HK Craft Brew News: June 2021

Compiled proudly by Brew News and Brew 852

There are new Hong Kong beers coming out every week. It’s impossible to keep up, but we are somewhat obsessed. Brew News and Brew 852 are doing our best to stay on top of it all, but please do send us deets of what we have missed and we’ll update.

The Ho Lan Jeng mega collabs

Ho Lan Jeng have their licence. They launched Carbon Brews’ Peachy Lil’ Beach, and they had six collaborations to celebrate their opening night: Lion Rock Signature APA, Moonzen Rose Oolong Ale, Citibrew Watercress Mead, DEADMAN Brewery Italian Pilsner, Yardley Brothers Raspberry Lychee Sour and Mak’s Brewery CBD Session IPA. All are on tap now. Get to their place to taste them all – like Pokémon GO, but with beer!

We did hear there may or may not be another six collabs coming from different Hong Kong craft breweries!

2/F, LKF 29, 29 Wyndham Street, LKF, Central, 2342 2224

Events, tap takeovers & beer launches

DEADMAN Brewery x Double Haven (10 June, 5pm–late)

The secret is out! Stop by Blue Supreme to try the New Zealand oak-aged dry-hopped Maibock, a collaboration beer created by Hong Kong’s DEADMAN Brewery and Double Haven. It's called Nelson’s Day Off and is made with New Zealand Nelson hops. Expect “medium bitterness, hops, citrus peel aroma, along with some pine and stone fruit and a slightly toasty and bready malt profile. Prominent oak flavour, with a vanilla pop aroma/flavour.”

21 Tung Street, Sheung Wan, 5998 3088, Facebook event

Carbon Brews launch (11 June, 5:30–7:30pm)

Carbon Brews is releasing their first batch of beer from their Dark Soul barrel-aged imperial stout series at HK Brewcraft this week. The series explores the wood and barrel characteristics that are added to imperial stouts after barrel ageing, and the first in the series has been aged for 11 months in rum barrels. Expect rich and complex notes of dark chocolate, liquorice, plum and fig.⁣ Join the Carbon Brews brewers to chat all things beer and pick up a bottle of Dark Soul – Rum with a discount.
4/F, Cochrane Commercial House, 15 Cochrane Street, Central, Facebook event

99 Bottles x Hong Kong Beer Co (11 June, 5pm–late)

99 Bottles is having their first summer party and serving up 99 Summer Ale, a collaboration with Hong Kong Beer Co. Also available are some fresh and limited- release HKBC beers, as well as 99 Bottles Dragon Water. We can vouch for the latest batch of Mango Lassi Milkshake IPA being the best one yet.

59A Peel Street, SoHo, Central, 9772 3053

Young Master Brewery x Knockbox Coffee Company (12 June)

Working closely with the Knockbox team, Young Master has created a Days of Being Wild Ale called Owl’s Gaze, made with washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb and anaerobic natural Guji Michicha coffee beans. They describe it as “enveloped with a heady aroma that suggests roasted chestnuts and fresh herbs; its flavour evokes sweet fruits – bananas, peaches and white flowers on the palate, with restrained natural funk.” Find Owl’s Gaze exclusively at TAP Mongkok and Knockbox Mongkok, with both Mongkok locations having special Owl’s Gaze promotions for just one day.

TAP Mongkok: 9 Hak Po Street, 2468 2010, Facebook event

Knockbox Mongkok: 21 Hak Po Street, 2781 0363

Mostly Water grand opening party (13 June, 4pm)

The grand opening party of Mostly Water will be held on Sunday, 13 June from 4pm. With generous free-flow and a lucky draw, what better excuse is there to check out the latest supply of local and imported craft beers? Get there before the opening ceremony starts at 4:30pm.

122D Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City, 9092 4329

The Madhouse CWB local beer carnival (13 June, 3–10pm)

Carbon Brews and hEROES star in the first local beer carnival held by The Madhouse in Causeway Bay. Beer will be available at “an attractive price”, and they request that you bring cash.

Shop 2, G/F, Chinacham Leighton Plaza, 29 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay

RELATED: The Madhouse Taproom in Mongkok

Moonzen Monkami Festival (12–14 June)

This summer market is being held at The Pulse in Repulse Bay. Drop by the third floor and B1/F in the afternoon to try the new Monkami Rice Lager from Moonzen. We don’t know much more except you are free to bring your pets.

