New Peiping Machine at Gongti Doubles Up With 64 Taps
Try as it might, winter can’t freeze the beer industry (thankfully). Peiping Machine’s opening brought some warmth to beer lovers in Sanlitun. We have to admit that it was our second time here – after the soft opening with Stone Brewing's takeover on Nov 3.
Our first visit during the soft opening with Stone's takeover
If you are familiar with the one-year-old Peiping Machine Taphouse – with 32 taps of their own and imported beers on tap in Fangjia Hutong with a nice, long, white marble bar, and large wooden tables – you might struggle to notice any similarities it shares with the new location. First, it's located on the quieter side of Gongti, through the back alley of fancy bars like D-One and Tango, to the east side. When you reach the end of the alley, turn left (to the north) and keep on walking while maybe doubting your directions. When you can see the iron barrier of the Gongti complex, you look to your right side: There lies the new Peiping Machine, their name painted in simple red characters on the white wall.
The bar area
Walking inside, you'll find a cavernous warehouse space, a diagonally large bar with 32 drafts on each side (64 taps in total, double the original), a large kitchen on the right side, several small tables on the left side, and a large TV on the wall. The cooling room with kegs, regulators, and pipes underground link the kegs to the bar several meters away. During our visit, there were 39 drafts available – ten of their own (RMB 28-40), including our favorite 100 Flowers Hidden Deep IPA, along with a pilsner, dark lager, American pale ale, chocolate stout, dried orange peel session, and apple cider. There are domestic beers – osmanthus wheat and an IPA from Anhui Dream Brew, an IPA and hefeweizen from Nanjing Tangshan, a caramel porter from Moke, and an IPA and an ale from Laotao. As for the imports, there are three IPAs and a pale ale from Stone (RMB 60), two IPAs and the Red Trolley Ale from Karl Strauss (RMB 50), pale ale, brown ale, lager and witbier from Mornington (RMB 45), three IPAs and a pale ale from Drake’s, as well as the Stickee Monkee from Firestone (RMB 80) and Paradise Imperial Stout from Prairie (RMB 85), which are not on the cheap side.
We especially enjoyed the Stickee Monkee (12 percent ABV) and Paradise Imperial Stout, which are quite rare not just in China, but also in America. The former is a bourbon barrel-aged quadrupel with rich and complex flavors, brewed with turbinado brown sugar from Mexico and Belgian candi sugar providing a strong molasses flavor. The latter is an imperial stout aged in rum barrels and brewed with coconut and vanilla.
The cooling room and its keg system looks like a spaceship
Continuing the factory theme, Peiping Machine seems to push the rustic décor to the extreme, with large white pipes on the ceiling, whole walls covered with concrete, several large fans on the ceiling spinning non-stop, and the bright lights of the cooling room illuminating the system of kegs somehow reminding us of a spaceship. The noise from the air system combined with music by Maroon 5 gave the spacious and empty concrete taphouse an almost eerie vibe, though we're sure the crowds on Saturday nights will liven it up. But when we visited on a slow weekday, the experience was surreal, like drinking in a storage warehouse at an airport, or as though we were drinking in a hangar on Mars.
The large and empty kitchen
Currently, their food options are limited – simple bar fare like burgers and chips. During our visit, none of the food was available, but we did see the chef slowly cutting up onion, tomato, and vegetables, stir-frying a nice dinner for their staff. Even if Peiping Machine has the largest number of taps in Beijing (as we said, 64 taps, surpassing the former record-holder 40+ Taphouse with their 43 taps), but they only had 39 beers available, and the food menu and service need time to acclimate to the new space. We will come back to check on their progress as they hopefully bring out more choices with a local twist – just as they did with their jianbing at the Fangjia branch.
Peiping Machine Gongti
Daily 5pm-2am. 8 Gonti Xilu, Chaoyang District
北平机器工体店：朝阳区工人体育场西路8号
Photos: Tracy Wang
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