Is Hong Kong about to implode?

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Young Master Ales
Rohit Dugar, founder of Young Master
Ales, says that the company brews beers
they like themselves and want to share
with beer fans in Hong Kong. “Our
goal is to build a vibrant new brewing
culture in Hong Kong by introducing
unique new beers,“ he says. “If we had
paid attention to pre-conceived notions
of what kind of beers the Hong Kong
market likes, we would never have made
any of the innovative new beer styles we
are now recognized for!“
The company’s artisanal ales
are brewed fresh with high quality
ingredients, including jasmine,
chrysanthemum and
osmanthus to give
them a distinctive
local touch.
The brewery
is constantly
introducing new
styles to showcase
the diversity of beer, and it doesn’t filter,
pasteurize, or add artificial stabilizers or
chemicals.
“Hong Kong is certainly enthusiastic
about craft beers and drinkers’ palates
are getting more sophisticated as well,“
says Dugar. “We find people are getting
more and more adventurous and going
beyond pale ales and IPAs, which are
generally ‘gateway’ craft beers.“
What to try: The beer range list
includes all-year-rounds, seasonals and
one-off special edition releases, with
three to five styles typically available.
The floral, zesty Young Master Classic
is designed to be versatile and
refreshing, while the Hong Kong Black
is a winter brew that blends six types of
malt for a rich caramel and coffee finish.
Where to get it: Various locations
including TAP – The Ale Project,
15 Hak Po St., Mong Kok, 2468-2010.
www.youngmasterales.com.
Black Kite Brewery
Brothers Daniel and David Gallie
launched Black Kite Brewery in the
summer of last year for three reasons—
“Our love of craft beer, it was a great
time for it and we both happened
to be looking for a change in careers,“
says David.
Named after the birds they saw from
their office windows soaring among the
city’s skyscrapers, the brewery currently
has six core styles of beer, from wheat
beer to an IPA and a porter. The brothers
have recently created a lemon-lime pale
ale and a five-spice IPA for a local bar,
and say they’re planning new specials
and seasonal brews going forward,
playing with local fruits and spices.
“Hong Kong's craft beer market is
definitely expanding as more people,
bars and restaurants are starting to
realize that there are other beers out
there than the big commercial lagers,“
says David. Next round’s on them, then?
What to try: “We designed our beers
with our German brewer to be generally
on the lighter side of the scale, so that
they would be tasty but easy to drink,“
says David. “Pale ales and IPAs are
always popular with craft beer lovers, but
our Hefeweizen wheat beer is one of our
best sellers, probably because it's quite
different to other local offerings and has
an interesting banana flavor to it. It’s all
from the yeast and malts—no bananas
were involved!“
Where to get it: The Globe,
45-53A Graham St., Central, 2543-1941.
blackkite.hk.
hk-magazine.com/hktablet
Hong Kong Beer Co. is all about keeping it local
26 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015