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Originally published by Graham Turner. Last updated by Inés Fung.
Have you ever found yourself staggering about Lan Kwai Fong on a Friday night, clinging on to the lukewarm pint of Carlsberg that skinned you for $75? Did you ask yourself why? Isn’t there more to life? Well, the answer is yes, my friends. If we’d had this discussion a decade ago, I would say you’re pretty much out of luck, drink your medicine, and stop moaning, but the tides have turned—ferociously—and we take beer very seriously in Hong Kong now. And it’s glorious.
The elimination of taxes on low-alcohol beverages in 2006 created an opening for the import of craft beer. This flooded the city with some much-needed variety in beer, whetting our collective palette. Now we have a borderline silly amount of bars that specialise in beer or at least, take care to have a selection of craft beers available. We brew our own, quite successfully as well, we have beer festivals, and we even have our own Craft Beer Association. Such progress deserves to be acknowledged and recorded for posterity. So here it is, a guide to Hong Kong’s craft beers and where to find them. See you at the pub!
Named after the familiar bird that is an iconic fixture of Hong Kong’s skies, Black Kite Brewery is one of Hong Kong’s longest-running craft breweries, having been established by brothers David and Daniel Gallie in 2015.
Formerly specialising in easy-drinking beers, Black Kite rebranded in 2020 and halved their core range from six beers to three—a pale ale, a golden ale, and an IPA—in order to devote more resources to producing seasonal and experimental brews. They don’t do official tours or tastings as such, but are very receptive and ingratiating to anyone looking to check their wares, so hit them up [email protected].
We recommend:
Glider Golden Ale (4.6% ABV): Biscuity malt, earthy and citrusy hops
High Flyer Pale Ale (5.2% ABV): Slightly bitter, aromas of citrus and passion fruit
Birds of Prey IPA (5.7% ABV): Citrusy, fruity and slightly floral
Where to find: Kowloon Taproom, Craftissimo, and more
Claiming to brew the “purest and tastiest all-grain beer in Hong Kong,” Moonzen Brewery don’t mince their words when it comes to their product—one that they are clearly very proud of. And with good reason. Around since 2014, Moonzen puts an emphasis on celebrating Chinese culture and craftsmanship in their beer and it shows, not just in their beautifully ornate label designs, but in the kinds of flavours they produce.
Want to see how they do it? Hit them up on their Facebook page and book a spot on one of their Friday evening tours and tastings.
We recommend:
Moonzen Jade Emperor IPA (7% ABV): Foundation of maltiness with citrus and floral hits
Moonzen Monkey King Amber Ale (5% ABV): Complex notes of caramel and peach
Moonzen Thunder God Pale Ale (5% ABV): Fresh and light with tropical, citrus and hoppy flavours
Moonzen King Yama Sichuan Porter (8% ABV): Distinctive flavours of malt, smoked caramel, and Sichuan peppers
Where to find: Moonkok, Beef & Liberty, Roots, online, at the Moonzen HQ
Founded by brothers Duncan and Luke Yardley, the Lamma Island-based brewery have built a fairly rabid following on Lamma Island. Despite starting out small and intimate at first, they have moved onwards and upwards by opening a brewery in Kwai Hing.
Here, they offer tours and tastings if you give them a shout at [email protected]. They always throw amazing events with beer, live music—and more beer. Top-quality beer, paired with some loud, live music? A match made in heaven.
We recommend:
Lamma Island Pale Ale (5% ABV): Floral, citrus, hoppy, caramel, and malty in one
Quit Your Job (Farmhouse ale, 6% ABV): Hazy and light with a strong head, slightly bitter to taste with a refreshing finish
Hong Kong Bastard Imperial IPA (7.2% ABV): Aroma of hops, grapefruit and light maltiness
Where to find: Kowloon Taproom, City’super Times Square, 99 Bottles, and more
A beer founded with an aim to create something fun, fresh, and unique. The team at Gweilo started by stripping the brewing process back to its bare bones, benchmarking over 150 beers before settling on the formula that is now sweeping the city.
It’s a philosophy that they’ve stringently stuck to, unlike many other breweries which arguably get ahead of themselves and start going a bit mad with the range of brews they produce after finding some initial success. Gweilo have kept things lean and mean, serving up three tentpole beers, all of which are really quite delicious.
We recommend:
Pale Ale (4.5 % ABV): Light with citrusy aromas and tropical fruits
Session IPA (4.8% ABV): Fresh and vibrant nose of melon, citrus, and pine, balanced with malt
Where to find: The Beerhouse, Please Don't Tell, City’super Harbour City, and more
Creating recipes that pay homage to Hongkongers’ industrious nature, perseverance, and spirit of solidarity, Lion Rock Brewery put out an impressive selection of 10 brews, each honing in a particular characteristic of the SAR.
These beers are popping up all over the city at a rapid pace, as well as being available to buy through their website in bottled, small, and large keg varieties, so these guys are working hard to push their craft. If you fancy a nosey around their operation, shoot them an email at [email protected].
