Slightly malty, a nice touch of alcohol, spicy. Feels like the sound shot of alcohol is igniting the mouth. In reality the tongue and palate are warmed. The taste is characterized by its roundness. The aftertaste is strong, long-lasting and dry bitter.
It might sound like an echo, but it’s not. This collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal explores the true depth of Mango flavor. Three layers of taste and aroma from fruit and hops. Go Mango! To make it a sour was a no-brainer. We’ve got nothing but love
Part of a journey. A journey towards the perfect stout, towards utopia. Step by step, beer by beer, on and on. Forever! A grand canvas colored with Saffron. Inspired by every Swedes favorite holiday baked good, the Saint Lucia Bun! For all your fireplace
Duvel 6,66% is an accessible beer with typical Duvel punch. Heavenly soft in taste, slightly aromatic and refreshingly fruity due the use of 6 refined hop varieties.
The sunny, warm yellow design of the bottles already suggests it. This Duvel is mild,
Duvel is a Belgian beer with a rich history and a distinctive taste, is a true gem in the world of craft beer. Known for its golden hue, creamy head and effervescent carbonation, Duvel has captured the hearts of beer enthusiasts around the globe. First br
A classic well-hopped beer, fruity and exceptionally aromatic with unique flavour. Well balanced in depth and complexity.
Style: Golden Ale
Vol: 330ml
ABV: 8.5%
Ever since 2007 the brewers at Duvel have been busy innovating with a third hop variety to give Duvel a surprising twist and some extra bitterness. Each spring this results in the launch of a unique Tripel Hop, which complements the rest of the Duvel rang
Dry hopping and the addition of Cashmere hops gives the flavour a tropical twist that will be irresistible to devotees of specialty beers, particularly Belgian IPA beers. The addition of this hop variety to the classic Duvel recipe enlivens the flavour pa
Estrella Damm is a golden colour with tones of amber and slight shades of green. It is bright and sparkling, with a cream-coloured, long lasting head. It is a beer with lots of delicate, lively bubbles.
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.6%
Vol: 330ml
Estrella Damm is the predominant brewery in Catalunya. Daura is the gluten free version of Estrella Damm. This golden lager style beer is crisp and refreshing. It currently holds the title of "best gluten free beer in the world" having won the category th
Inedit means "Never been done before". In cooperation witht the brewmaster of Estrella Damm, Inedit was crafted by the globally acclaimed chef Ferran Andria, Juli Soler and sommeliers Ferran Centelles and David Seijas from ElBulli Restaurant.
A skillfu
Flanders inspired sour red ale, with Montmorency, Bing, Balaton & Rainier cherries. Fermented in Pinot Noir & Westward Whiskey oak puncheons. Bottle conditioned with Brettanomyes, this ale is assertively tart, with notes of raw grains, toasty malts, and o
Our 7th Anniversary barrel aged beer is a spontaneous beer/wine hybrid. We spent over 2 and a half years on this beer! We brewed a lambic-style wort that we then allowed to spontaneously ferment with the wild microflora on Columbia River Gorge Pinot Noir
ESB was launched into the Fuller's family in 1971, as a winter brew to replace a beer named Old Burton Extra. The potential of the beer was soon realised and ESB was installed as a permanent fixture, creating an immediate impact.
Not only was it one of
The beer is pale in colour, full-bodied with a distinctive hoppiness that marks it out as a true India Pale Ale.
Style: Indian Pale Ale
Bitterness: Medium
Vol: 500ml
ABV: 4.9%
Known and loved for its distinctive, rounded flavour, London Pride is the award-winning beer for which Fuller’s is most famous. In recent years its popularity has grown to the extent that it is now Britain’s leading premium ale: a welcome fixture in many
Organic Honey Dew is the UK’s best selling organic beer. Light and golden with a zesty edge and a bitter-sweet flavour, Honey Dew is a naturally palatable brew that is Soil Association approved.
Served chilled, Organic Honey Dew offers both refreshmen
Vintage Ale is a truly distinguished bottle-conditioned ale, crafted by Fuller’s Head Brewer, John Keeling. Each vintage is a blend of that year’s finest malt and hops, and of course our unique yeast, creating a unique limited edition brew.
Bottle condit
It couldn’t be simpler. Pilsner malt, Saaz hops and Czech yeast. That’s it. Sometimes simple is exactly what you want. Why bother dressing it up? It is what it is. Beer.
