Taipei
Taihu Brewing Family
Taihu Brewing is a local craft beer brewer that operates several craft beer bars around Taipei. The following 5 locations are all part of the Taihu "Tiger" family. Four of them are craft beer bars serving their own beers and a variety of other craft beer, mostly from the West Coast of the United States, particularly, California. Unfortunately for U.S. travelers, the non Taihu beers are available throughout the U.S. and easily found elsewhere around the world. But the uniqueness of each of the bars and the quality of the Taihu beer make them a very pleasurable beer adventure. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly as are the other patrons. Taihu Brewing Lab, which serves as their experimental arm of the brewery, is open to the public for tours and purchasing beer to drink on-site during Saturday afternoons. While Taihu Brewing has a central website, the locations and operating hours are not on the website. You will need to hunt around to find out the latest hours. I hope this will be changed soon.
Chuo Yin Shi (啜飲室)
UPDATE: May 15, 2017 This location is temporarily closed as they prepare to move to a new location. CYS is one of the best craft beer bars in Taipei. Boasting 20 taps and about 60-70 bottles of some of the best craft beer around the world. Lots of room inside, but most of it is standing only. There are no chairs in front of the very long bar nor are there chairs at the very large bar tables. For some reason, the name of this bar is not located anywhere on the outside. Apparently, this is by design of the owner. Thus, it is mostly visited by Taiwanese locals. I've been here multiple times and not noticed many foreigners. This place is a must visit, if you are looking for a good variety of international craft beer in Taiwan. Location: No. 14, Alley 5, Lane 107, Section 1, Fuxing S Rd, Da’an District Nearest Metro: Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, Line 5 (Blue) Updated May '17 |
No Name on Front (by design)
Bar and Taps
Chuo Yin Shin
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Taihu Brewing Lab
A new entry into the brewery and craft beer scene which opened in May 2016. They are only open on Saturday afternoons for brewery tours and beer-drinking. Not realizing this, I went on a weekday afternoon my first time here and was very fortunate because the master brewer, Winnie, met me at the door and allowed me to enter and drink some beer. I was able to engage in a very interesting conversation about craft beer in Taiwan and local breweries. I found the beer to be very pleasant and of better tasting quality than the larger Taiwan breweries. I believe they will make a good name for themselves in Taiwan. On my next trip, I went on Saturday and had an absolutely enjoyable time. The bartenders are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and we engaged in a lengthy beer conversation. The brewing lab serves as the experimental arm of the brewery which means you can get some special beers here that are not available anywhere else. They also provide some production capacity and a canning line. The brewery has a small culture lab for creating their own yeast strains. Location: No 201 Nanyang Street, ZiZhi District Nearest Metro: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station, Lines 1 (Brown) and 5 (Blue), tricky 2.5 Km walk. It's best to take a taxi here. Updated May '17
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Taihu Brewing
Brewing System
Canning Line
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啜飲室 Landmark
CYS Landmark is located in the Landmark Building in central Taipei. It's near a lot of tourist areas, like Taipei 101 and Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. This bar has no indoor seating, only outdoor seating which makes it challenging during poor weather. But the day I went, it was raining and I still enjoyed it. The bar is tucked inside the building but completely open to the outside. You can stand at the bar or opposite the bar along a short railing. Otherwise, all the rest of the seating is outdoors. This is all located along a nice pedestrian walkway between buildings which helps to minimize traffic noise. Large heaters help keep it warm during cooler weather. There are 15 taps serving the Taihu Brewing beer and US craft beer, mostly from California. the only non-California beer was from Founders. They have a bottle collection of about 50 beers, again from the US. Included in the bottles was a nice collection of 12 sour beers from Cascade and The Bruery. Light food is available (charcuterie plate). Staff was friendly and knowledgeable about craft beer. They have a small canning machine for .5 liter cans so you can get your favorite draft beer to-to. Location: No. 68, Section 5, Zhongxiao E Rd Nearest Metro: Taipei City Hall Station, Line 5 (Blue) Updated May '17 |
Pedestrian Walkway
Landmark Bar
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Driftwood
Driftwood is the 5th "Tiger" of the Taihu Brewing family. It only opened a few days before I went the first time, so they were still in their soft opening period which meant not everything they will be offering was available. It is located on the main floor of the Hotel PaPa Whale. As the name implies, the bar them is beach and driftwood themed. All of the tables and bar are made from large pieces of driftwood. Some of the tables have grass roofs over them and there is a part of the seating area designed similar to a pier It is a very unique decor for Taiwan. The serving bar is located along the street sidewalk and opens up to the sidewalk so that you can also order from outside. They own part of the sidewalk so I believe there may be tables outside eventually. Similar to CYS, most of the bar is standing room at the tables. There is very limited seating available. One of the indoor tables has a nice gas fire pit in the middle. There are 24 taps serving a handful of their own beer and U.S. craft beer, mostly from California. Wine will also be available. They will have a limited food menu available soon. It is located in close proximity to Mikkeller Bar, but the opposite direction from Beiman Station. Location: No. 46, Kunming Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108 Nearest Metro: Equidistant from Beiman and Ximen Stations, Line 3 (Green) Updated May '17 |
Bar and Grass-Roofed Standing Tables
Pier-Style Seating Area
Driftwood Inside Hotel PaPa Whale
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Airstream
Airstream is essentially a pop-up beer station located across from Taipei 101 in an area called Commune. Commune is a parking lot with about 15 pop-up style eating places. It is a renovated and retrofitted Airstream trailer and similar to the other Taihu bars, there are 18 taps serving a combination of Taihu beer and US domestic craft beer (mostly California). You can order your beer here, then walk over to one of the other stations and get your food. Everything must be consumed within the commune and the downside is that the beer is served in plastic cups, not ideal for maximizing flavor. It's about a 10-minute walk from Airstream to CYS Landmark. Location: No. 3, Songshou Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City Nearest Metro: Taipei 101 Station, Line 2 (Red) Updated Feb '17 |
Airstream Beer Station
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