Goose Island Taproom: Bringing American Craft to Shanghai

The Place 

After opening their Jiashan Lu taproom in March, Chicago-native beer brand Goose Island's expansion is underway, with the opening of a venue at 98 Yanping Lu.

Image courtesy of Goose Island

This 60-seater, all-American beer hall offers up 14 beers on tap (a mix of flagship brews and seasonal releases) plus live sports viewing, and a roster of American bar snacks – hot dogs, burgers, chicken wings, pizzas, nachos, and the like. 

Image courtesy of Goose Island

Following in the world-famous brewmasters' footsteps, the minds behind the widely successful Shanghai Goose Island Brewhouse now present craft beer lovers with their neighborghood taproom, the Goose Island Taproom.

The Beers 

Goose Island offers award-winning beers, like Goose Island IPA – a brew that has snagged the prestigious U.S. Beer Festival Award six times, thus holding the award for the most IPA category wins to date. 

Plus, they have added the Australian International Beer Award and International Beer Cup to their accolade lineup. With their own dedicated hop farm, Goose Island continues to push boundaries in creative brewing and enhanced global distribution. 

The draft lineup here in Shanghai sees a rotating selection of 14 tap brews to choose from, a pint going for RMB58 a pop, with one monthly special beer offered for just RMB40.

The taproom’s biggest draw is the Brewmaster’s Beer Flight (RMB128/six, RMB228/twelve), your choice of seasonal innovations and house beers in 150ml pours made for tasting and sharing.

From crushable lagers to tropical hazies, from roasty porters to hop-forward IPAs, Goose Island brews run the gambit on flavor, pouring out something for everyone. 

The Food

The menu is straightforward, no frills American bar food staples – ones that pair well with a frothy mug of the good stuff. 

Begin with starters like Goose Island Signature Sliders (RMB78), a Goose Island Cold Cut Board (RMB168) or Chicken Wings (RMB78) available slathered in housemade Buffalo sauce with a side of ranch, Goose Island Porter BBQ Sauce, or sweet Korean chili paste with sesame seeds – each order coming with a total of six wings, three drums and three flats. 

A heaping portion of Porter Chili Cheese Fries (RMB58) arrives in a hot plate skillet – heaped with Goose Porter chili, smarmy beer cheese sauce, and sour cream.

Diners can add an extra bowl of still-bubbling Goose Porter Chili for an addition 20 rambos for extra fry-dunking needs. 

The Goose Island Loaded Nachos (RMB58) are equally stacked, also topped with more of that tap house beer cheese – one that sentimentally reminds us of movie theater nacho cheese – Goose Porter chili, pickled jalapeños, and fresh salsa. 

The all-beef American Hot Dog (RMB78) is a classic ballpark wiener with all the fixings, nestled inside a brioche bun. Choose any or all toppings: ketchup, mustard, 312 beer mustard and relish, or spring for cheese for an extra RMB12. 

If you want a true “Chicago-style dog” bypass the ketchup (a condiment that is a big no-no in the land of the Bulls) and instead see if you can convince the team to sprinkle it with chopped white onions, extra mustard and sweet pickle relish. Throw on a tomato wedge, pickle spear and pickled sport peppers, and you may as well be at Wrigley Field. 

Image courtesy of Goose Island

Diners can also opt for their dog to be smothered in more of that Goose Porter house chili and beer cheese as the Sky High Chili Cheese All Beef Hot Dog (RMB78). 

Image courtesy of Goose Island

The menu also showcases food made for pairing with beer, a Brew Master Beer Cheeseburger (RMB78), a Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwich (RMB88), and an Italian Cold Cut Sandwich (RMB88), to name a few options between two buns. 

Image courtesy of Goose Island

There are also larger mains like Pizza (RMB88-108), BBQ Pork Ribs (RMB1288), Lemon Beer Can Chicken (RMB98)...

Image courtesy of Goose Island

...And a variety of steaks ranging in price from RMB268-788 for 250-1,000 grams of USDA Prime beef, respectively.

Goose Island Taproom Promo Deals

Goose Island Taproom has no shortage of daily, weekly, and monthly deals. Here's the details: 

After 10pm every day, the aforementioned beer of the month becomes even more economical, with a buy-one-get-one free deal. That’s two pints for RMB40! Do the math, beer in hand – you can’t afford not to. 

There’s also a Monday through Thursday Happy Hour deal between 3-8pm, when all 480ml pours go from just RMB40 a glass. 

Every Saturday and Sunday also sees free flow beer for just RMB150 for 3 hours, between 11.30am-6pm. Then, on Saturday evenings, jam out for their weekly Goose in the Groove party with a live DJ from 10pm-1am.

Last but not least, every Sunday through Thursday before 8pm, order one burger and get a 480ml pour of the monthly beer for free!

About Goose Island

What began as a small craft brewery in 1988 along the Chicago River next to the landmark Goose Island – hence the brewery’s name – has ballooned into an internationally-recognized brand with distribution on five continents, one that represents a hallmark of American craft. 

Goose Island Taproom, Unit 98-2, 97-4, Yanping Lu, by Wuding Lu, 延平路98号, 近武定路.

[Cover image courtesy of Goose Island Taproom. All non-credited images by Sophie Steiner/That's]