The Year of Mickey, Speedy, and Templeton.
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- by Kyle McHugh
February 7, 2008 marks the first day of the Chinese New
Year. This year, in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese
zodiac, we welcome our four-legged, fleshy-tailed little
buddy the rat back to the fold. In honor of the holiday, I
wanted to take a look at the number one Chinese beer in
the United States (and the world), Tsingtao.
The Tsingtao (pronounced “Ching-dow”) brewery was
founded in 1903 by German settlers to the city of
Qingdao in Shandong province. The light lager style
beer that it produced was originally intended for
consumption by German, English, and other Westerners
living in or visiting China. Western control of Tsingtao
lasted until 1915, when the Japanese took control of the
brewery for thirty years in and around World Wars I
and II. After the Japanese were defeated in the latter,
the brewery was turned over to the Nationalist
government based in Nanjing until the People’s Republic
of China was founded and the brewery became a state-
owned operation in 1949. PRC ownership continued
until 1990, when the brewery merged with several other
Qingdao breweries and returned to private ownership.
Today, Anheuser-Busch owns a small percentage of the
brewery, and Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited owns
several other breweries around China that produce
many different beers.
Tsingtao’s manufacturing methods have changed with
the times, as well. The original brewery was true to its
German roots and brewed by the strict standards of the
Reinheitsgebot. Modern technology and local product
utilization has altered this somewhat by the addition of
rice to the mash bill, as it has for so many similar lagers
around the world. For some time, an advertising slogan
for the company was “brewed with mineral water from
the Laoshan Spring,” which was and still is true for all
beer leaving the Qingdao brewery; however, now that
there are several breweries around the world making
Tsingtao, it remains true only for beer which is made in
the original brewery.
Tsingtao has two different beers available in the United
States: Tsingtao Lager and Tsingtao Pure Draft. Their
flagship beer is the Tsingtao Lager, originally appearing
domestically in 1972. This American Pilsner-style beer
is very drinkable, and compares very favorably to its U.
S. cousins in the A-B and Miller/Coors families. At 4.8%
alcohol by volume, it hits just between Budweiser’s 5%
and Bud Light’s 4.2% and drinks accordingly. Tsingtao
Lager is a nice accompaniment to light-yet-flavorful,
often spicy Asian foods, as most American Pislner-style
beers are. I would drink this with a giant sushi platter
and more-than-my-fair-share of wasabi in my soy sauce
any day of the week. It won’t fill you up as fast as many
of the admittedly wonderful craft beers that are out
there, and the Lager’s flavor and presence will play with
but not overpower the delicate flavors of the fare, while
still stand up to some wasabi tongue-lashing.
Tsingtao Pure Draft was a new taste for me – I hadn’t
tried it before writing this article (it's still only available
to a few markets in the U.S.) It is definitely lighter in
texture and flavor than the Lager. That lightness must
be attributable to the low-temperature fermenting
process that the Draft goes through; it would make sense
that keeping some heat/energy/volatility controlled
during fermentation would lead to gentler, subtler
expressions in the final product. The Pure Draft comes
packaged in an 11.2 oz bottle, vs. the standard 12 oz
domestic size. ABV checks in at the same 4.8%, with
caloric energy understandably approximately the same
as the Lager. For me, the Pure Draft plays the role of
“appetizer” or “aperitif” to the Lager’s bigger “main
course” palate impact; it would go great with delicate
cuts of sashimi or other light fare. Mind you, I’m
speaking in comparisons – we’re still talking about easy-
drinking, low-impact session beers.
If you don’t already normally do so, break out of your
routine and celebrate the Chinese New Year with a trip
to your local Chinatown watering hole (or at least your
local Chinese restaurant.) Order one each of the
Tsingtao Lager (which they should have) and the
Tsingtao Pure Draft (which is starting to make the
rounds), load up your dim sum plate, and be your own
judge. Just make sure your first Tsingtao “Gan bei!”
(“cheers!” in Mandarin) is to our brother, the rat – it is
his year, after all.
| Tsingtao Lager |
| Happy Chinese New Year 2008: Year of the Rat and Tsingtao |
| Tsingtao Pure Draft |
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