Shanghai's favorite international street is once again turning into a full-blown beer playground. On September 20–21, Laowaijie is hosting the Craft Beer Festival, and this year the theme is all about innovative lagers. Entry's free, but the beer sets are where the action's at.
Last edition pulled in nearly 3,000 people, 16 breweries, and a whole lot of pints. This time, they're pushing lagers into uncharted territory: dry-hopped, barrel-aged, fruit-spiked, even wild-fermented. Basically everything you thought a lager wasn't.
What's Brewing: Meet the Brewers
This year, the organizers pulled in some of the more adventurous names in China's brewing scene. Here are four to look out for:
DOE Brewery (Suzhou)
Run by a trio including a medical-device designer and a berry farmer, DOE pushes fruit-forward styles using ingredients from their own Sanqian Berry Farm. Their Shanghai taproom is on Jianguo Lu, but expect experimental IPAs, meads, and stouts at the fest — all brewed with serious precision.
Twin Tails Brewing (Suzhou)
Founded by two American artists who met at a photography conference, Twin Tails started as a side project in a Beijing studio. They're bringing four lagers: two crisp crushers and two hop-heavy sippers like their Nectaron IPL and Citrus Chill Cold IPA. Bold beers, but with a sense of humor.
12 Square Meters (Shanghai)
Belgian-born Raph Vetri brewed his first beer in a space barely bigger than a bathroom. His Sichuan Pepper Belgian Ale and The Trap is There (a China-made abbey-style Dubbel) are clever nods to his heritage — and justifiably award-winning.
Wild West Brewing (Chengdu)
Founded by a Sichuan local and a Utah beer geek, Wild West is all about East-meets-West mashups. Think Sichuan Peppercorn Witbiers and pristine mountain water. They've grown into a "small yet exceptional" brewery — their words, but we're not arguing.
Bonus Pour: Belgian Beer Garden Coming in October
As a side note, Beerkraze is teaming up with the Benelux Chamber and the Belgian Consulate for a follow-up beer event in October: a Belgian Beer Garden featuring — you guessed it — classic Belgian pours, waffles, and likely a lot of diplomatic enthusiasm.
Food to soak it all up
German Street Food – authentic German-style sausages fresh off the grill
Twin Tails – festival burgers you'll probably crave again at 2am
Totino Panino – Italian meatballs and panini that actually go with beer
Your beer game plan
Skip the door, grab your set online. Each comes with:
✔ One big German/Belgian pour (~300ml)
✔ Four half-pours (150ml each) from any booth
Early-bird sets: 40 RMB (limited, and they'll go fast)
Regular price: 50 RMB (also limited — once they're gone, that's it)
How it works:
- Snag your beer set on SmartTicket right now (scan the QR before someone else drinks your share)
- Check in at the LOLYPOP booth when you arrive
- Pick up your beer tickets
- Wander, sip, repeat
Laowaijie, 3338 Hongmei Road
September 20–21, 14:00–22:00
Entry free. Beer sets extra.
Two days. Thirteen breweries. Endless lager experiments.
Just show up thirsty.
