Tsingtao Brewery

Tsingtao Brewery (zh-stp|t=青島啤酒廠|s=青岛啤酒厂|p=Qīngdǎo píjiǔchǎng) (hkex|168 SSE|600600,OTCBB|TSGTY) is China's largest brewery. Founded in 1903 by German settlers, it claims about 12%Fact|date=May 2007 of domestic market share. The beer is produced in Qingdao in Shandong province (and more recently in other breweries owned by the company as well), but the name of the beer uses the old École française d'Extrême-Orient transliteration. The beer's present-day logo displays an image of Zhan Qiao, a famous pier on Qingdao's southern shore.

History

The brewery was founded in 1903 as a German-British brewing company to produce German style beer in China, producing beer mainly for Germans and other Westerners in China.

In 1915, the brewery was taken over from the German management and until 1945 was under Japanese management, who had confiscated the German share and bought the British share after World War I.

After the defeat of Japan in World War II the Qingdao Brewery was turned into a Chinese brewery under the supervision of the Nationalist government in Nanjing. However, this period of ownership only lasted until 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded and the company became a state-owned enterprise.

The company was privatized in the early '90s and in 1993 merged with three other breweries in Qingdao and was finally renamed Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited. Today 27% of the company is owned by Anheuser-Busch. The company now owns several other breweries in China, some of which also produce Tsingtao Beer.

Beer styles

"Tsingtao Beer", a well-hopped standard pilsner of 4.7% alcohol, is the flagship brew, accounting for most of the brewery's production. An unpasteurised version is sold as "Tsingtao Draft Beer". Tsingtao Beer was long advertised as being "brewed with mineral water from the Laoshan Spring", which contributed to its characteristic flavour; however, this now applies only to beer produced in Qingdao, not to that produced in the company's other breweries. Originally, Tsingtao Beer was brewed in accordance with the German "Reinheitsgebot" ('Purity Law') of 1516, therefore the only ingredients that were used were water, barley, and hops. After privatization however, the recipe was changed, so that today Tsingtao beer, like many other beers made in China, contains a proportion of the less-expensive rice as an adjunct in the mash.

The brewery also produces a number of other beers, mostly for the local market. Those sometimes encountered outside China include "Tsingtao Dark Beer" (5.2% alcohol), and more rarely "Tsingtao Spirulina Green Beer", also sold as "Tsingtao Green Beer", a 4.5% alcohol green-coloured pilsner containing spirulina as an additive, and claimed to promote good health. (Note: alcohol content of export versions may vary slightly.)

Export orientation

The beer market in China was very underdeveloped until into the '80s and the brewery was forced to concentrate on overseas markets. However, while concentrating on international markets, the brewery also attempted to sell its beer on the domestic market and competed with other domestic brands as well as foreign brands.

The main export company for the brewery was the "Good Harvest of Five Grains Corporation" based in Hong Kong. The Good Harvest of Five Grains Corporation also tried to market the beer in Hong Kong itself and later built a wholesale network consisting of up to 300 companies.

Tsingtao Beer was introduced to the United States in 1972, and soon became the top-selling Chinese beer in the U.S. market; it has maintained this leadership within the United States ever since, despite increasing competition from other well known Chinese beer brands, Zhujiang Beer and Yanjing. Distribution in the UK and Ireland is handled by Halewood International Ltd as of 2008. The Tsingtao brand is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 50% of China’s beer exports.

National Marketing

Before the 1949 takeover by the new PRC government, the brewery had been using imported raw material and water from the Laoshan mountain. Due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the resulting embargo of the People's Republic by the West, the brewery was forced to use domestic products and the government encouraged the peasants in Shandong to harvest the necessary raw materials (mainly hops and barley) themselves. The government used various incentives to achieve this goal, e.g. free seeds.

The brewery had previously used nationalistic marketing strategies, and after the switchover to production using only domestic material this nationalist and patriotic marketing effort was increased. However, the brewery still mentioned its international roots.

International Beer Festival

The brewery first applied for permission for a Qingdao International Beer Festival in 1991 and received approval and great support from the Qingdao municipal administration, even to the extent that the city became the main sponsor. The first festival was opened on June 23rd, 1991, and has been held annually ever since. The festival was named "International" Beer Festival" to attract foreigners as well as Chinese, although the main purpose of the festival was to make the brand more popular for domestic consumers.

Quality debacle

Tsingtao Beer suffered a quality debacle in the late-1990's, a subsequent investigation revealed that the beer had become a victim of Chinese pollution: the barley grown in China was so heavily polluted by pesticides, chemical fertilizers and other industrial chemical wastes that it was no longer qualified for use. As a result, all barley used for Tsingtao Beer is currently imported from France, Canada and Australia. Hops used are grown in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

ee also

*List of Chinese companies
*Harbin Beer
*Yanjing Beer
*Zhujiang Beer
*Taiwan Beer

References

cite journal
last = Yang
first = Zhiguo
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
year = 2007
month = April
title = This Beer Tastes Really Good': Nationalism, Consumer Culture and Development of the Beer Industry in Qingdao, 1903-1993
journal = The Chinese Historical Review
volume = 14
issue = 1
pages = 29–58
laysummary =
laysource =
laydate =
quote =

External links

* [http://www.tsingtaobeer.com/ Tsingtao Beer web site for US]
* [http://www.tsingtao.com.cn/ Tsingdao Brewery main website]