Tsingtao Beer

In high school we had to read a short story by Jorge Luis Borges called "The Garden of Forking Paths."  It's about a Chinese scholar living in England during World War I and working as a spy for the German Army.  It's a fantastic short story, and if you're interested in reading it the full text can be found here.  The story has absolutely nothing to do with beer, except that at the beginning the narrator implies that he became involved with German intelligence while teaching English at a German school in Tsingtao, China.  I mention this only because it illustrates the link between the city of Tsingtao and the brewing tradition of Germany.  It was from this marriage that one of the best-selling beers in the world was born.

The city of Tsingtao, which is now properly spelled Qingdao, lies on the Yellow Sea in China.  In 1898 German sailors seized the small fishing village as part of an effort to prevent Chinese military build-up around Jiaozhou Bay.  After a period of negotiation, the German Empire obtained a 99-year lease on Jiaozhou Bay from China (much like the British did for Hong Kong around the same time).  Qingdao then became the German administrative capital of the concession.  Its primary importance to the Germans was as a military base: the German Navy's Far East Squadron and a battalion of marines were headquartered at the Qingdao port.  To provide an infrastructure for the new settlers, the Germans "westernized" the village by building roads, sewers, schools...and breweries.

Among these was the Germania Brewery, which opened its doors in 1903.  It was founded to produce German pilsner beers for the colonists who wanted a taste of their homeland on the other side of the world.  After little more than a decade, however, the Germania Brewery would find itself at the epicenter of massive political and social instability.

Because of its naval significance to Germany, Qingdao was targeted by the British at the outset of World War I.  In November 1914 the city fell after an 8-day siege by combined British and Japanese forces (Japan was a British ally at the time).  The Japanese Army would continue to occupy Qingdao from its capture until 1922.  Meanwhile, in 1916 the Germania Brewery was sold to the Dai-Nippon Brewing Company, the common ancestor of many Japanese breweries including Sapporo and Asahi.  It was during this period that the brewery re-branded itself as Tsingtao.  In 1938 the city of Qingdao was re-occupied by Japan during its invasion of the Chinese coast.

Throughout this turmoil, the Tsingtao Brewery remained under Japanese ownership from its purchase in 1916 until Japanese troops were finally expelled from China at the close of World War II in 1945.  Shortly thereafter, the brewing game in China was once again turned on its head by the communist revolution of 1949.   The company was then a state-owned corporation of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until privatization in the 1990s.  Anheuser-Busch owned a large stake in the company throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s, but sold their shares in 2009 after their merger with global beverage giant InBev.  Tsingtao is currently owned by the Japanese brewery Asahi as well as private Chinese interests.

Unlike some of the other beers featured in this blog, Tsingtao is NOT popular among the beer snob community.  I think part of this distaste can be attributed to the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt.  The Tsingtao Brewery accounts for about 80% of all beer exported from China, and Tsingtao has been exporting its beer to the United States since 1972 (the same year that Nixon visited China).  It's the best known Asian beer in our country by a wide margin and is served at pretty much any Chinese restaurant with a liquor license.

I guess some people also see Tsingtao as interchangeable with other light Asian lagers like Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, and Singha.  But I would argue that Tsingtao stands alone as a unique, sophisticated brew in its own right.  It's one of those products whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  It has a distinctive hoppy flavor that recalls its heritage as a German pilsner.  It has a deep golden color and slightly grainy aftertaste.  It is brewed from a mixture of malted barley and rice, which gives it the signature dry finish of many Asian beers.  Put together, these components form an extremely drinkable lager that is a great complement for any meal...and I'm not just talking about Chinese food.  Crack open an ice-cold Tsingtao the next time you grill a steak or salmon and you'll see what I mean.

There's a lot to be said for a brewery  founded in China by German immigrants in the days before commercial air travel or even wireless radio, which has survived prolonged occupation by a foreign power, communist rule, and American ownership, and which has ultimately emerged as a unique brand with massive name recognition both domestically and internationally.  Taking a page from "The Garden of Forking Paths", out of all the futures that have been possible for the Tsingtao Brewery since 1903, this one is both extraordinary and well-deserved.