In another sign of Hong Kong’s blossoming love affair with craft beer, Carlsberg has just announced the results of a new collaboration with New York’s popular Brooklyn Brewery. The range, named HK Yau – the character yau <<友>> means ‘friendship’ and is used here to reference the collaboration between passionate peeps that produced the brews – includes three new beers that use local flavours and recipes with a North American influence.
New Kong is a wheat beer in a Belgian Witbier style, made from Chinese wheat and barley malt, lightly aromatised with coriander and chénpí (dried orange and tangerine peel). The Times Square lager (we’re not sure if that’s a reference to Causeway Bay or NYC) has citrus-like notes and supposedly pairs well with Chinese cuisine. Lastly, The Underground pale ale uses American and New Zealand hop varieties to produce a citrusy and tropical aroma.
Starting next month HK Yau will be available at seven locations throughout the city, some with special pairing menus – Liberty Exchange, Cordis Hotel, Fat Pig, The Pawn, Stormies (LKF and Elements branches) and Pickled Pelican all confirmed so far.
If you can’t wait until then, head over to The Garage Bar in Mong Kok on June 27 for a launch event preview. There, you can tuck into both Western and Asian fare and get to know more about HK Yau through a brew or two.