History Great Leap Brewing

1 history

1.1 2004–2009: prehistory
1.2 2010: opening
1.3 2011: success , challenges
1.4 2012–present: third location

history

the founders of great leap realized there niche craft beer in china several years before started brewing. once did, growth rapid.

2004–2009: prehistory

carl setzer, native of cleveland, ohio, first came china in 2004 after graduating college in alabama, @ behest of fellow graduates doing missionary work there. worked @ dongfeng motor, country s leading truck manufacturer, in hubei city of shiyan, year. there met , befriended liu fang, shandong native, before returning u.s. graduate study @ university of pittsburgh, after went work in taiwan.

in 2008 returned china, setting beijing office of american information technology firm. setzer, had not been of drinker until previous year due family history of alcoholism , religious education, disappointed china s national beer brands tsingtao. complained them dane vandenberg, fellow employee in u.s. 2 realized beijing ideal market microbrewery, had sprung in setzer s native region of northeast ohio. never let market has requirement go unsupplied, setzer told cnn later.

within 6 months of return china, setzer , liu had met again, fallen in love , gotten married. couple traveled belgium , netherlands, visits local breweries helped liu realize beer did not have taste same. in china, setzer, german great-grandfather had worked @ brewery in frankfurt, began learning how make beer, while vanden berg, in california, raised money investors.

craft beers not unknown in china @ time. brewpubs in operation in shanghai , hong kong. in beijing itself, there had been brewpubs , german-style beer halls operated munich-based paulaner brewery since 1990s catered both expatriates , chinese made prosperous free-market economic reforms began @ time. there nothing craft breweries had sprung in u.s. since 1980s, places knew service going great, stuff going on draft, setzer said later.

the 3 found old siheyuan, or courtyard house, on doujiao hutong, narrow side street in central beijing s dongcheng district near nanluoguxiang area, many other bars popular city s western expatriate community, , bell , drum towers, area popular younger beijingers. began remodeling turn-of-the-century library, part of qing dynasty mansion, use brewpub, keeping decor minimum in order concentrate on beer , send same message customers. did not particularly high expectations, without lot of economic motivation , setzer told beer in 2012.

accounts of how brewery got name differ. vandenberg says came name great leap risk , setzer taking. however, 2016 article reported liu s grandfather suggested it. name carries connotations of strength in chinese. great leap s website cites song dynasty poem, bull riding song , urges readers take great leap when young , fat, evoking courage founders displayed in starting it.

2010: opening

in october 2010 setzer had enough confidence in product open business, financing $17,000 in savings. hosted party @ siheyuan, inviting fellow american attending inter-university program chinese language study, @ tsinghua university, whom had shown beer brewed it, come down , try it. friend invited roommate, informed friends party, , event intended few people hosting 60 students coming down wudaokou. going cups these people? setzer recalled thinking. when knew big.

using ingredients , equipment sourced domestically in order reduce operating costs, brewed on sundays , opened 3 days before that, serving 9 20-liter (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 u.s. gal) kegs, recalled later seemed large amount @ time. company offered 4 beers—pale ale #6, named building s street address; oatmeal porter, cinnamon rock candy ale , honey ma blonde. latter 2 used distinctly chinese flavoring adjuncts make paucity of chinese malt varieties: large-bark cinnamon in former, , combination of sichuan pepper , honey shandong apiary run relatives of liu s.

patrons consume beer on premises in 330-milliliter (12 imp fl oz; 11 u.s. fl oz) pint glasses, charged cn¥25–35 depending on variety. take home in liter-sized growlers ¥60–80, or bottles ¥30 deposit. prices higher charged chinese national brands @ time. food available spicy peanuts , (sometimes) dried malts; there no prepared food.

a particular area of concern great leap relations neighbors in out-of-the-way residential area. strangers in hutongs never welcome, according setzer. prevent noise complaints, brewpub closed no later midnight, , earlier in summer , during university exam periods.

at first, setzer had expected, clientele exclusively westerners. staff @ american , british embassies regulars , strong supporters. initial reviews positive. simple fact place has no gimmicks or frills, wrote english-language china daily near end of year. [i]t makes of best beer in town.

city weekend, newspaper expats, gave great leap publicity, intern had attended opening weekend. in turn came notice of journalist james fallows, had returned u.s. after several years of reporting china. in blog atlantic, had complained poor quality of beer in not china asia whole, promised readers on next flight beijing try of great leap s offerings. existence of beer flavored sichuan peppercorn in particular excited him. in beer, suppose ll never again able complain bland chinese beers.

