New Bar: Rockcandi

By Sky Gidge, August 4, 2016

Over the past two years the number of craft beer bars in Shenzhen has surged, many stocked with beer brewed by people recreating a taste of their home country. But what about Chinese brewers?

Enter Rockcandi, a craft beer bar located a 10-minute walk from the Sea World metro station, tucked down a small road, away from the bustle of the main strip.

With one exception, every beer on the bar’s 10 taps come from Chinese brewers in cities ranging from Shanghai to Chengdu, according to bar owner Zhu Lei.

“Foreigners know all about craft beer,” said Zhu. “Not many Chinese understand it.”

In 2015, at a Nanjing craft beer festival, Zhu met the people at the forefront of China’s homegrown craft brewing and that’s who he buys his beer from, switching out beers that don’t sell well every month or so. Relying on domestic brewers gives Rockcandi the advantage of a shorter supply chain and small chance the beer will arrive stale.

Asking for the most ‘manly’ beer in house produced the bitter Holy Devil IPA (RMB50) which has more hops than Bugs Bunny. The Hefeweizen (RMB40) has hints of banana and cloves and is light enough to pair with a hot summer night. The ‘Maybe Maybe’ American Black IPA (RMB50) is an IPA with a hoppy explosion of citrus and pine.

Styles on tap at Rockcandi include an American wheat, a stout, a pale ale, a lager, an IPA and a sour beer, so there is probably something you’ll take to. What they don’t have is food, though patrons can order out.

“My other company is pretty big, it’s successful. This is just my hobby,” said Zhu, explaining how he can offer buy-one-get-one free deals on Mondays and 20 percent off on all beers the rest of the week. With the average beer priced around RMB40 Rockcandi is in competition with even the most budget craft beer bars in the city.

Steel-pipe light fixtures lend Rockcandi a slight industrial chic, and its solid wood table gives no hint that most of the decorations were bought on Taobao. Tasteful black and white nudes are hung high on the walls throughout the bar, the photo’s taken in Zhu’s next-door studio.

Don’t go to Rockcandi alone, unless you plan on reading a book. It’s not a bar for revelry and fast friends—its a place to get a taste of China’s budding craft beer scene.