Beer in China: Everything You Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask

"Learning to drink like a local in Qingdao, China"
CNN (October 16, 2009)

"Another round of toasts and exclamations of 'hajiu' sounded out around me. I took a sip and set down my small glass of Tsingtao beer as my new friends downed theirs and refilled. Our seafood dinner, perched on the single cluttered table of a tiny antique shop, was punctuated regularly by such moments.

"I joined in happily, although somewhat bemused, at each increasingly beery celebration of our host, the worldly Captain Jau. My company, a gathering from four regions of China, was engaging me in Chinese drinking etiquette, in the city of Qingdao.

"A few drinks in the People's Republic of China led me to discover European delights and other unexpected finds in this modest city.

"You'd be forgiven for not knowing where Qingdao (pronounced Chingdao) is...."

If you've always wondered what the beer situation in China was, this article's for you. It's entertainingly written, and gives a pretty good first-hand look at breweries, micro- and otherwise, in China.

The tone is light, mildly adulatory, and the subject dear to the heart of this Irish-Norwegian-American - who married a German-American.