Tsingtao? Pah! Beijing’s underground brew scene has been frothing away like a keg pump at a frat party for a couple years now, and one of the pioneers of this libationary revolution was Carl Setzer’s Great Leap Brewing.
The indie label has been steadily going from strength to strength and now spans two very different locations… the Original No.6 is tucked away in a character-packed courtyard in a leafy Gulou hutong and offers fab value daily food specials, while the No.12 Flagship (where the brewery itself now lives) is sprawled over two shiny floors in Chaoyang, and plates up crowd-pleasers like double cheeseburgers and chop salads.
Best of all? At either venue you can sample no less than 12 lovingly crafted brews on tap, like the no-nonsense, hop-tastic Pale Ale no.6, or the Szechuan peppercorn-infused Honey Ma Gold, also on offer as part of the mini four-glass taster menu. Cheers, dears!
Great Leap Brewing, 6 Doujiao Hutong, Dongcheng, Beijing, + branch at 12 XinZhong Jie, Chaoyang, Beijing, +86 10 5717 1399, greatleapbrewing.com
