Tsingtao

It’s been a little while, but not much has changed really. Life in Shanghai, much like life everywhere can fall into being routine, but that routine can also be a busy one.

The most expensive endeavor of my trip to Qingdao, as well as the most famous factory in the city, is the Tsingtao beer brewery on Beer St. The brewery is much like other breweries I’ve been to, they tell you about themselves, they tell you about their history, they tell you about how to make beer, and then they give you some. All and all, it’s a pretty good way to pass an afternoon.

Typically I do not enjoy Tsingtao beer; it’s a pilsner in the true German style (they occupied the city from 1900-1915). However I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the beer in Qingdao on tap is much better than the skuzzy bottles they have in Shanghai. Plus the beer was cheap.

At lunch before the brewery we were seated at a table with 2 other Chinese gentlemen who spoke very little English. We quickly struck up a relationship as they insisted that the bottles we were getting were inferior to their large pitchers. We took them up on their challenge for the second round and indeed the liter plus pitchers (which cost less than a dollar, oh and were bigger than the one pictured above) were superior to the green bottles. These men, pleased with their ability of persuasion, proceeded to toast us with ‘gambe’ regularly with us for the rest of the meal. When toasting in Chinese, the word ‘gambe’ translates literally to ‘finish it’ – and with us trying not to be rude, you can imagine the result. After our very cultural lunch we stumbled to the brewery.