Quality quaff: A craft brewer finds success

Minhang-based craft beer Dream Brewing is a story of inheritance and innovation, and for its founder Shen Kai, the spirit runs in the family.

Shen is a descendant of Shen Liangheng, who started the Shen Yonghe Winery, the largest and oldest Shaoxing winemaker, dating back to 1892.

One of the earliest Google employees in China, Shen quit his job and plunged into the craft beer business in 2016. Specialty beers, a popular subculture in the West, were relatively new to the Chinese market at the time. It was a novel and exciting new chapter in China’s long beermaking tradition.

Unlike industrial beer with the predictable taste of mass production, craft beer is purely fermented from malt and turned into ales and lagers. It can feature taste twists by the integration of different ingredients, such as fruit or flowers. It is normally produced on a small, localized scale.

Shen’s challenge was not only in production but also in promotion of craft beer. He started with the app Jiuhuar — which has collected 300,000 users so far — to give the public some knowledge about how craft beer is made and even explain how to make beer at home or in local bars.

Exploring the niche market

The platform also offered access to imported craft beers in 2017.

Shen believed that craft beer could be produced on a bigger scale. The company now produces about 1,200 tons of beer a year, with annual sales hitting 20 million yuan (US$2.84 million).

With the app running successfully and investment flowing in, Shen purchased a small brewery in the Anhui Province city of Suzhou.

The Dream Brewing brand boasts high-quality beer from the fine raw ingredients used. Recipes are developed with support from experts at home and abroad. The beer is packaged in both cans and bottles.

Each year, the brewery produces 40-60 kinds of new products. For example, there is an osmanthus flavor giving beer a seasonal taste.

The company’s lab has installed the latest brewing techniques, which it keeps refining and adapting.

Shen has taken his beer to international competitions.

At the 2017 Brussels Beer Challenge, Dream Brewing’s two entries — Old Driver IPA and 100 Million Pale Ale — won silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The company’s beer is served in Shanghai’s restaurants and sold in convenience store chain C-Store and online supermarket Fresh Hema.

Home beverage

Shen has taken his dream a step further. He has expanded into taverns called Jiuhuar Station and a restaurant in the city.

“People can visit Jiuhuar Station taverns, where they have multiple choices of craft beer, including imported ones and our own products,” Shen said. “Apart from the fresh tastes, we also have kept prices in check by shortening the supply chain.”

The taverns have proven to be the most effective way to keep customers. So far, 60 percent of clientele are regulars.

Currently there are three of the taverns in the city, which are popular with expats. “They mingle and meet with friends there,” Shen said. “It feels like home because craft beer is a home beverage for them.”

Locals, too, are drawn to the craft beer trend.

“Chinese people, especially Shanghainese, are always ready to try new things, and even in slower economic times, people always have a thirst for beer.”

Shen said he plans to increase the number of taverns to 20 such stations by the end of next year. To keep customers happy, the taverns also provide a varied menu of snacks.

Shen said the company’s goal is to reach sales of 100 million yuan next year, and Dream Brewing is already half way there.

He called the company’s decision to base itself in Minhang an enlightened choice. Dream Brewing has enjoyed favorable policies from the district since it’s located in the Xinzhuang Wisdom Park.

The gathering of companies in the area has made production easier. For example, juice infused into craft beers

For startups, now it is the best time of all times.

Shen Kai

Founder of Shanghai Craft Beer Infotech Co Ltd

is made in the Xinzhuang Industrial Zone.

The future of the craft beer market relies largely on the younger generation as main consumers. Despite rising competition, Shen remains confident.

“For startups, now it is the best time of all times,” he said.