Try These 5 New Beijing Brewpub Burger and Beer Combos

原创 Tracy W. theBeijinger

In the lead-up to our 2018 Beijing Burger Festival on Jun 16-17 at Galaxy Soho, we've scoured the city for the best, tastiest, and most original patties on offer to whet your appetite prior to the veritable meat fest ahead. Dig in!

Beijing is certainly not lacking in some incredible brewpub burgers: Great Leap Brewing’s cheeseburger, Jing-A’s sliders with Yunnan cheese, Slow Boat Brewery’s Fryburger, Arrow Factory’s Mornay Glory Mushroom Swiss burger, and even NBeer Pub’s standard beef burger … we could go on. However, at the risk of sounding like we have mad cow’s disease, we’ve decided to eschew mindless repetition in order to highlight some of the city’s best new burger and beer pairings.

Beersmith
The CBD's biggest brewpub won a legion of fans for its juicy Wagyu beef burger (RMB 88, served with fries) when it launched last year. A hefty chunk of Wagyu beef is topped with cheese and sandwiched by doughy buns, making their amber ale (5.8 percent ABV) a perfect match between mouthfuls of succulent meat. The ale, although one of the brewery's lighter options, still packs a deep punch thanks to the crystal and roasted malts used to make it.

The Great Outdoors
With 14 burgers, Fangjia Hutong's Great Outdoors certainly doesn't make choosing easy. However, for something a little different, the Chairman Mao Smoked Chili Burger (RMB 50, served with fries) is made using a beef patty, handmade Hunan dried sausage, and a layer of spicy chili peppers, all balanced out with a rich layer of cheese. Try it alongside a Great Friend IPA (RMB 40, 6 percent ABV) to put out the heat from the chilies.

Deal Beer
Ok, Deal Beer's not officially a brewpub but they do provide some fantastic beers on tap as well as new, delicious burgers by one-man late-night munchies favorite Was Park, formerly of Fangjia Hutong. The cheeseburger (RMB 45) maintains the venue's signature hole-in-the-wall smiley face-adorned paper wrapping, packed with a fat beef patty, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and cheese. The humble buns are McDonald's-like, but don't get us wrong, sometimes that's exactly what the occasion calls for. Grab a 100 Flowers Hidden Deep IPA by Peiping Machine (6.7 percent ABV) to wash it all down.

Rolling Rolling
Rolling Rolling's beef burger (RMB 45, served with fries and pickles) is a blend of four different cuts of Chinese beef cooked medium well. The buns, baked daily, absorb the meat's smoky notes while maintaining a crisp crust and go great with the two thick and gooey slices of New Zealand cheese. Try it with a pint of their on-site brewed double IPA Feedback (RMB 40 for 350ml), which includes tropical aromas of passion-fruit, apricot, and pineapple and comes with a hefty 7.4 percent ABV. It's a combo that may just draw you out to Yizhuang.

SteamRhino
Located near the embassy area, SteamRhino's cheeseburger (RMB 48, served with french fries) features buttery buns dusted with black and white sesame seeds, a thick beef patty with a juicy pink center seasoned with black pepper, as well as pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, all topped with a generous amount of mayonnaise. The "4am" Belgian wheat beer (5 percent ABV) makes for a great combination, though we dread to think what would actually happen if you consumed it at that hour.

This article originally appeared on the latest issue of the Beijinger. Tap image to access.

Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang