Booze News: Gruit Beer, Tattoo Fest, Wine O'Clock, and More

Gruit – a combination of hops, herbs, and botanicals that give beer bitterness, flavor, and stability – is not a beer you often see around these parts, and for that fact, around this century. That's about to change with today's release of Slow Boat's new Xiao Cui Gruit (pictured above), which they bill as the first of its kind in Asia. This unusual brew is the result of a collaboration between Slow Boat and South Korea's Gorilla Brewing, based in Busan. The result: an ale loaded with Korean ginseng, Chinese bay leaf, sage, juniper, and mugwort that nods towards beer that was being drunk over a millennia ago. For that reason, it'll make a refreshing change for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of how today's beer came to be. Best of all: it's available for RMB 25 all day today (Feb 28).

The craft brewers at CBD's Beersmith continue churning out new brews at a pretty steady clip. Hot on the heels of last week's new Lucky Lantern, and only a short month after their Russian Imperial Stout debuted, Beersmith now has another potential hit on its hands with the Cherry Ripe. True to its name, this is a fruity brown ale that will make you feel like spring is right around the corner (or is that the 6.4 percent ABV talking?).

And if you'd like a permanent reminder of your visit to Beersmith, you can get tatted up during their third annual Ink In Festival on Sunday, Mar 3 from 11.30am-1am. Thirty top tattoo artists from local studio 7 Inks will be on hand, along with DJs like Ariiia, Cad73, Beekoo, and Mario Yu.

Over at The Opposite House, they've recently kicked off a tempting new springtime wine deal at the hotel's Village Café. The promotion includes buy one, get two free on glasses of eight wine varieties newly selected by Opposite House sommelier Ashley Gao. Options include 1749 Rose D'Anjou and 2012 Amourvino pinot noir.

There are few better ways to welcome warmer weather than with a plateful of fresh seafood and a glass of fine wine. With that in mind, the staff at the snazzy new Rive Gauche restaurant in Puxuan hotel (read our exultant first impressions, here) have paired plump fresh prawns with elegant Domaine de l'Herré Sauvignon Blanc. It's a good deal and an even better excuse to stop by this and order a RMB 68 glass, RMB 108 carafe, or RMB 280 bottle set.