The history of beer in Hong Kong dates back to the mid-19th century. Currently the best selling beer is San Miguel, brewed by San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong. San Miguel had been brewed in Sham Tseng since 1948 and later moved to Yuen Long until 2007. The brewery was reopened in 2009.
Carlsberg was also brewed in Tai Po since the 1980s until recently. Blue Girl Beer, a brand owned by the Hong Kong-based trading and distribution company Jebsen & Co., is brewed in South Korea under supervision of Jebsen & Co.
Other notable brands include Tsingtao and Corona. Jolly Shandy is also fairly popular among women and youngsters.
International craft beer and microbrews have seen a rise in popularity since 2010, with specialty and premium beer from countries such as Belgium, the UK, Australia, the US and Japan being more widely available.[1] This has led to the formation of the Craft Beer Association of Hong Kong, made up of distributors, consumers, retailers, bars & restaurants.
'Hong Kong Beer Co' was started in 1995, though it was originally known as South China Brewing Company. It is the oldest existing local craft brewery. Typhoon Brewery was in business from 2009 to 2014[2] on Lantau Island. Due to changes in alcohol licensing legislation implemented in the year 2000,[3] brewing beer at home using small scale equipment and ingredients, commonly referred to as "home brewing", is now permissible in Hong Kong within limits.
| Brewery Name | Chinese Name | Established | Closed | Brewery Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Kite Brewery | 黑鳶 | 2015 | [4] | ||
| Carbon Brews | - | 2018 | |||
| City Brew | 城釀 | 2014 | |||
| Deadman Brewery | - | ||||
| Fat Rooster Brewing | 肥雞啤酒 | 2014 | 2016 | ||
| 鬼佬啤酒 | 2015 | ||||
| Heroes Beer Co. | 人一世物一世點都要做一次啤酒英雄有限公司 | 2016 | |||
| HK Brewcraft | - | 2013 | |||
| Hong Kong Beer Co. | 香港啤酒有限公司 | 1995 | Formerly the South China Brewing Company.[5] | ||
| Hong Kong Whistle | 吹啤啤 | 2016 | |||
| Kowloon Bay Brewery | 九龍灣釀酒廠 | 2015 | [6] | ||
| Kung Fu Lager | 功夫啤酒 | 2020 | [7] | ||
| Lion Rock Brewery | 獅子山啤 | 2015 | |||
| - | 2000 | 2020 | Local brewery for Fremantle-based Little World Beverages (a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Nathan)[8] [9] | ||
| Lucky Dawgs | 幸運狗 | 2016 | 2019 | ||
| Mak's Beer | 麥氏釀酒 | 2014 | |||
| Meow Beer | 貓啤 | 2015 | |||
| Moonzen Brewery | 門神啤酒 | 2014 | [10] | ||
| Nine Dragons Brewery | 九龍啤酒 | 2013 | |||
| 生力啤 | 1948 | Facility closed in 2007, re-open in 2009 | |||
| The Artist Brewery | - | 2015 | Made in Belgium | ||
| Typhoon Brewery | 颱風酒廠 | 2009 | 2014 | The first brewery in Hong Kong to make English-style cask ale.[11] | |
| Yardley Brothers | - | 2014 | [12] | ||
| Young Master Ales | 少爺麥啤 | 2013 | [13] | ||