2011: success , challenges

in january 2011, setzer quit job work @ brewery full-time. around me told me crazy, recalled usa today later in year. spring vanden berg came china take more active role in business. warming weather improved business patrons sit outside. enough other bar owners came asking if sell beer setzer decided time distribution. sales strong summer great leap converting farmhouse in tianxianlu, near mutianyu section of great wall, brewery, using equipment better suited large-scale industrial production, meet demand.

– carl setzer

as setzer had hoped, younger chinese drinkers, many of whom had been introduced craft beers abroad, joining expatriates customers. july making 70% of brewery s customer base. come, think, s bit weird, , leave after 1 drink, liu said. come next day, next week, , bring friends, too. observed that, among younger chinese, longstanding tradition of consuming alcoholic beverages in form of grain-based spirits meals seemed changing introduction of beers great leap s.

setzer continued expand available beers, introducing new 1 each month on seasonal basis, , making permanent offering if did well, chocolate cardamom stout. want ever-crazier beers, said usa today. there many different spices , flavors in chinese cuisine have not been defined chemically yet.

one of beers iron buddha blonde, uses oolong tea, ingredient setzer says particularly well-suited use in brewing, adjunct. [it] gives beer floral note @ end, explained. name play on name of tea variety used, tiě guānyīn (铁观音), means iron goddess of mercy.

at other end of scale little general ipa, beer in style setzer had not planned make produced in response customers demand one. purity beer ingredients allowed german reinheitsgebot (malted barley, hops yeast , water), had no special flavoring ingredients. name came zhang xueliang, patriotic hero in china , taiwan. in late 1930s kidnapped chiang kai-shek, persuaded him ally kuomintang communist forces against japanese, surrendered chiang s forces after kidnapping, exiled hawaii died in 2001 without ever returning either china or taiwan.

take pride in recipes, names , stories of our products , far our chinese customers take lot of pride in that, said later. noted in 2015 beers chinese names , ingredients popular chinese customers, phenomenon likened way american craft beer had taken off when brewers started use american ingredients rather importing traditionally used hops , grains europe.

late in year great leap faced biggest challenge. due fallout of china s food safety scandals, authority granting licenses distribute food , drink moved china food , drug administration, brewery s application had been pending, general administration of quality supervision, inspection , quarantine. new agency gave setzer choice of either expediting license original brewpubs, or taking chance on full distribution license, dire consequences if great leap s beer found unsafe. @ 1 point threatened deportation , liu jail. (setzer believes real issue product wound outselling guinness @ irish bar, led them stop distribution model while)

it have been possible avoid dilemma , still distribute beer covertly. there ways lie in beijing, bottled water manufacturer can tuck beer under bottles , distribute you, setzer said year later. s not fugitive life want wife , kid ... did leave six-figure corporate job bartender, or did leave build brand , future beer culture in beijing? chose latter, , before chinese new year in 2012 informed @ dinner officials had been impressed brewery s cleanliness , granting license. company prepared increase output drastically, 15,000 hectoliters (13,000 us bbl). made plans open second location on xinzhong street in dongzhimen neighborhood little further central beijing, more accessible.

2012–present: third location

in june 2013 opened second location on xinzhong street in dongzhimen neighborhood little further central beijing, more accessible. later year great leap producing 300 kegs month, or 18,000 liters (4,000 imp gal; 4,800 u.s. gal). year company grossed $225,000, of quarter went operating costs. m living american dream, not in america, setzer observed. company collaborated boxing cat, shanghai craft brewery, produce yunnan amber ale, tops off 3 different malt , hops varieties each uses dianhong black tea titular province.

in 2015 company opened third location, in sanlitun, area of chaoyang district near u.s. embassy popular nightlife. 3 locations, setzer had said in 2014 expected selling million pints annually. re never satisfied until great leap gets point s available many people possible, said. 3 strong retail locations in beijing may accomplish this. partnership germany s drei kronen expected help.