Goose Island Brewhouse Almost Here!
We’ve got great news for Shanghai beer lovers: Goose Island is getting ready to open their hotly anticipated new brewhouse in Jing’an. The 1200 square meter bar and restaurant will have two floors, the first mainly as a beer hall with a lounge and the second floor as a sit down dining space. They’ll be fully up and running by mid-February, but are planning a number of soft opening events before then.
The Shikumen-style building will be among many in the newly-built Fengsheng li area, which is right beside the West Nanjing metro station. Fengsheng li will also be home to many other notable bars, restaurants and clothing stores, including the new Hard Rock Café.
If you’re into craft brews you’re in for a treat, they’ll have 40 taps, featuring 15+ beers: their 4 core brews and a variety of seasonal and specialty brews (all Goose Island of course). Specialty beers include their exquisitely crafted Barrel aged Bourbon County Stout and Sour Sisters.
The man at the beer helm is Fraser Kennedy, a New Zealand Brew master who spent 4 years at Dr. Beer before moving on to join the Goose Island Shanghai team. There’s plenty to be excited about aside from the beer. Spanish Chef Gabriel Rodriguez, who most recently helped launch RAW, has put together a special menu from their ‘ urban craft kitchen’ with a focus on homemade, including cold cuts, sauces and dry-aging their own beef. Foodies will be pleased to hear they’ll also have an imported Josper oven from Spain - one of only a handful in Asia.
Goose Island was founded in Chicago in 1988, and has been one of the most successful craft breweries in the US since then. That success has no doubt come from their intense focus on “quality, innovation and community.” This will be their first permanent space in China. They recently opened a Goose Island Brewhouse in Seoul, Korea s as well as Sao Paulo, Brazil. There aren’t any concrete plans for Asian expansion, but it’s a safe bet the Shanghai space will be the beginning of a long journey here.
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