The Estonian craft brewery, Põhjala, has opened a pop-up bar in Beijing, the capital of China, for the period of two months, selling ten different beers from barrels; the selection changes constantly.
Põhjala entered the world’s largest beer market in 2016 and the company is testing the market for further expansion plans, it said in a statement. China accounts for 27% of the global beer market.
The company says it is now “well-known among craft beer lovers in major cities”. The brewery’s co-founder and director of sales and marketing, Peeter Keek, said China was the third largest export market for the brewery.
“We have done very well in China so far; we send a container to China almost every second month. We are testing the market with a pop-up bar to see how and which beers are performing well and based on that knowledge we want to make further plans,” Keek said.
A record turnover in the opening night
“First feedback is encouraging and positive. According to our local partner, who’s operating several craft beer bars and our pop-up project, Põhjala has made a record turnover with its grand opening night.”
According to Enn Parel, a member of the board of the Estonian Small Brewers Association and co-founder of the Põhjala Brewery, it is a significant breakthrough for Estonian small brewers that there is a bar in the capital of China selling only Estonian craft beer.
The Põhjala Zhu Jing Ban pop-up bar is located in Dongcheng District, a popular entertainment area for locals and tourists alike. In addition to craft beers, the bar also serves food.
Cover: Põhjala’s pop-up bar in Beijing. Images by @duozzzzzzzy, courtesy of the Estonian Association of Small Brewers.