And Moonzen tours are also back on every Friday! With limited seats, book here.

HKLSS x Hong Kong Beer Co workshop (23 June, 7pm)

This is a members-only event for members of the HK Life Sciences Society, but they encourage people to join here. In this virtual workshop, instructors from Hong Kong Beer Co will guide participants through every stage of the brewing and tasting process. Learn the science behind brewing whilst tasting different types of craft beers – it’s $100 for five beers, and the cost is refundable (!) after doing the workshop. Register here after applying to join the HKLSS here.

Roganic x Yardley Brothers (25 June – SOLD OUT)

This one is super special. Michelin-starred Roganic is Hong Kong’s only restaurant to hold the prestigious Michelin “Green Star” accolade in recognition of its focus on sustainability, and Chef Ash Salmon has been given access to the best small-batch brews from Yardley Brothers in order to create an amazing beer-pairing menu. For one night only, on Friday, 25 June, you can experience the special six-course event and be the first to celebrate the release of two new barrel-aged beers – a Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc barrel-aged sour and a Frederiksdal French oak barrel-aged cherry sour – paired perfectly.

UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, 2817 8383, book online

RELATED: We chat to Chef Ash Salmon of Roganic

HK Craft Beer Co. x Craftbros (30 June, 5pm–late)

Last month, HK Craft Beer Co. brought eight kegs of fresh Equilibrium beer over from New York and immediately cracked them open at Second Draft for a tap takeover. At the end of this month, they will launch Craftbros from South Korea, a new brewery focusing on New England–style hoppy, hazy beers. Expect to see a New England pale ale, a NEIPA and a NEDIPA fresh from the plane at this event at The Globe. Takeaway taps will be available.

45–53A Graham Street, Central, 2543 1941, Facebook event

RELATED: CBD beer – a new CBG beer from Mak’s Brewery

Beer collabs

We love seeing our favourite brands join forces!

Yardley Brothers x Double Haven

Double Haven will be teaming up with their like-minded friends at Yardley Brothers to launch some beach clean-up partnerships where great drinks will be your reward for being an ocean warrior. Trashwave is a California Common steam beer; it uses a lager yeast strain but is fermented at ale temperatures. The cans are adorned with awesome artwork, as usual, by Ben Appleby.

Register now at the Double Haven Trashwave website – either as an individual or a group – and get FREE BEER for picking up rubbish! This is a cause we will work up a thirst and be well rewarded for afterwards. Join us! Further details will be forthcoming.

Young Master Brewery x TamJai SamGor

Young Master has teamed up with popular noodle chain TamJai SamGor to create two limited-edition beers to celebrate beer and chilli – by coincidence, two of our favourite things! Wula Stout is a delicious dark brew with a moderate chilli kick in the aftertaste. We adore the Sichuan spice behind the “ma” in Mala Gose, so we will be trying this beer ASAP. It’s no secret we love Young Master’s Cha Chaan Teng Gose too, so it will be interesting to see our worlds collide. Will update.

KFC x HK Whistle

Colonel Sanders Pale Ale has been happening for ages, but we only just found out about it – and it blew our minds. Having just recently enjoyed a HK Whistle Pale Ale, we are stoked to find out they are behind the KFC collaboration, available only at the flagship Causeway Bay KFC shop. Fried chicken + beer for the win!

Australian International Beer Awards 2021 results for HK breweries

Not all our HK breweries entered the competition, but everyone who did enter picked up at least one medal. Hong Kong snagged gold for Carbon Brews’ All Funked Up fruited Brett (which we haven’t yet tried, but we have one in the fridge), Young Master’s collab with HK Brewcraft, the Flanders red-style ale Days of Brewing Wild and their Cha Chaan Teng Gose. 加油!

The best HK beers as judged by the Australian International Beer Awards this year are:

Black Kite Brewery

Silver

Traditional IPA (Double/Imperial IPA) 10C: Two Many Dollars DIPA

Other Speciality Beer (Best Speciality Beer) 20E: Pins & Needles Passionfruit Sour

