Extremely Disappointed with Tsingtao Beer’s Augustiner

April was packed, so first things first — let me offer some overdue self-reflection, à la Hu Shi and company…

On May 2nd, I’d originally planned to address the reviewers’ feedback from my thesis pre-defense. Instead, I got up at six to use the bathroom, and by seven, my lower back was hurting so badly I could barely stand it. The pain dragged on until past eight — I was drenched in cold sweat and could barely breathe. I knew something was wrong, so I rushed to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital for a CT scan. Kidney stones, as I feared. I wasted no time hitting the pharmacy for two kilos of Desmodium (金钱草) and took it home to brew as tea…

The stone passed successfully on the third day. On the 12th, I asked a friend to do an ultrasound check, and it turned out there was still one lurking in the renal pelvis. So I decisively bought a case of Augustiner — Tsingtao Beer’s premium line — and began my weight-loss, stone-flushing journey.

Augustiner is Tsingtao Beer’s high-end brand, billed as German craftsmanship and a pillar of China’s industrial lager scene. The internet is full of people singing its praises. A 500ml can goes for at least ¥9.5 — for the same price, you could choose from any number of quasi-imported wheat beers. I’d never tried it before, but I was genuinely looking forward to it.

But the higher the expectations, the deeper the disappointment.

Pulling the tab felt great — yes, this is premium, very satisfying, plenty of carbonation. But the wheat aroma was noticeably thin. The alcohol note was strong, with a faint metallic taste. By this point I was already getting a bad feeling. I took a sip — the bitterness was smoother than Tsingtao Classic 10°, sure, but it was one hundred percent not worth the price. I flipped the can to check the ingredients, and sure enough: rice.

Asian breweries using rice adjuncts is old news. But you’re Augustiner — you’re the ¥10-a-can premium player — and you’re cutting corners with rice, and this much of it? That’s just rubbish.

Growing up in the land of Confucius and Mencius, we were raised around all kinds of alcohol. Before college, I’d tried only a handful of beers — from the early-days Antarctica, to Silver Wheat later on, to the indispensable summer kegs of draft beer. Over the years, I’ve probably consumed my body weight many times over. After moving to Beijing, I discovered that Yanjing’s standard lager was genuinely hard to swallow. Their fresh beer was decent but pricey. I found myself missing Shandong’s beer. In 2012, I had Harbin Wheat King for the first time and was utterly captivated by its beguiling aroma and smooth, subtly sweet finish. But the brand didn’t sustain that quality for long and eventually phoned it in — truly disappointing. In recent years, pure draft beers, craft brews, and all manner of imports have rapidly opened up the Chinese market. Now that people have tasted what good beer actually is, the fate of domestic industrial lager looks bleak indeed…

Actually, I noticed that Asahi also uses rice, yet its flavor is clearly superior to most domestic products. Is it because they use less? Or is there some difference in the brewing process?

I genuinely hope Tsingtao Beer takes a hard look in the mirror. I’m a nationalist at heart — I want domestic beer to surpass the competition from every other country. But for now, I’ll have to finish this case with tears in my eyes.

中文原文 / Chinese Original