Micro-Brewed Beer in China

Posted by Mary Luz Mejia Jul 8, 2008

On my recent adventure in China, our group met up with Kelley Lee, a former Angelino who one fine day decided that her corporate gig just wasn't feeding her soul. So off went Kelley to Paris to study at the Cordon Bleu before deciding to relocate to the land of her ancestors, China. The girl's got an adventurous spirit and an entrepreneurial one too- plus it doesn't hurt that she speaks fluent Mandarin (makes doing business in China a WHOLE lot easier!).

It was in Shanghai that Kelley met Texan born and bred award-winning Brew Master Gary Heyne (he won the 1996 GABF Gold in Denver, Colorado for his Midland's Mild beer) and together, they created the Boxing Cat Brewery, named after the late great feline named Louie- more later on the legendary boxing cat himself.

The savvy duo have located themselves in the heart of expat central- a suburb of Shanghai called Minhang where Americans, Brits, Aussies, Canadians and everyone else under the English-speaking proverbial sun gathers for some of Kelley's dressed up "Modern American Comfort Food" as she calls it. There, you can have some of the best deep fried cornmeal crusted okra or sliders that are just about worth the flight to Shanghai. For expats looking for a flavour of home, or if as my husband Mario would say, you're experiencing "chopstick fatigue," then the Boxing Cat is an oasis of sorts.

Catch my upcoming interview with Kelley and Gary as they pull up a chair and pour a pint about their brewery and how the micro-brewed beer trend is starting to catch on in China. Oh and we'll unravel the mystery behind boxing cat Louie.