Grilled: The Cheeseburger From Great Leap Brewing

As part of the Beijinger's month-long Burger Cup (which kicked off May 16 with burger specials around town), we take a closer look at some of this year's participants. Today we're grilling Carl Setzer, owner of Great Leap Brewing, which not only slung burgers at our May 28 Burger Festival, but is also vying for the title of Burger Cup champion (voting for which began on May 31).

Great Leap Brewing entered the burger business in Beijing when its #12 Brewpub opened in 2013, and has finished in the top eight of the Beijinger Burger Cup ever since. With five burgers on the menu, including the vegetarian Knife and Fork Sandwich, and at least 18 beers to choose from at any given time, it's an appealing option day or night. Below, Setzer tell us more about their signature product.

How long have you been a burger flipper?
I flipped burgers for various snack stands at various sports stadiums in Alabama, but I'm not the chef. I'm proud to have worked with truck stop gourmet Kin Hong for the past three years in developing some of the finest burgers Beijing has to offer.

Tell us about your signature burger.
Our signature burger is called "The Cheeseburger." It is made with a blend of the freshest ground Gansu beef daily, and contains all the usual suspects minus Kaiser Sose: cheese, homemade pickles, and in-house blended fancy sauce. All of the ingredients are locally-produced.

What sides go best with this burger?
You can substitute the fries for a small side salad for an extra RMB 10, as well as sweet potato fries for an extra RMB 15. But, as is tradition, swap the fries out for some onion rings at no extra cost.

Click "Read more" for the rest of the interview.

The Burger Cup voting is open now. Support and vote for your favorite burger venue by scanning/extracting the QR code below.