The Chinese people are very fond of their own foamy drink, and are sincerely proud of the history of their main factory. But the most interesting thing is that the Qingdao beer owes its appearance to the Germans, but the Japanese gave the name.
A bit of history
During the First World War, the Germans had no time for brewing, so in August 1916 it was decided to sell the Chinese enterprise. Buyers were not long in coming. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that the Japanese bought the production. Since in 1914, enemy troops stood in the vicinity of Qingdao, where the factory itself was located.
Since Japan fought with Germany, within two months they captured everything that the Germans owned in the vicinity of Shandong. So, most likely, if the Germans had not decided to sell the brewery, in the near future the Japanese would have appropriated it for free. Already in 1921, the Asians held the entire block of shares in their hands, after which they launched the production of the now famous Qingdao beer.
Brewery in the hands of the Chinese
Japan did not own the enterprise for so long, as soon as the province was freed from the invaders in the thirties, the company was taken over by the Tsui Chinese family. Then, when the PRC appeared in 1949, the brewery was forcibly nationalized and transferred to state ownership. But this is not the end. In 1993, it was possible to privatize the plant again. Now the main stake is held by the Chinese concern Qingdao Brewery.
True, somehow, some of the shares still got to the Japanese concern, but this does not change the situation at all. No one doubts that the Qingdao beer is Chinese.
Alternative packaging
For more than a hundred years, this foamy drink, the residents of the city during this time managed to create a beer cult. Now intoxicated is an integral part of the everyday life of citizens. For example, only in this country is there such a thing as take-away beer, which means take-away beer.
That is, in almost every grocery store you can buy a foamy drink in a plastic bag. This is rather unusual. Only the Chinese can walk along the city street, brandishing a fun plastic bag filled with Qingdao beer. At home, a foamy drink is poured into a jug and drunk for a good snack, most often these are seafood dishes. Foam in such a package is much cheaper, but it is always fresh. In popularity, “take-away beer” leaves far behind even bottled drinks. Such packaging has many advantages.
How did it happen that Qingdao beer was sold in such containers? Even the Chinese themselves cannot say this for sure. One of the versions is that until recently, part of the salary was paid to the workers of the plant with beer, and then they sold drinks on the streets of the city. And they poured it into bags. Those interesting times have passed, and now everyone is given a pay in RMB, and such containers for bottling a hop drink were used by the company as a marketing move.
Qingdaofest
The modern marketing department of the brewery set itself the goal of raising the popularity of Qingdao beer not only in China itself, but also abroad. A lot of work has been done for this. Especially for this, the Qingdao International Beer Festival was invented. Such a holiday is arranged annually at the end of summer for twenty years.
You can participate not only to Chinese manufacturers, but also to foreign companies. Thus, an increasing number of foreigners will learn about Qingdao beer. It is precisely this goal that the festival organizers are pursuing. More and more people will learn about this holiday, who then try to get to China during the festival, in order to enjoy the intoxicating drink and learn about its history.
For those interested in beer history
For history buffs, there is a special place in Qingdao. This is a beer museum, which was opened back in 2003. It is located in one of the shops of the plant. This room is already more than a hundred years old, here the Germans were producing foam. The Aryans often built their industrial buildings in the Gothic style, but this architecture is very atypical for China.
The museum has a lot of materials that tell the story of the Qingdao brewery. For the most curious tourists, a factory tour is intended. Those who wish can see with their own eyes how the Qingdao beer is brewed. The tour lasts about one hour. But do not stock up on provisions, it is still a museum of Chinese beer. Not a single visitor has died here from thirst or hunger. Tourists always make short stops, during which they are offered to try local products. These tastings are not worth a dime. Perhaps it is because of this that Chinese beer seems even tastier.
Description of Qingdao beer
Consider the main characteristics of the drink:
- Its fortress is relatively low. Some brand positions do not reach three percent. It is drunk quite easily, like lemonade. Some experts believe that getting drunk from such a drink is very difficult. But here you need to take into account the specific features of Asians. After all, this nation quickly gets intoxicated and highly predisposed to alcohol dependence. So the Chinese are quite enough of such a fortress.
- This frothy drink has a specific sweet taste. Maybe that is why it is compared with lemonade. This can be explained by non-standard composition. After all, besides the main ingredients, there is rice malt.
- Beer "Qingdao", like all other hoppy drinks in the Middle Kingdom, has a weak foam. The hat does not last longer than fifteen seconds. Rice malt is to blame for its specific quality.
Production Features
According to the technologists of the plant, their beer has excellent taste and excellent quality due to the unique water used for production. This water is taken from sources flowing in the mountains of Laoshan. That is why, even if all the technology is strictly observed, it is basically impossible to make the same drink in another locality. That is why the line even has Qingdao Laoshan beer. Foamy drink consists of unique water, brewer's yeast, rice, Canadian, Australian and French malt.
The company tries to focus on a wide audience of beer lovers, which is why in its assortment there are almost all well-known varieties of the drink, such as lager, statute and pilsner.
Reviews
People praise this drink very much. It is especially popular among women. Many people say that such a beer perfectly quenches thirst in the heat. Judging by the reviews, the best snack for beer is seafood and light snacks.