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Beer in China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also:Chinese alcoholic beverages
Beer in China
Simplified ChineseTrung Quốc bia
Traditional ChineseTrung Quốc bia

Beer in Chinafirst was brewed in 7000 BC, and remained the dominant alcoholic beverage through theHan dynasty,after which it was eclipsed by the production ofrice wine.Modern brewing appeared in the late 1800s, brought to China by Europeans who brewedpale lagers,such asTsingtao.Both beer production and consumption of local and imported brands grew increasingly popular in the 20th century. In the 21st century, China became the world's largest consumer of beer, commercial scale brewing expanded, andcraft beerbegan to spread beyond expatriate communities and make inroads amongst the Chinese population.

History[edit]

Production and consumption ofbeerinChinahas occurred for around nine thousand years, with recent archaeological findings showing that Chinese villagers were brewing beer-type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on small and individual scales.[1]Made with rice, honey, grape, and hawthorn fruits, this early beer seems to have been produced similarly to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[2]Ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals ofXia,ShangandZhoudynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li ( lao lễ inoracle bone script). However, after theHan dynasty,Chinese beer faded from prominence in favor ofhuangjiu,which remained the case for the next two millennia.

Pale lager[edit]

Modern beerbrewingwas not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, whenPolishpeople established a brewery inHarbin,with another three following (also inHarbin), set up byGermans,CzechoslovaksandPolesrespectively.Japanesealso established in 1934 inMukdenManchurian Beer,which later becameShenyangSnow Beerand then acquired in 1994 byChina Resources Enterprises.[3]

Craft beer[edit]

The emergence of craft beer in China started in the large metro areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.[4]Once primarily of interest toexpatdrinkers, local consumer interest in premium brands and local and imported craft beers is currently on the rise.[5][6][7]However, Chinese government regulations have been cited as an obstacle facing new breweries or those wishing to expand bottling distribution.[8]

Ingredients[edit]

Chinese beers often containrice,sorghumand sometimesryein addition tobarley.Some beer is produced that usesbitter meloninstead of hops as thebittering agent.

Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers containedformaldehyde,to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage.[9]This practice has now been made illegal.[citation needed]

Economy[edit]

ChineseTsingtaobeer

Despite the fact that estimates say between one-third to half of East Asian people, including Chinese people, haveAsian flush syndrome,which influences the ability to process alcohol,[10][11]China is deemed the world's largest beer market in terms of global consumption, followed by the United States and Brazil.[12][13]

Snow Beer, produced byCR Snowis the best-selling beer in China, holding 21.7% market share,[14]having recently overtaken Tsingtao Beer, produced byTsingtao Brewery,which is the brand most widely exported to other countries. Tsingtao Beer is brewed in the city ofQingdao(formerly spelledTsingtaoinEFEO Chinese transcription) which was a German base in the time ofunequal treatiesand late-colonial western influence in China. The Germans needed beer for their sailors, soldiers and traders, and production continued after they lost the city to the Japanese inWorld War I.

Apart from Tsingtao, other major Chinese brewing groups includeChina Pabst Blue Ribbon,[15]Yanjing, Sie-Tang Lio andZhu gian g Beer.Many major international brewers now have interests in, or joint ventures with, Chinese breweries, and popular international brands such asCarlsbergare now produced in China. This gives them access to the Chinese market while providing capital and expertise to help upgrade local brewing standards, albeit at the cost of variety.

Beer isbrewed in Hong Kong,which has a large brewery owned bySan Miguel Corporationof the Philippines, as well as a microbrewery producing several beers for the local market.

Brewpubsare gaining popularity in China, primarily in major cities which have a resident western community, though there are a few exceptions in more remote locations like Bad Monkey Brewery inDali Old Town, Yunnan.Shanghai Brewery, Bo xing Cat Brewery, The BREW and Dr. Beer are some of the more prominent craft breweries in Shanghai. In Beijing, several craft breweries such asGreat Leap Brewing,Jing-A Brewing, Panda Brew Pub, andSlow Boat Breweryhave become staples in the local nightlife scene. Another popular brewpub is Kaiwei Beer House, a chain based inWuhan.Craft beer festivals have been popularized since the early 2010s in Beijing and Shanghai. Two popular beer festivals in Shanghai, Shanghai International Beer Festival and Shanghai Beer Week, were both started in 2012.

