|  As the rainy season picks here, it starts too hot in Hong Kong. Therefore it is very helpful to cool down at the end of the day with a beer or two, or three.
But people in search of a local brew will struggle to find. The City Beer has long been dominated by decisions of San Miguel, a beer from the Philippines, at least locally in the New Territories, and Carlsberg, which can be imported.
East End Brewery (23-27 Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, 011-852-2811-1907) and his sister Bars Inn Side Out in Causeway Bay (Sun Plaza, 10 Hysan Ave., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; 011-852-2895-2900) and the Hong Kong Brew House in Lan Kwai Fong (LG / F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong, 011-852-2522-5559) solve that dilemma.
The bar serves locally brewed beers from Hong Kong Beer GmbH, formerly known as the South China Brewing Co. It is the only brewery left on the island of Hong Kong, the supply of the brew pub with a light Soo Brew, Hoppy the Aldrich Bay Pale Ale - an India pale ale named for a Hong Kong neighborhood - and other tasty beer, Hong Kong Beer (all HK $ 47 per pint in the East End Brewery, or two-for-a happy hour).
The recession and the fear of a flu pandemic does not seem to have dampened enthusiasm for the local beers, the more interesting than the usual blonde, bland camp found in Asia.
“We thought it would be quiet with the swine flu,” East End Brewery manager Cora Garcia, 41, said as she opened the bar up one day. “But it’s been busy. I think people are not traveling so they go out here.”
Amy Yeung, who works for Harmony Asset Ltd., one of the shareholders in the brewery, says the brewery turns out around 126,000 liters of beer per year. Since taxes were slashed to zero on alcohol imports, the brewery – previously off limits — has been keen to encourage visitors.
“We didn’t really promote it,” she admitted. “But sometimes we have walk-in clients, and we welcome this. If you want to have a tour, we can arrange it.”
The brewery itself is in Aberdeen, an industrial neighborhood next to a harbor that is full of fishing vessels. Though it does not have a full-time bar or restaurant, it can arrange beer tastings and food if required. Visitors who are keen to tour the brewery should call ahead (Hong Kong Beer Ltd., Unit A1, 1/F, Vita Tower, 29 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen; 011-852-2580-2390). |
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