A Supreme Champion Ale of Cornwall as voted by CAMRA*, and the South West's Favourite cask beer**, Tribute is a popular favourite across Cornwall, the South West and the rest of the UK. It is brewed using specially grown Cornish Gold Malt and is a perfect
Warming, Malty and Fruity. Pale and amber malts contribute to a mouth filling and satisfying 'Horlicks' and biscuity maltiness. Challenger and First Gold give a base note of herbal hop and Fuggle as a late hop contributes the main fragrant fruity and flor
A FINELY BALANCED BEER WITH A DISTINCTIVE RICH MALTY TASTE AND FRUITY AROMA, OLD SPECKLED HEN HAS ATTRACTED MANY FANS, INCLUDING THE FOX, WHO IS ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR HIS HEN.
First brewed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory in A
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
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
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
Trappist Westvleteren 8 brewed by Abdij Sint-Sixtus is a dark beer with an Alcohol ntent of 8,00%. Red-brown colour, clear. Sweet, fruit aroma with a touch of melon.
Style:Belgian Strong Ale
Vol: 330ml
ABV: 8%
Trappist Westvleteren 12 brewed by Abdij Sint-Sixtus is a quadrupel beer with an alcohol content of 10,20%. Red-brown colour, clear. Full, creamy aroma. Rich, caramel-like and malt flavour palette.
Bitterness: Medium
Style: Quadrupel
Vol:330ml
ABV:1
Testmalle Tripel is a clear, golden yellow Trappist beer that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle (9,5% alcohol). It is a complex beer with a fruity aroma and a nice nuanced hop scent. It is soft and creamy in the mouth, with a bitter touch c
A hazy yellow-colored ale with high carbonation, herbal and spicy aromas and tastes, and perceptible, somewhat quinine-like bitterness. Brewed in the Saison style from Kent Goldings, Styrian Goldings hops and Pilsner malt.Originally titled "Saison Vielle
A hazy yellow-colored ale with high carbonation, herbal and spicy aromas and tastes, and perceptible, somewhat quinine-like bitterness. Brewed in the Saison style from Kent Goldings, Styrian Goldings hops and Pilsner malt.Originally titled "Saison Vielle
The aroma is more caramel maltiness, as well as some spice and dried fruit. Taste is complex, malt followed by something floral or fruity, a hint of the hops and then a lovely malt/alcohol finish. Incredibly drinkable for a 9% beer.
Style: Belgian Ston
A very difficult beer to stock, even for us. The smell is similar to the 8, though you’ll pobably notice some alcohol too, and a bit more dried fruit. The taste is a parade: malts, dried fruit, some berries, banana, chocolate, with a clear alcohol presenc
Once stored, the beer will continue to ferment slowly in maturiing cellars for three to five weeks at a constant temperature of 15°C. The temperature at which the beer will be enjoyed will depend on this re-fermentation temperature.
The skittle-shaped
LA CHOUFFE is an unfiltered blonde beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg. It is pleasantly fruity, spiced with coriander, and with a light hop taste.
Style: Belgian Blonde
Bitterness: Low
Vol: 330ml
ABV: 8%
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%
A Classic Strong Pale Ale, Landlord has won more awards nationally than any other beer: This includes four times as Champion at the Brewers' International Exhibition and four times as CAMRA’s beer of the year.
Refreshingly reliable, nationally renowne
Old Peculier is possibly one of the country’s most well-known and loved ales. This unique, beautiful brew is often imitated but never matched and is sold literally all over the world. With countless awards to its credit, it is something of which every Bri
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.
We were inspired to brew this style of beer by the European village breweries whose ales were brewed and delivered fresh to be enjoyed in the pubs of the surrounding local area. Draught Ale is brewed to be served fresh in the many great watering holes jus
Hāpi, the Maori word for hop, inspires this truly Pacific pale ale. Brewed with New Zealand barley and the best of the Kiwi hop harvest, Motueka, Wai-iti, Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin. Assertively Hoppy - exceptionally drinkable.
Sessionble in strength, brig
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.