Tsingtao Beer

Origin: China · Brewer: Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. · ABV 4.7%

If Snow is the giant that hardly anyone outside China has tasted, Tsingtao is exactly the opposite - the Chinese beer the rest of the world actually drinks. It is sold in around 100 countries, and on the export shelves of supermarkets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea it is almost always the only Chinese lager on display.

A German-founded brewery in China

Tsingtao was founded in 1903 in the port city of Qingdao (then spelled Tsingtau) by German and British settlers. The site was inside the German colonial leased territory of Kiautschou Bay, and the brewery was originally called Germania-Brauerei Tsingtau. After more than a century of changing owners - including a period of Japanese ownership and then state ownership under the People's Republic - it is today a Hong Kong-listed company that the Chinese drinks group Fosun also holds a large stake in.

Recipe and taste

The flagship Tsingtao is a 4.7 percent ABV pale lager in the German-influenced pilsner tradition. The brewery sources malted barley from Australia, Canada and France, hops from China's western provinces (often a blend that includes a Saaz-style noble variety), spring water from the Lao Shan mountains just south of Qingdao, and uses its own proprietary yeast culture. The beer is unusually clean and slightly herbaceous, finishing dry with a soft, pillowy mouth-feel that makes it a favourite alongside Chinese food.

Scale and export reach

Tsingtao Brewery operates a network of breweries across China and exports more beer than any other Chinese brand. The Tsingtao brand consistently sits in the global top ten by volume, with annual sales in the high tens of millions of hectolitres. It has also released a wheat beer, a stout and several premium variants over the past decade as Chinese drinkers trade up from value lagers.

Sources: Tsingtao Brewery Co. annual reports; corporate brand history; widely reported industry data.