We recommend:
Lion Rock Signature (Pale ale, 5.2% ABV): complex fruity flavours with peach and gooseberries
Grandmaestro (IPA, 6.4% ABV): balance of bitter and hoppy, with aromas of passionfruit, peach, gooseberries, citrus fruits, blackcurrant, and pine
Oriental Pearl (Oatmeal stout, 5.9% ABV): emphasises malty sweetness with liquorice, chocolate and coffee aromas
Wheat Lover (Weizen, 5.9% ABV): Subtle aromas of banana and vanilla with a uniquely malty flavour
Expendables (Imperial IPA, 8.1% ABV): Fruity and citrus flavours complemented by a slightly spicy flavour with hints of herbs
Where to find: Sensory Zero, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong Island Taphouse, and more
Beer that is made by Hong Kongers, for Hong Kongers. Mak’s Beer comprises three young locals who wish to challenge the notion that “all good beer is made by foreigners” and that a product made with local knowledge, by locals, can compete with the very best out there. From what we’ve tried, this humble brewery is well on its way to competing with the hypothetical “big boys.”
We recommend:
Mak‘s Longan Pale Ale (5.5% ABV): Complex flavour with hints of wolfberries and preserved fruit
Mak‘s Mint Beer (Pale ale, 5.3% ABV): A pale ale base with added flavours of dried mint leaves and wild winter honey
Where to find: 616 Hotpot, San Ka La, and Fong Waa Parlour
One of Hong Kong’s first-ever microbreweries, Rohit Dugar launched Young Master Ales with a view to creating beers drawing on Hong Kong’s heritage; unique to our city and not another arbitrary, culturally agnostic product.
Their beautiful Ap Lei Chau brewery, with its rustic tasting room boasting a view over the sea, is a joy to sample a beer in, and a pleasure we strongly suggest you partake in when the brewery opens its doors to the public on Saturdays.
We recommend:
Classic Pale Ale (5% ABV): Fruity, floral, and zesty, made with North American and Australian hops
Island 1842 Imperial IPA (8% ABV): Hoppy with a powerful nose of spicy, floral, and zesty hops
Where to find: TAP - The Ale Project, Second Draft, and more
Originally established in 1995 as South China Brewing Company, and launched as Asia’s first craft brewery to sell beer exclusively in bottles and kegs, Hong Kong Beer Co took its current name in 2003. HKBC was acquired in 2013 by Devin Otto Kimble and Daniel Flores, the two founders of Singapore’s multiple award-winning Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery.
It could be argued that pre-2013, Hong Kong Beer Co was never really considered a true craft brewery—and was more interested in churning out pedestrian pours that are cheap and effective. All that has changed now. There’s a real sense of actual artisanal craft with Hong Kong Beer, and it’s transformed the company’s reputation.
We recommend:
Gambler’s Gold (Golden ale, 4.6% ABV): Prominently aromatic nose with tropical fruit accents
Hong Kong Beer (Amber ale, 5.1% ABV): Light caramel and malt profile with a prominent citrus aroma
Dragon’s Back (Pale ale, 5.3% ABV): Medium-bodied, twist on the usual English formula with the addition of American hops, enhancing the refreshment and aroma
Big Wave Bay (IPA, 7% ABV): Fresh and balanced with a robust malt base, accentuated with bitterness, fragrant citrus, tropical fruits, and pine
Where to find: 99 Bottles, Ho Lee Fook, WTF, and more
Carbon Brews may be new to the scene, but they’ve quickly made a name for their brews around town. Its crew is made up of locals and foreigners united by the same cause—to produce genuinely unique beers for the city’s craft brew lovers.
Carbon Brews in Fo Tan is the third-largest brewery in Hong Kong and shares a neighbourhood with Heroes’ and Hitachino Nest’s breweries. Guided tours are run every Saturday in both Cantonese and English so you can get up close and personal behind the scenes, or you can join their Group 14 programme to get first dibs on their latest brews, as well as entry to their experimental series beer launch events and other benefits.
We recommend:
Crazy Rich Lupulins (Double Hazy IPA, 8.2% ABV): An indulgently intense IPA with tropical mango and papaya flavours from the nose to the palate
Sour Punch (Fruit Punch Berliner Weisse, 4.5% ABV): A hazy pink Berliner Weisse that is dry and tart, with raspberry and guava dominating the nose
Where to find: 99 Bottles, Coco Espresso, Owlsome Bottles, Wine Rack, and more
Heroes Beer Co. serves as a creative platform for beer lovers and beer makers to work together on brews that will hopefully change the world. Beer lovers in Hong Kong are encouraged to step up as “creators,” and they are then interviewed extensively for their backgrounds, motivations, tastes, interests, dreams and values so that the resulting beer creations carry their own unique story and flavours.
We recommend:
Hangry Donut (American wheat beer, 5.1% ABV): Refreshing and easy-to-drink with hibiscus and lactose notes
Cereusly +50dB (IPA, 6.2% ABV): Crisp and balanced with a floral and citrus kick
Alchem-Ms (Gose, 4.5% ABV): A fusion Gose that’s sour and spicy with flavours of blood oranges and Yu Kwen Yick chilli sauce
Where to find: Artisan Butcher, Fong Waa Parlour, and The Bottle Shop
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your “local eyes”—and for that, you need two i’s.
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