Slow Boat inspires beer-brewing craftsman to go with the flow

Brian Li in his fashion brand T-shirt called Fat Chicken. [Photo by Dong Fangyu / China Daily]

The three are now building a larger brewery in Shunyi, in the northeastern suburbs of Beijing, that will give them much greater output.

I sampled the three beers they make: Foreplay Pale Ale (40 yuan), which has a fruity and floral nectar with a little note of sweetness, Whirling Wild Horse American Pale Ale (40 yuan), which is sweeter, with notes of tropical fruits and a 6.3 percent ABV (alcohol by volume), and finally Naked India Pale Ale (48 yuan), which is stronger, with 9 percent ABV and proper bitterness, and a longer aftertaste, releasing the stronger bouquet of the US and Australian hops. Now the team is experimenting with a new beer with cherry flower, and a beer brewed with Sichuan peppercorn.

As for the food, Li says the fare that brewing pubs in Beijing usually offer, such as sausages, hamburgers and pizza, are not for him. Instead, the snacks at Flow are more of a Japanese style, which includes yakitori (char-grilled chicken skewers), grilled shrimp, and grilled pork with miso sauce, vegetable sticks.

"Chinese people love chuan'r (shish kebabs) with beer. But there is a bit of suspicion regarding food safety with these roadside barbeques, so people avoid chuan'r. So why not make them a little more delicate?

"My goal is to make good beer and to be an interesting guy."

Another of Li's spare-time activities - he works full-time as a product operation manager for Baidu - is running an internet radio station called Sanhao Radio with his four friends, which has been running for three years and which has more than 100,000 followers, he says.

The five co-hosts have also started a fashion brand called Fat Chicken on Taobao, selling T-shirts, bags, and purses.

"That chicken represents us. We are fat, with our nine-to-five jobs. But in our spare time, we love to express our opinions and we all love to gab."

If you go

Flow Brew

Daily: 5 pm-midnight

Jiaodaokou Beiertiao, near 175 Yonghegong Dajie, Dongcheng district

186-1825-0946