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Hoppiness: Samuel Adams arrives in Shanghai

samueladamschina.jpgPlanning a party can drive a man to drink. Thankfully for Shanghaiist, we're now just a short walk from good, cold beer -- KABB recently started carrying Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Now, there are plenty of places in Shanghai to get a decent brew -- if you are willing to pay for it -- but there is a definite dearth of hoppy beers in our city. And Shanghaiist likes a hoppy beer. A nice Sierra Nevada Pale Ale makes us sooooo happy. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any of those in Shanghai. There are two Australian beers -- Coopers Sparkling Ale and Coopers Original Pale Ale -- that you can find at a handful of local bars and restaurants. In fact, the City Mart (kind of a fake-and-not-really-very-good City Supermarket in the basement of the Pacific Department Store on Huaihai Zhong Lu) used to carry a nice selection of Coopers beers, and Australian wines, at very reasonable prices. We'd buy a six-pack of pale ales for 9 kuai a bottle. Pretty damn good (even if the beer isn't quite as hoppy as we would like). And then one day we walked in and all the Australian stuff was gone ... and replaced by Heineken. Yuck. Shanghaiist was very sad.

So, why all this excitement over a Samuel Adams, a mass-market lager? Well, Sam Adams beer wasn't always mass-market, but it's always been pretty damn good. Think of Sam Adams as the Wilco of beers. And their Boston Lager is hoppier than you would expect, hoppier than either of the Coopers we mentioned above. (For the record, Shanghaiist thinks Being There was Wilco's "hoppiest" album.)

We were told that Sam Adams was introduced in Shanghai just last month. It's imported, not brewed or bottled in China, which means the Boston Lagers here were like born in Pittsburgh. Go figure. We doubt that KABB -- where a bottle will set you back 40 RMB -- is the only place that carries it, but that's the only place we've seen it so far. Who knows, maybe good ol' Sam will take over the Heineken display at the City Mart.

Nah. We don't think so, either.

Samuel Adams was a brewer and a patriot.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Dan Washburn in on September 15, 2005 8:09 PM

Comments [rss]

  • JMF

    Recently arrived here, and after a depressing trial run through assorted Suntory, Tiger, Tsingtao, Asahi, and even REEB tasteless offerings was delighted to find genuine Sam Adams at City -- for 11.50 kuai apiece! Not that far off what they would have cost on the U.S. East coast. And if I were ever to find Sierra Nevada or Red Hook here.... JMF

  • urgent

    There's a good "beer thread" on shanghaiexpat,

    http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/index.php?name=MDForum&file=viewtopic&t=26916&highlight=



    The key thing with the Sam Adams -- it's actually really imported! Sam Adams has always been a good beer, even microbrew snobs on the West Coast fully respect it. Glad to see they're importing the brew, not just the label, like all the other ones shamefully do.



    The Heineken here in Shanghai -- I dont care who's supervising it -- it's crap crap crap. No hops, bad water, whatever, it's been Shanghai'd.



    Coopers I found disappointing.



    Yes, there was once a stash of Red Hook at City, I went out to the cash machine and came back an hour later and they were GONE. I did grab a box full of Anchor Steam (a san francisco classic) once 2 years ago there.



    And you mentioned Sierra Nevada, ahhh, me mum sent me a 6 pack of their xmas ale. Gotta love mom!

  • Pete

    I've been all over the world tasting beers, and the best has got to be the coopers pale ale. It's brewed only in South Australia, and the only other place i've seen it was in NYC. Surprised to hear they ever had it, sad to see it go...... Anyone know where else one can find a bottle???

  • Jeffrey

    The difference is that fresh Heineken is still really bad. It's a half-step above Budweiser but that's about it.



    http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/heineken/37/ "tasteless and bodyless" seems about right.

  • jon

    Sam does carry an "expiration date" not born on, expires on...and brown bottles so the light won't get to the beer like it does heini...but hmm...we in Boston may be a little biased.

  • ZD Mao

    Surely lager aficionados would prefer a fresh Heineken locally brewed by a Dutch expat brewmaster to a 6-month-old Sam Adams contract-brewed by Miller!

  • The Four Seasons also carries Sam, though it's not really a place you'd go to drink.

  • Dean Lapthorne

    oh yeah - the old Pale Ale's - one min they're there - the next - gone! THE DRAMA!



    If Wilco's "Being There" is Samuel Adams' - then Wilco's "Summerteeth" must be Cooper's SPARKLING ale - light, peppy, with a bit of kick you need - perfect for siiting outside on a sunny summers arfternoon....



    Maybe I should get a gig as their man in China....I wish!

  • Dan

    I think I actually saw Red Hook at a City Supermarket quite a while ago. But you should wait until I can confirm that before getting on your boat.

  • Now if you could only get Red Hook IPA (Seattle's Ballard Bitter) there I would set sail tonight.

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