restaurants
the most popular Chinese beer that is brewed for export is Tsing
Tao. Many of China's beers have a European influence as,
like Tsing Tao, many of the early 19th century breweries
were founded by Europeans.
Chinese Ginseng Beer
A 4.7% very pale yellow color lager beer
with the flavors of ginger and citrus. It is fairly smooth with a
herb aroma. Often hard to find outside Asia.
Shanghai Beer
The Shanghai range of beers is starting to
increase in popularity since the large Fosters group invested in
several Chinese breweries in the 1990s. This gave the Fosters
group a premium beer for export as well as a local brewery to
produce Fosters in China. The Shanghai Export beer is a
4.7% pale larger beer with a slightly sweet malty taste.
Tsing Tao
The most famous Chinese beer was
founded in 1903 by German settlers in Qingdao, China. Since its
introduction, Tsingtao Beer has enjoyed impressive sales growth
and has always been the number one beer in China. Tsing Tao is
the largest brewery in China and is the most popular of all the
exported beers. produced with spring water from Laoshan, a
mountain area famous throughout China for the purity of its
water. This 4.5 % larger has a pleasant aroma and a
well-balanced taste. The name TsingTao is pronounced "Ching Dow"
