Bar Review: Dr Beer

What: Microbrews made on site

Why: It’s just what the doctor ordered

How much: Draft beer RMB 48 – RMB 58, Kegs RMB 2,000

Where: 83 Fumin Lu, near Yan’an Lu. Tel: 5468 1077

If Dr Wine isn’t prescribing the right medicine to cure what ails you, there’s a new doc in town. Just a block north on Fumin Lu, Dr Beer is brewing drugs made out of hops and malted barley for Shanghai’s suds snobs.

The local brewery has transformed a space that previously held a Chinese club; what was once a late night haven with a vault door is now an airy bar with a transparent façade made out of its floor to ceiling windows. Shiny tanks brewing the good stuff on site dominate the industrial warehouse interior, a visible reminder of the numerous pints to come.

Unlike most beer bars, the open space is devoid of flat screens playing the latest match – there’s not even a pool table to rest your glass of frothy booze on. Instead, thumping music emanates from a lofted DJ booth, and the emphasis is on your ability to hold a conversation above the din. With his decidedly hip take on a brewery, the French owner of the bar is aiming for a new demographic: women. Barely soft-opened, the place is already becoming a neighbourhood hot spot with the fellows, but the fairer sex also seems to be taking to the cold brews and sleek design.

With barely a month in Shanghai under his belt, brewmaster Teddy hails from upstate New York where he started home brewing during college before working his way up the ladder of beer crafting with a stint at a local craft brewery. Right now, he’s got five beers on tap – wheat, pale ale, pilsner, IPA and dark ale – and a tasting paddle if you want to try them all. In the future, expect him to get a little funky with his flavours. The Chinese affinity for tea has already piqued his interest, and he’s working on ways to incorporate the leaves into the hops.