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12 Chinese Beers // But Which Is The Top Rated?
Are you looking for the best Chinese beer to enjoy this weekend?
Well, you’ve landed on the right page because today we take you through the top 12!
Wondering how to say beer in Chinese?
We have a helpful blog with all types of alcohol in Chinese.
QUICK TIP: Beer in Chinese is 啤酒 (pí jiǔ)
DID YOU KNOW – This list of Chinese beers all appear on the website untappd.com.
We have also covered all the Singapore beers! Check it out when you’re done here.
Untapped is a website where beer drinkers can rank beers and even track how many types of beers they’ve consumed.
A wonderful thing about the app and website is if you find yourself in a bar or even a new country (say China?), you can immediately know what the passionate beer drinking community ranks as the best Chinese beers.
Anyway, no need for that right now because we’ve done that for you.
Ladies and gents, we give you the best Chinese beers out there…
Cheerday Beer 千岛湖啤酒
Cheerday Beer
Category: Lager – American
Percentage Alcohol: 4.3%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.3 / 5
Cheerday Beer 千岛湖啤酒 is the flagship beer of Hangzhou Qiandaohu Beer Co. located in the town of Qiandaohu located in Hangzhou (杭州), eastern China.
Despite this being their original beer, the Cheerday Beer is starting to be outpaced by its sister beer, Lucky Buddha Beer (乐开啤酒).
Lucky Buddha Beer is a Chinese beer that is served in a unique jade green bottle shaped like a laughing Buddha!
You can’t miss it.
See more reviews of Chinese beers Cheerday Beer and Lucky Buddha Beer.
Pabst Blue Ribbon 蓝带啤酒
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Category: IPA
Percentage Alcohol: 4.8%
IBU: 10
Rating: 2.82 / 5
Pabst Blue Ribbon 蓝带啤酒 was founded in 1988 and is produced by CBR Brewing Company, Inc.
It was initially produced in Zhaoqing Brewery located in Zhaoqing (肇庆), Guangdong (广东), a coastal city in South China.
DID YOU KNOW – China Pabst Blue Ribbon has an additional luxury beer called Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844, which sells for a whopping $44 (USD) per bottle!
The luxury beer is brewed in wooden casks.
See more reviews for the Chinese beer Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Harbin Beer 哈尔滨啤酒
Harbin Beer
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 3.6%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.36 / 5
Harbin Beer 哈尔滨啤酒 is the flagship beer of Harbin Brewery located in, you guessed it, Harbin!
Harbin is located in the far North-East of China and is famous for its annual ice festival.
Harbin Brewery was founded in 1900 and is the 4th largest producer of Beer in China.
See the latest reviews of the Chinese beer Harbin.
Kingstar Beer 金星啤酒
Kingstar Beer
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 3.6%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.55 / 5
Kingstar Beer 金星啤酒 is produced in Zhengzhou, Henan (河南) by the Jinxing Beer Group.
Kingstar Beer was established in 1982 and today is sold in over 20 provinces in China.
See more reviews of the Chinese beer Kingstar.
Kingway 金威啤酒
Kingway
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 4.5%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.36 / 5
Kingway Beer 金威啤酒 is the flagship beer of Shenzhen Kingway Brewery.
Shenzhen (深圳) is located in the southern province of Guangdong (广东), bordering Hong Kong.
It’s partly owned by Heineken International and has distribution to 20 provinces around China.
Other beers produced by Kingway Brewery are “Kingway Draft” and “Super Fresh Kingway”.
See more reviews of the Chinese beer Kingway.
Reeb 力波
Reeb
Category: Lager
Percentage Alcohol: 4%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.22 / 5
Reeb 力波 is the flagship beer of Shanghai Asia Pacific Brewery and the most popular beer in Shanghai, with about a third of the market share in Shanghai.
See the latest reviews of the Chinese beer Reeb.
Shangri-La Beer 香格里拉啤酒
Shangri-La Beer
Category: Pale Ale
Percentage Alcohol: 5.4%
IBU: 32
Rating: 3.32
Shangri-La Beer 香格里拉啤酒 is produced by Shangri-la Highland Craft Brewery in, you guessed it, Shangri-La (香格里拉).
Shangri-La is located in North-West Yunnan (云南省).
Shangri-La Beer has several craft beers available. Two of their most popular beers being:
- Tibetan Pale Ale (藏式艾尔 )
- Black Yak (黑牦牛)
Shangri-La Beer is considered to be the best beer in Yunnan.
