Buying Chinese Beer in Europe

Tsingtao is on many European shelves. Finding the rest takes a little more curiosity. Here is where to look and what to check.

Where to look

• **Supermarkets:** Tsingtao, China's most exported beer, is found in many European supermarkets, usually in the world beer section.
• **Asian supermarkets:** they often stock other Chinese brands too, such as Harbin, Snow or regional lagers, sometimes in big 500–640 ml bottles.
• **Chinese restaurants:** most serve Tsingtao, and some carry other brands. Ask what they have.
• **Specialist beer shops and festivals:** the best places to look for Chinese craft beer, which is still rare in Europe.
• **Online shops:** some world beer retailers import Chinese brands and occasional craft beers.

Read the label

Chinese beer labels carry two numbers that are easy to confuse:

• **The alcohol:** 酒精度, often 3–5% for lagers.
• **The degree:** a number like 8°, 10° or 12°, which is the original wort strength (原麦汁浓度, in degrees Plato). It tells you how full the beer is, not how strong.

Also look for the **best-before date** (保质期) and the production date (生产日期). Light lager is best fresh: the younger the bottle, the better.

What to buy first

1. **A Tsingtao lager**, the classic, to taste the Chinese style. 2. **A Harbin or Snow**, if you can find them, to compare. 3. **A Chinese craft beer** with a local ingredient, such as tea or Sichuan pepper, when you spot one.

How to serve it

Cold, but not ice-cold, in small glasses if you are sharing. Pour it with dumplings, fried food, skewers or anything spicy.

Storing it

Keep beer cool and away from light, standing upright. Drink it within a few months: lager does not improve with age.

In one sentence

Start with Tsingtao, look in Asian supermarkets for the others, check the date, and keep an eye on specialist beer shops for Chinese craft.