Vault City Export to China
We recently had the incredible opportunity to travel to China to visit the coolest bars, sample some local craft beer and scope out a brand-new export partner for Vault City.
Our beer is perfect for export. It has a long shelf life and doesn’t require cold storage for the journey. That’s why we import to over 20 different countries every year, with our beer becoming firm favourites in places like Denmark, Singapore, France, Netherlands and Sweden (just to name a few). Over the last 6 years we've only ever imported small volumes of beer to China, and we wanted to change that. With help from Jiangkai - BeerHub, our beer will soon be landing in Shanghai to be distributed across the country’s incredible craft beer scene.
Our trip to Shanghai
Steve and Martin arrived in the early hours of the morning, excited to see firsthand the vibrant buzz of China’s growing craft beer scene. Armed with a list of local hot spots and recommendations, the pair wasted no time in getting out exploring.
Sad Gorilla Club
The first stop was a tiny floating brewery, owned and run by Sean Brady, who helped facilitate the trip. Sean’s nano brewery specialises in hazy beers brewed in extremely small, exclusive batches marketed irreverently and selling out before they’re even packaged.
Gong Lu Shang Dian
Steve and Martin then stopped by Gong Lu Shang Dian, an awesome chain of bottle shops showcasing a mix of local and imported beers which can be shared and enjoyed on the street outside the venue. The pair chose Number 18 from Wuhan, and Dao Brew from Chengdu.
Yayas
All that beer meant they had worked up an appetite and later they visited Yayas, an Italian style restaurant started out of the cloakroom of a nightclub by three pals. Yayas focuses on high end quality with affordable prices. They make fresh pasta and Italian dishes with Chinese influence, like mapo tofu lasagne, a giant ravioli filled with egg yolks and parmesan cream, and a Xinjiang spiced lamb ragu. Steve and Martin were lucky to get a place here, as it's booked out every night with a pop-up tour on the go throughout Asia the rest of the year.
Tiaohai
Owned by a former online media company, Tiaohai is a prime example of how community in craft beer can help grow a business. With 12 locations across China and 4 just in Shanghai, the bar has a huge network of dedicated followers who even pop round the back of the bar to help pour beers – with a 6 month waiting list just to join this queue.
233 Import
Their next stop was a craft bar run by a retired boxer, boasting 32 taps of imported beer and fridges packed full of hype American and European breweries. They stood in awe, and of course stopped to sample some beers.
The Cannery & Coolship
This Pacific North-western inspired restaurant has one on the most prestigious tap lists in Shanghai, if not the whole of China. So, Steve and Martin obviously had to pay a visit! There's a small selection of domestic craft beer alongside 24 taps of spontaneous fermentation beers which co-owner Erik Liang has exclusive rights to. Erik has worked in the beer industry for over 25 years, studying in the UK and Europe, and was the first person to import numerous world renowned breweries like Cantillion to China. He's regularly invited around the world to judge at the most prestigious beer competitions including the World Beer Cup in the US, and the European Beer Star in Belgium.
Goodman
Once again, our duo found some incredible hot spots for food, visiting Goodman - a hole in the wall burger shop on the steps of 4 Shanghai nightclubs, specialising exclusively in smash burgers and fresh draught beers. Goodman is brought to you by the team behind Yayas and BASTARD (which was featured in Action Bronson's Fuck That's Delicious, a documentary about Parisian restaurants).
Liquid Studio
After sampling some of the best burgers they've ever tried, Steve and Martin headed to their next location, scoping out Liquid Studio - a craft beer bar started by importer Leo and his partner. Liquid Studio showcases a variety of British and Irish craft brewers including Track, Wymen and Northern Monk alongside a few local Chinese breweries. The pair use air freight deliveries for all imported beer, with no expense spared to ensure it's absolutely as fresh as possible.
Tap That
The final stop specialises in rotational selections of domestic craft and a small amount of imported beer. Tap That currently have 9 stores with a 10th opening soon after their 5th anniversary. With cold storage on every site, the stores promote high quality and affordability. Steve and Martin took it all in, and left with a few local beers to try back at the hotel.
Vault City x BeerHub
After a busy few days and an action-packed trip, Steve and Martin headed home with a new found understanding of the craft beer market in China and a list of contacts to help get the ball rolling on our latest export opportunity.
We couldn’t be more excited to announce our brand-new importer in China, Jiangkai - BeerHub, who’ll be distributing a steady supply of sours and stouts from Vault City going forward.
BeerHub are based in Wenzhou, around an hour from Shanghai and have been a business for over 10 years with a network that reaches all over mainland China. We’re joining their impressive portfolio with a curated selection of international breweries including; Rodenbach, 3 Fonteinen, Epic, Left Hand, Alpine Brewing and Ale Smith. Stay tuned as we embark on this new partnership, and get ready to see our beer on taps in some of the coolest spots in the Far East!
8x8 Festival
As if this wasn’t exciting enough, we’re heading to Jing-A’s 8x8 Festival in Beijing this October where 8 Chinese breweries are paired with 8 UK breweries (including us) to create unique collabs to serve at the festival alongside an array of sours and stouts from our back catalogue.
Our Ops Director Andy will be making the journey and documenting his trip on social media, so keep your eyes peeled on our story nearer the time!