It’s made with Tibetan Mountain Spring Water and Tibetan barley and brewed 3,300 meters above sea level, making it one of the most unique beers in the world.
Snow 雪花啤酒
Snow
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 4.5%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.35 / 5
Snow Beer 雪花啤酒 translates to Snowflake beer.
Snow originates from Shenyang (沈阳市), the capital of Liaoning Provence (辽宁) in China’s far North-East.
DID YOU KNOW – Snow Beer has the largest market share of Chinese beer drinkers, with an impressive 23.2%.
Today there are 90 Snow breweries across China generating a combined 100 million hectolitres of beer annually.
Before you search what a hectolitre is, we’re way ahead of you – 1 hectolitre = 100 litres.
Snow Beer was founded in 1993 and has around 30 other beer products, but Snow remains its flagship product.
Learn more about the history of snow beer.
See Snow Beers latest reviews on untapped.
Tsingtao Beer 青岛啤酒
Tsingtao Beer
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 4.7%
IBU: 25
Rating: 2.87 / 5
Tsingtao Beer 青岛啤酒厂 originates from Tsingtao (青岛) [obviously] which is the capital of Shandong Province (山东省), a coastal town on the east of China.
Tsingtao Beer has the second largest domestic market for Chinese beer with around 15% consumed in China.
Despite the name, Tsingtao has 59 breweries across China.
Tsingtao was founded by Geman settlers in 1903, and its logo is of the Zhanqiao Pier (栈桥), the first wharf at Qingdao dating back to 1891.
As you can imagine, Tsingtao Beer has a long and interesting history that is worth reading about if you’re interested.
Today Tsingtao Beer is a privately owned company.
See Tsingtao Beer latest reviews on untapped:
Wusu Red 乌苏啤酒
Wusu Red
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 4%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.69 / 5
Wusu Red 乌苏啤酒 is the Flagship beer of the Wusu Beer Group.
Wusu (乌苏) is located in the autonomous region of Xinjiang (新疆).
Carlsberg owns the Wusu Beer Group. They have six breweries in Xinjiang and produce Wusu beer, Sinkiang, Carlsberg and Tuborg.
Wusu Beer takes up 85% of the local Xinjiang Chinese beer market.
See more reviews of Wusu Red.
BONUS || Check out the alcohol customs and special cocktails in our guide to Korean Drinking Culture!
Yanjing Beer 燕京啤酒
Yanjing Beer
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 5%
IBU: 18
Rating: 2.62 / 5
Yanjing Beer 燕京啤酒 is the flagship beer of Beijing Yanjing Brewery.
The Beijing Yanjing Brewery was founded in 1980.
Yanjing Beer is the State beer of China and was even the official beer of the Beijing Olympics.
See the latest reviews the Chinese beer Yanjing.
Zhujiang (Pearl River) Beer 珠江啤酒
Pearl River
Category: Lager – Pale
Percentage Alcohol: 4.9%
IBU: No IBU
Rating: 2.6 / 5
Zhujiang or Pearl River Beer 珠江啤酒 is produced by Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Group.
Zhujiang is also known as the Pearl River (hence the name of the Chinese beer).
Zhujiang is brewed in Guangzhou, in the South of China and boasts having the world’s most extensive single-site beer production facilities.
Zhujiang Brewery is a state-owned enterprise founded in 1985.
See the latest reviews of Pearl River Beer.
There you have it, the most popular beers you can get in China.
How many have you ticked off you list? Which is your favourite, or are there any you think we missed out?
Drop us a comment below and join the party!
Chinese Beer // FAQ’s
What is the most popular Chinese Beer?
Snow Beer 雪花啤酒 has the largest market share in China with an impressive 23.2% of the Chinese market.
However, the consumption of beers differs in China’s regions.
For example, Wusu Beer has an 85% market share of the local Xinjiang beer market.
How much beer is consumed in China?
There is an estimated 46 billion litres of beer consumed annually in China, making it the largest beer market in the world.
How do you say Beer in Chinese?
Beer in Chinese is 啤酒 (pí jiǔ)
Are there beer festivals in China?
Yes!
Each year Dalian hosts a 12-day International beer festival.
Additionally, Qingdao Beer sponsors a 2-week festival in July/August that is considered to be Asia’s Oktoberfest.
How many craft breweries are in China?
There are an estimated 400 craft beer producers selling in China’s domestic market.
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