Style: Pilsner
Vol: 330ml
ABV: 4.8%
A cheerful, upbeat little hazy. Brewed with plump, juicy NZ grown barley and oats and a choice selection of our favourite hops to produce a smooth, easy drinking beer, loaded with lush tropical fruit juice flavour and aroma. Delicious - pure and simple.
Inspired by the Flanders Red style, this special sour ale is brewed using a generous portion of dark malts, then aged for an extended period in a mixture of wine and whiskey barrels creating a rich red-brown beer with lifted notes of tart fruit, cherry, p
Brewed for Ale + Gravy 91 Aro, 2021 (part of WOAP). Epuni Street is a particularly iconic street in Aro Valley. It is, notably, the host of the annual Compost Parade. "Each year on the Sunday after the Equinox, the simple but beautiful cycle that creates
At The Bottle Shop, we select our craft beers based on their flavours. When we started our import and distribution service in 2012, craft beers were defined by the volume breweries produced annually. The definition of craft beer has changed over the past two decades, and the term has gotten murkier as smaller breweries are acquired by large beer companies. Craft beer in Hong Kong has come a long way. New world varieties were scarce, and most craft beers in Hong Kong were English bitters and Belgium sweet fruit beers. Nowadays, one can find beers from all over the world.
Our store focuses on award winning beers, both local craft beers, and those imported internationally.
Below are a few types of craft beer that are popular in Hong Kong:
Commercial beers certainly have their place in the market. At (rare) times we enjoy a commercial lager as much as the next person. But even within the selection of craft beer in Hong Kong, not all commercial ones are created equal. Some beers can be mistreated during its transportation and storage, and suffer from oxidation, UV light, over-heating, and the list goes on. Some beers have an overwhelming amount of esters that contribute to banana flavours, which isn't really pleasant.
Synonymous with craft beers are Pale Ale, and Indian Pale Ale (or IPA). From these two styles come variations, including Extra Pale Ale (XPA), American Pale Ale (APA), Imperial IPA (IIPA), Double IPA (DIPA), Double Dry-Hopped IPA (DDH IPA), Triple IPA (TIPA), Hazy Pale Ale, Hazy IPA, Milkshake IPA, Black IPA, and the list goes on. What sets them apart are mostly the malt bill (the level and character of sweetness), and the hop bill (the amount and variety of hops). Traditionally, craft beers have higher levels of bitterness because the more hops are in the beers, the more bitterness there is. Recent IPA trend is less bitterness and more hop fruitiness (think Sauvignon Blanc but in beers). Local craft beers in Hong Kong are also hoppy forward, with low bitterness.
Since The Bottle Shop began operation ten plus years ago, the number of local craft beer brands has gone from zero to close to twenty - all thanks to hop forward IPAs.
Sour beers have been one of the biggest trends in the craft beer Hong Kong movement, especially ones with very big fruit dominant milkshake style sours. Sour craft beers are much like sourdough bread, it's a re-conceptualisation of old techniques popularised by Belgium naturally fermented beers. Contemporary sour beers are deliberately spiked with lactobacillus to lower their pH.
The most popular styles of sour craft beers include Berliner Weisse, Gose, Flanders, Lambics, and Geuze. Many contemporary Gose or Berliner Weisse have loads of fruits added to them, along with other adjuncts like lactose or salt. Sour beers are great for summer sweltering weather for refreshment, but they're also amazing as companions to a meal, or even with vanilla ice-cream.
Dark beers include Porter, Stout, Brown Ale, and so on. Dark beers are dark because brewers add heavily roasted barley in the brew, imparting roasted barley notes, coffee notes, chocolate, and nutty flavours. Craft beers that are dark doesn't necessarily mean they're bitter. Contemporary dark beers can in fact be sweet. You may have heard of pastry stouts, mud-cake stouts? These craft beers can have weird and wonderful adjunct ingredients, with equally exotic names, like imperial Porter brewed with Toasted Coconut and Maple Syrup, or Blueberry Hazelnut Coffee Cheesecake Stout. I guess you can't say craft beer is boring!!
The craft beer Hong Kong scene has been a dynamic and ever-changing environment. From its anemic beginning, to now an international hub of choices and an incredible array of local craft beers and breweries. Let us know if you can't find a craft beer you're looking for.