Carbon Brews

Gold

Other Speciality Beer (Best Speciality Beer) 20E: All Funked Up

Bronze

New England IPA (Best Modern IPA) 11C: Crazy Rich Lupulins
Session IPA (Best Modern IPA) 11D: Staying Alive
Other Wheat Beer (Best Wheat Beer) 16E: Feels Good Man
Other Speciality Beer (Best Speciality Beer) 20E: Rogg n Waddle
Baltic-Style Porter (Best Porter or Stout) 13A: Baltic Proper
Quadrupel (Best Belgian-/French-Style Ale) 17F: Four of a Kind
Other Flavoured Speciality Beer (Best Flavoured Speciality Beer) 21D: A Year to Forget
Chocolate (Best Flavoured Speciality Beer) 21C: Choco Rainforest 2020
Other Speciality Beer (Best Speciality Beer) 20E: Funky Rich Lupulins v3.0

DEADMAN Brewery

Silver

Bohemian Style Pilsner (Best Pilsner) 4: 5000 Years

Bronze

American Style (Best International-Style Pale Ale) 8B: Mirror Mirror

Modern IPA (Hazy IPA) 11A: Dirty Pale Ale

Double Haven

Bronze

Traditional IPA (American) 10B: Adventurer IPA

hEROES

Silver

Traditional IPA (American) 10B: First Love West Coast IPA

Modern IPA (Hazy IPA) 11A: Little Fresh Meat

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer 19D: Barrel-Aged Cherry Flanders Red

Bronze

Modern IPA (Hazy IPA) 11A: Kupzzy In Time Hazy DIPA

Fruit Wheat Beer (Best Fruit Beer)18B: Wing Man Pineapple Sour

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer 19C: BB&AWAIMSwCN&V

Hong Kong Beer Co

Bronze

Modern IPA (Hazy) 11A: Crush American Wheat

Modern IPA (New England IPA) 11C: Hei Hei Hazy DIPA

Young Master Brewery

Gold

Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer 19D: Days of Brewing Wild

Silver

Belgian-/French-Style Ale 17I: Days of Being Wild – Mixed Fruit

Bronze

Modern IPA (New England IPA) 11C: Deep Fake

Modern IPA (New England IPA) 11C: Kveik Triple IPA

Herb & Spice (Best Flavoured Speciality Beer) 21A: Hak Mo Sheung 黑無常 Stout Imperial con Chile Ancho y Panca

AND OLDER NEWS...

Taprooms, bottle shops & beer things

GRAIN

GRAIN is neither a taproom nor a bottle shop – it’s unique in Hong Kong as the only place beer is brewed and then sold to customers alongside food on-site. Yes, we’re talking about Gweilo, Woolly Pig and the space in K-Town formerly occupied for four years by Little Creatures.

This type of brewpub set-up is everywhere in Australia and the States, so it’s both exciting to have it here in Hong Kong and, at the same time, desperately sad that the licencing restrictions are so tough here that there’s only one. GRAIN is open now!

3–5 New Praya, Kennedy Town, 3500 5807, book online

Artisan Brewer

Soft-opening on 3 May, this prime spot in SoHo is a bar and restaurant called Artisan Brewer, brought to us by Artisan Butcher in Sai Ying Pun. If the butcher’s beer selection is anything to go by, we think the Hollywood Road location will have some really interesting beers such as St Bernardus Tokyo and some from the Brussels Beer Project, as well as local gems from hEROES Beer Co, Carbon Brews and HK Craft Beer Co.

We have already heard they will be hosting a tap takeover in late June with HK Craft Beer Co., who are bringing in sour and wild beer from Italian brand Ca’ del Brado. Exciting stuff!

28 Hollywood Road, Central, 9848 2863

Mostly Water

What do they sell? Mostly water. In cans and bottles with alcohol. They have a tremendous selection of local and fresh beers (including the elusive Doomsday CBG beer from DEADMAN). Keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram pages, which are regularly updated.

122D Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City, 9092 4329

The Fancy Bottle Shop & Studio

Drop into The Fancy shop in Sai Ying Pun to see what’s fresh and also to chat to The Fancy crew about their upcoming home-brew workshops. They have two options: a pale ale workshop and a brewmaster class. They will be partnering with brewmasters from local breweries (of which there are many!) to teach. More than just workshops, these will be a sneak peak into brew life and a great chance to network and meet like-minded beer buddies. You’ll soon be able to get home-brew supplies from The Fancy too.

36 Eastern Street, Sai Ying Pun

Mak’s Brewery home-brew workshop

It has come to our attention that you can get busy at Mak’s Brewery and make your own home brew! Get a few friends together and schedule three hours or so to hang out in Tsuen Wan. All ingredients and equipment are prepared for you, and your beer will be delivered to you after fermentation, about a month after the class. The cost is $1,150 per station, with 2–4 people per station allowed. Depending on what’s happening at the brewery, you might also get a tour and tasting of their current brews. Whilst the class is usually conducted in Cantonese, the brewers are more than happy to try their best in English too. We all speak the language of beer!

