Slow Boat Brewery’s much anticipated Autumn Craft Beer Festival takes place at the park grounds between Indigo Mall and EAST, Beijing hotel this Friday and Saturday, October 10th and 11th.
They’ve invited 12 of China’s best brewers and 10 of Beijing’s best artisanal chefs to show off their stuff. Today, we talk to Calvin Beer Company, Jing-A, Hagaki and VAI Milano about what they’ll be bringing to the festival.
Read our first round of vendor interviews here.
Calvin Beer Company
Where [in China] are you from?
Hefei, Anhui.
Brief history of your brewery [established when, who, by, etc]?
Calvin Beer Company was started in 2012 by two childhood friends from Wisconsin. Today, Calvin owns and operates the brewery.
Describe your brewery in no more than five words.
We make beer you love.
Your beers differ from other beers how?
Our beers blend American Belgian and German styles and we don’t worry about following the rules. We’re always trying new things and love sharing them with our fans.
What special Autumnal beers are you bringing to the festival – what makes these seasonal brews special - what should we look out for?
Secret, sorry ☺
If you could have one of your beers with any one historical figure – dead or alive – who would it be, what beer would it be, and why?
If I could only have one beer with one famous historical person I think I’d pick Nicola Tesla and go for the Double Bourbon Barrel Stout. I don’t think I need to explain how incredible Tesla is and this particular beer is a slow drinker which packs a hell of a punch!
Jing-A
Where [in China] are you from?
Beijing.
Brief history of your brewery [established when, who, by, etc]?
Our brewery in Xingfucun was established in 2013 by cofounders/head brewers Alex Acker and Kristian Li, two longtime Beijingers who left the corporate world to purse their passion for brewing full-time. Our newest project has been our 京A taproom in Sanlitun's 1949 compound, which just launched in September 2014 and serves all of our brews as well as guest beers from other craft breweries outside Beijing.
Describe your brewery in no more than five words.
Fresh, Offbeat, Adventurous, Uncompromising, Beijing.
Your beers differ from other beers how?
We give our beers a generous amount of time to condition at a cold temperature to ensure a clean and consistent taste and we use the best ingredients we can source from around the world, including local herbs and spices that add local flavors to some of favorite experimental brews like the Guizhou Smoked Chili Porter.
What special Autumnal beers are you bringing to the festival – what makes these seasonal brews special - what should we look out for?
We've got two beers that are perfect for the season: our Guizhou Smoked Chili Porter and our Über-jing Oktoberfest Lager. The first is a collaboration - we worked on the recipe with Huo Li of the Beijing Homebrewing Society - and it packs several kilos of smoky, spicy Guizhou peppers as well as smoked malt. It's like drinking a glass of smoldering charcoal that we made delicious through the dark art of brewing.The second, Über-jing, follows the style of a traditional Vienna lager or Märzen, with a good bit of malty backbone and German "noble" hops. A well-balanced, but robust beer.
If you could have one of your beers with any one historical figure – dead or alive – who would it be, what beer would it be, and why?
We've always wondered what crazy feats Lei Feng, the Paul Bunyan of Chinese patriotism, might do after downing a big stein of Airpocalypse, our strongest beer. We're always trying to reach new demographics with our beer, and that would make us a big hit with the older generations that still talk about following his example!
Hagaki
Where [in China] are you from?
Beijing.
Brief history of your company [established when, who, by, etc]?
Opened in 2008 Hagaki is located on the ground floor of EAST, Beijing. Serving up an array of Californian-inspired Japanese dishes Hagaki has become a family favourite here in Beijing.
Describe your specialty foodstuffs in no more than five words.
Fresh, high quality, and fun.
What special autumn foods are you bringing to the festival – what should we expect.
Our Californian-inspired rolls.
If you could have one of your dishes with any one historical figure – dead or alive, who would it be, what dish would it be, and why?
Anyone and everyone loves our food! We don’t want to pick just one person we want to pick one dish. We love our homemade baby octopus. It’s got a one of a kind taste that only Hagaki can bring and we want to invite everyone to come experience it themselves.
VAI Milano
Where [in China] are you from?
Beijing.
Brief history of your company [established when, who, by, etc]?
Established in 2012, Vai Milano has their Gelato Production Laboratory at VAI’s first store at Solana in Beijing. VAI Milano’s resident Italian gelato master Peter Monti has 25 years of experience as a gelato master in Italy. He guarantees Vai Milano’s products are of the highest quality, freshness and hygiene.
Describe your specialty foodstuffs in no more than five words.
Italian, Fresh, Delicious, All-Natural, Low-fat.
What special autumn foods are you bringing to the festival – what should we expect?
VAI Milano will bring our finest Hazelnut Gelato, made with made with hazelnuts from Piemonte in Italy. We will also bring our signature Italian Hot Chocolate, the perfect treat during the colder months of Autumn.
If you could have one of your dishes with any one historical figure – dead or alive, who would it be, what dish would it be, and why?
Marco Polo, he is a symbol of Italian – China friendship, the same way VAI Milano is bringing Italian Gelato, which represents the Italian "way of life" to the Chinese market. Marco Polo would have our Sesame Chocolate Chip Gelato. Sesame Gelato is a typical Asian Flavour and it is made with the traditional Italian Gelato know how, Marco Polo would have enjoyed VAI Milano Sesame Chocolate Chip Gelato!
0 User Comments