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Beer in China
Beer was the dominant alcoholic beverage in China through the Han dynasty, after which it was eclipsed by rice wine. Modern brewing appeared in the late 1800s, brought to China by Europeans who brewed pale lagers, such as Tsingtao. 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, and craft beer began to spread beyond expatriate communities and make inroads amongst the Chinese population.
Production and consumption of beer in China has 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. Made with rice, honey, grape, and hawthorn fruits, this early beer seems to have been produced similarly to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li (醪醴 in oracle bone script). However, after the Han dynasty, Chinese beer faded from prominence in favor of huangjiu, which remained the case for the next two millennia.
Archaeologists uncovered ancient beer brewing equipment in an underground room built between 3400 and 2900 BC in China. A research report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America said that the Mijiaya Site provided the earliest evidence of beer-making in China, indicating that people had mastered the beer brewing technology around 5,000 years ago.
Modern beer brewing was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, when Polish people established a brewery in Harbin, with another three following (also in Harbin), set up by Germans, Czechoslovaks and Poles respectively. Japanese also established in 1934 in Mukden Manchurian Beer, which later became Shenyang Snow Beer and then acquired in 1994 by China Resources Enterprises.
The emergence of craft beer in China started in the large metro areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Once primarily of interest to expat drinkers, local consumer interest in premium brands and local and imported craft beers is currently on the rise. However, Chinese government regulations have been cited as an obstacle facing new breweries or those wishing to expand bottling distribution.
Chinese beers often contain rice, sorghum and sometimes rye in addition to barley. Some beer is produced that uses bitter melon instead of hops as the bittering agent.
Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers contained formaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage.
Despite the fact that estimates say between one-third to half of East Asian people, including Chinese people, have Asian flush syndrome, which influences the ability to process alcohol, China is deemed the world's largest beer market in terms of global consumption, followed by the United States and Brazil.
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Beer in China
Beer was the dominant alcoholic beverage in China through the Han dynasty, after which it was eclipsed by rice wine. Modern brewing appeared in the late 1800s, brought to China by Europeans who brewed pale lagers, such as Tsingtao. 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, and craft beer began to spread beyond expatriate communities and make inroads amongst the Chinese population.
Production and consumption of beer in China has 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. Made with rice, honey, grape, and hawthorn fruits, this early beer seems to have been produced similarly to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li (醪醴 in oracle bone script). However, after the Han dynasty, Chinese beer faded from prominence in favor of huangjiu, which remained the case for the next two millennia.
Archaeologists uncovered ancient beer brewing equipment in an underground room built between 3400 and 2900 BC in China. A research report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America said that the Mijiaya Site provided the earliest evidence of beer-making in China, indicating that people had mastered the beer brewing technology around 5,000 years ago.
Modern beer brewing was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, when Polish people established a brewery in Harbin, with another three following (also in Harbin), set up by Germans, Czechoslovaks and Poles respectively. Japanese also established in 1934 in Mukden Manchurian Beer, which later became Shenyang Snow Beer and then acquired in 1994 by China Resources Enterprises.
The emergence of craft beer in China started in the large metro areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Once primarily of interest to expat drinkers, local consumer interest in premium brands and local and imported craft beers is currently on the rise. However, Chinese government regulations have been cited as an obstacle facing new breweries or those wishing to expand bottling distribution.
Chinese beers often contain rice, sorghum and sometimes rye in addition to barley. Some beer is produced that uses bitter melon instead of hops as the bittering agent.
Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers contained formaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage.
Despite the fact that estimates say between one-third to half of East Asian people, including Chinese people, have Asian flush syndrome, which influences the ability to process alcohol, China is deemed the world's largest beer market in terms of global consumption, followed by the United States and Brazil.