12/F, Jing Ho Industrial Building, 78–84 Wang Lung Street, Tsuen Wan, 6174 7740

Drunk.No@More

With loads of local and imported craft beers, Drunk.No@More thinks life is too short to drink bad beer, and we concur. They have a good range of Monsters & Robots, Lion Rock, Calma and Tai Wai, as well as some imported beers you don’t often see anywhere else.

Shop 108–111, 1/F, T.O.P (This Is Our Place), 700 Nathan Road, Mongkok, 6737 1063

Alvy’s & Friends

K-Town pizzeria Alvy’s welcomed 11 Westside for a Cinco de Mayo fiesta on 5 May. Chef Samin Dewan served up various Mexican specialities and a piquant michelada – a drink made with beer, lime, spices, tomato juice and chilli peppers, served in a chilled, salt-rimmed glass – along with Young Master’s lager Al Pastor.

8 Holland Street, Kennedy Town, 2312 2996, book online

Previous beer collabs

99 Bottles x Double Haven

Launched last month was new Dragon Water flavour Pineapple Passionfruit Lime, made in collaboration with 99 Bottles on Peel Street. These busy bees have also started a mixed case/beer-subscription service via Klook for another way to explore different breweries and easily support local craft beers from home. Dragon Water/Double Haven joined the 1% for the Planet programme too, in case you need an environmental reason to support them.

Watch out this summer for Dragon Water to launch their CBD! They are keeping the flavour and label under tight wraps, however, they’ve admitted they plan on a very chill but zesty addition to your summer drinking plans.

DEADMAN Brewery x Double Haven

We’re VERY excited about this one! We adore Double Haven’s bitter West Coast IPA and Adventurer IPA and most of DEADMAN’s exciting range (Seven Seas Sour, anyone?), so this has piqued our interest, big time. We have been reliably told that this will be a super-fresh and crisp beer, ready for the HK summer – a hopped-up Pilsner, perhaps?

Scott from Double Haven says, “We want to combine the outdoor vibe of Double Haven with the edgy style of DEADMAN. Buckle up, folks, it should be a tasty ride.” We’re already thirsty. Details will be updated here as soon we get them.

Young Master Brewery x Jack ‘n Jill

Young Master has partnered with potato chips brand Jack ‘n Jill to launch a chips and beer pairing. Playfully dubbed Ma Ma Dei, the beer is a refreshing, unfiltered lager infused with freshly ground green peppercorn. As both beer and Sichuan peppercorn fans, we can confirm the combination is dangerously addictive and perfect together. Find them at Circle K stores around Hong Kong for $25.90 for the combo.

Neonotic! x hEROES (launch on 29 April)

Local brewery hEROES and cidery Neonotic! bring to us Hong Kong’s first local grafs, Stupid Flanders. The two versions – Stupid Bretty Flanders and Stupid Hoppy Flanders – are both crafted by blending apple cider with Saison and then fermenting them with Brettanomyces in French oak barrels for six months.

hEROES is also planning some upcoming new variations on their classic Si L Dan IPA, in competition with HK Brewcraft and fans to choose the best version – winner takes the recipe. We volunteer!

H.K. Lovecraft x N.I.P Distilling

N.I.P Distilling and H.K. Lovecraft are lamenting the loss of “human warmth” in this split world, and it has moved them to celebrate three special places unique to Hong Kong where we can come together. These three special collaboration beers dubbed Project McGin combine Lovecraft’s lager with the spirit of Hong Kong (quite literally) in the form of smoky and rich Siu Mei Shop, Cha Chaan Teng (with the familiar aroma of coffee) and Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree, which we’re told is suitably refreshing and uplifting.

HABA x Carbon Brews

This Rogg n Waddle Roggenbier (rye beer) from Carbon Brews is described as coppery brown with a little haze, featuring strong rye and phenolic spices and a hint of banana esters. Toasted beech wood emphasises the spiciness, and low bitterness and medium carbonation help to accentuate the caramel, biscuit and subtle spice characteristics.

The HABA branding seemed a bit odd to us at first, but we know (now) that HABA toys are made from beech wood, so we’re assuming this plays a big part in the beer.