August 9 will again feature Beijing craft beer—with a baijiu twist! Jing-A is making its third in a series of World Baijiu Day brews with ‘qu’, a key item for making baiju: it’s a funky brick of grain like this one used to kick-start fermentation.
Qu is also tough AF. Co-owner Alex Acker of Jing-A once tried to break off a piece by pounding it with a chair a dozen times, but ultimately had to resort to a hammer.
Anyway, the last “Qu Brew was a deliciously sour effort that leveraged Belgian yeast along with qu. The first Qu Brew, in 2015, was a bit heavier but went well with the “drunken shrimp” pizza by Gung Ho during our first big party, at the former Pop-Up Beijing.
Jing-A’s Richard Ammerman says this version will again use both qu and brewing yeast. Just as exciting, the new Jing-A venue looks like it will be open just as this brew is ready to go. More info soon.
Founded in 2015, World Baijiu Day is held each August 9, with events in over 60 cities so far. Follow WBD on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And get in touch via spirit (at) worldbaijiuday.com.
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