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FINE LIVING — Food & Wine —
WITHIN A MERE half hour, Danny
Wong – with push-pull rule in one
hand and dark grey sweat plastered
on his back – has, for the fifth time,
reorganised the makeshift tables at
The Bottle Shop in Sai Kung, Hong
Kong to realise the interior layout of
his upcoming bar and restaurant. It is
summer 2014 and aside from manning
his shop, Wong has been spending
most afternoons crouching over his
sketches – a skill he acquired as an
architect in Australia.
Fast-forward a year later, what was
only his imagination has manifested
into the eclectic Little Beer Room
just off SoHo that doubles as a retail
shop on one side selling customer
favourites like wines, spirits, take-out
growlers and beer paraphernalia such
as branded t-shirts and glassware.
The much-anticipated opening was
followed by Coedo Taproom in July
2015; BrewDog in the beginning of
this year; and even Coaster, a citywide
niche magazine that covers everything from beer reviews and local
brewpubs to home-brewing.
Though a relative late-comer into the craft-beer scene (Danish
brand Mikkeller opened in Bangkok back in early 2014 while The
Craft Beer Association measured close to 250 microbreweries in Japan
last year), Hong Kong’s landscape is indicative of a region so thirsty
for what had originally been a side hobby for beer enthusiasts – a
burgeoning demand that haunts even the mega-brewing giants.
In 2007, Asia topped the world’s beer consumption – in 2011,
we drank 67 billion litres of frosty, a whopping 10bn more than the
Americas and 16bn more than Europe. So it’s no surprise when Thailand
and Taiwan were named the fastest-growing export markets in 2015
for American craft beer, which, according to the Brewers Association,
is defined as a product of a microbrewery that has an annual beer
production of six million barrels or less.
According to Allied Market Research’s latest World Beer Market –
Opportunities and Forecasts, Asia Pacific is expected to garner about
US$202.4 billion in craft beer sales by 2020 with an expected compound
annual growth (CAGR) of 7.3 per cent from now until then. Attributing
to a rising middle class, swelling disposable income, a preference for
local, small-town produce over that of soulless mega-corporations, as
well as a hike in younger – especially female – consumers drawn to new
packaging, brands and flavours, craft beer became what the cool kids
drink in Asia.
Wong says the craft beer evolution boils down to a cultural shift,one that is similar to that of speciality
coffee. “Thirty years ago, you wouldn’t
find espresso bars; we drank instant
coffee, or coffee from the pot. At the
end of the day, it’s a culture that we’re
trying to promote, to get people tasting
and trying and hoping that they’ll
switch over if they’ve tried something
good.”
He dates Asia’s craft-beer boom to
four years ago, when expats started
bringing over their favourite drinks
from home or their travels.
“Grassroots then took this concept
and became even more active with
forums, blogs, and reviews of pairings
with Asian cuisine, for example. So, it
was a market that was able to sustain
itself,” he says, linking craft beer’s
popularity to active social media users
as well as events such as The Asia Beer
Cup, which has taken place annually
in Japan since 1998; Singapore Craft
Beer Week, Beerfest Asia and Craft
Singapore Festival; the China Craft Beer
Conference & Exhibition; and Hong Kong’s Beertopia, to name a few.
Yet, craft beer has evolved into much more than an expat’s game.
Much of its popularity in Asia stems from locals’ curiosity for home-
grown beer, especially those made with regional ingredients like red
dates (such as the Taiwanese Le Blé d’Or); baijiu yeast, cumin and
chestnuts (in the Beijing-based Jing A); as well as kumquats, osmanthus,
chrysanthemum, roselle, jasmine, Chinese yam, orange peels, lily bulbs,
dong quai and even Sichuan peppercorns (present in Hong Kong’s
Moonzen) – ingredients that are familiar staples yet interestingly foreign
to beer making.
“Yes, Rogue and Millstreet, for example, are very popular worldwide,
but it doesn’t mean anything to the consumer if they haven’t had it
elsewhere,” says Beertopia founder Jonathan So, who witnessed a 10-fold
increase in turnout last year compared to when his event first launched
in 2012, only whereby 1,200 people showed up. “Hong Kong breweries
are very popular at Beertopia. Three years ago, that wasn’t really the
case, it was still very much a part-time hobby for a pilot. But there came
a boiling point where people realised it’s a viable business, and Hong
Kongers are really embracing that, they’re curious.”
Wong, whose customer base is half dominated by locals, adds that
the engine for home-brewed brands is further propelled by the city’s
retailers. “Believe it or not, Hong Kongers are very supportive of their
own labels, which opens up to a lot more audience.”
So despite Asia still being at the infancy stage compared to the West’s
familiarity with craft beer, it’s no surprise that the brewing behemothsTHE POPULARITY OF CRAFT BEER HAS SKYROCKETED FROM AN
ENTHUSIAST’S SIDE HOBBY TO A GLOBAL REVOLUTION, ONE
THAT EVEN HAS THE BREWING GIANTS TAKING NOTICE.By Joyce Yip