In 2015 market share of imported beer reached 1.14% and volume increased by 58.9% to 538.5 million litres.[16]

List of major Chinese beers[edit]

Note: This is a partial list of China's major breweries. The vast majority of China's breweries serve only their local vicinity.

Non-alcoholic beer[edit]

There is a growing consumer inclination towards less strong beer in China as health conscious individuals are seeking wholesome and lower caloric options in their choice of beer, and consumers who want low alcohol and healthier drinks are noted to be mainly young women.[17]According to a study by market intelligence agencyMintel,China has the highest amount of product launches of low or zero alcohol beer (below 3.5 percent ABV) in the Asia Pacific region in 2016, and over one in four (29 percent) beers launched in China in that year, were of low or non alcoholic beers.Qingdao Beerslaunched the firstnon-alcoholic beerin China in 2012 with its product, 'Qingdao 0.00', that is brewed from Czech hops and Australian barley.[18][19]

Jonny Forsyth, a global drinks analyst ofMintelfirm, stated "..(the) research indicates that Chinese consumers, in general, prefer less strong beer in terms of ABV, compared to the global market". Consumers in china tend to gravitate towards tried and trusted brands for their purchases in low or non alcoholic beers, with big companies likeHeinekenandQingdaoenjoying massive support from consumers based on sales and annual profits.[20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Gershon, Livia."Remains of 9,000-Year-Old Beer Found in China".Smithsonian Magazine.Retrieved2021-09-12.
  2. ^"9,000-Year-Old Beer Re-Created From Chinese Recipe".National Geographic Society. Archived fromthe originalon July 22, 2005.
  3. ^Visiting Shenyang Snow Beer's Old Brewery(in Chinese)
  4. ^"As China's craft beer craze takes off, brewers hatch ambitious plans".Retrieved2016-09-04.
  5. ^Tsang, Amie; Li, Cao (2016-01-15)."China Embraces Craft Beers, and Brewing Giants Take Notice".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2016-01-20.
  6. ^"China is getting a taste for craft beers, but not for craft brewing".Retrieved2016-09-04.
  7. ^McDonnell, Justin (2013-07-24)."Forget Portland: China Might Just Be the New Epicenter of Craft Beer".The Atlantic.Retrieved2016-09-04.
  8. ^Tone, Sixth (2016-07-22)."China's Craft Beer Revolution".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-02-16.Retrieved2016-09-04.
  9. ^"'No trouble brewing,' beer industry insists ".China Daily.Retrieved2008-12-08.
  10. ^Brooks, Philip J.; Enoch, Mary-Anne; Goldman, David; Li, Ting-Kai; Yokoyama, Akira (2009)."The Alcohol Flushing Response: An Unrecognized Risk Factor for Esophageal Cancer from Alcohol Consumption".PLOS Medicine.6(3): e1000050.doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000050.PMC2659709.PMID19320537.
  11. ^Wall, T. L.; Ehlers, C. L. (1995)."Genetic Influences Affecting Alcohol Use Among Asians".Alcohol Health and Research World.19(3): 184–189.PMC6875758.PMID31798054.
  12. ^Markets, Research and."Analyzing the $500 Billion Global Beer Industry 2019".prnewswire(Press release).Retrieved2020-05-09.
  13. ^"What's on tap for the global beer market?".jpmorgan.J.P. Morgan.Retrieved2020-05-09.
  14. ^Woo, Mars (Sep 13, 2013)."China's Top Beer Makers Named".China Topix.Retrieved7 March2014.
  15. ^"A blue-collar beer goes upmarket".Danwei. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-11-29.Retrieved2011-08-27.
  16. ^"China. The market share of imported beer reached 1.14%".Retrieved22 January2016.
  17. ^"Understanding drinking culture in China - Daxue Consulting".daxueconsulting.Retrieved2020-05-09.
  18. ^"The Booming Non-Alcoholic Beer Market in China".Mersol & Luo.2019-06-13. Archived fromthe originalon 2020-07-26.Retrieved2020-05-09.
  19. ^"Qingdao Beer launches non-alcoholic beer _ China.org.cn".china.org.cn.Retrieved2020-05-09.
  20. ^Industry, Asia Pacific Food (2017-09-21)."Low Or No Alcohol Beer On The Rise In China".Asia Pacific Food Industry.Retrieved2020-05-09.

External links[edit]

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