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Post by Raoul Duke on Jul 11, 2005 1:07:04 GMT 7
Just in time for the blazing, horrible Suzhou Summer: the little xiaomaibu (open-front neighborhood store) next to my apartment gate here in the Dong Gang (my neighborhood, not necessarily a reference to Con and Lager and I) has been selling what they call "fresh beer" ( xin1 xian1 jiu3 or xin1 pi2 jiu3) from kegs set out in front of the store. It's wonderful....great tasting! It also seems to pack a little more of a wallop than the usual somewhat underpowered bottled beers.... It's definitely a lager, meant to be served cold, not an ale. Crisp and clean rather than complex- but a damn fine lager at that. The kegs must be self-refrigerating, or the damn stuff comes in frozen, because it's always icy cold although the kegs show no sign of an electric cord and are not kept iced. The beer has a small bit of a haze to it- it's called a "chill haze" and comes from the presence of proteins in the beer. It basically means that the beer has not been microfiltered the way Western commercial lagers are, and it's actually a good thing. My homebrews used to do the same thing. It's sold by the pound (jin1). It's served, with classic Chinese practicality (not to mention elegance) in plastic bags. They pour the beer into the bags, weigh them, and charge you accordingly. The local going rate is 1 yuan per pound. 1.5 yuan's worth produces noticeable psychotropic effects. If you want they will insert a long plastic straw into the top of the bag and tie the bag tightly around it so the straw sticks out the top and you can drink it right from the bag. I figure that with a little engineering, you could rig up a mobile phone neck strap to hold the bag in such a way that the straw was always placed right next to your mouth, like the water tube in a space suit. If they do this in your neighborhood check it out. Potentially good stuff. Remind yourself: no disease-causing microbes have ever been known to survive in beer. Happy drinking!  |
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Post by George61 on Jul 11, 2005 1:40:15 GMT 7
Does it come in those square, green kegs. like ours?? All the little BBQ places and small restaurants get them in...Good and cheap, although I never go for the plastic bags. I always sit and drink the "steins".
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Post by acjade on Jul 11, 2005 1:52:51 GMT 7
Yes indeedie. The blessings on this earth are endless. The village has kegs. They appeared on the first day of summer. Ours are blue and white. Self frosting. The draught is served in steins but often the steins aren't really clean so you lose the head. But boy oh boy it's a tasty drop. And COLD. I've often thought I should buy a stein and store it in my freezer. Before going up to the village for a barb-b-cue at the 'Last Crusade' I'd pack it in a thermos and have the beer hawker pour me a long, cold frothy one. But then, what next? My own linen, tableware? Where would it stop? A student propelled rickshaw to get me and my dining ware on site.  ;D |
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woza17
SuperDuperBarfly! 
Posts: 2,203
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Post by woza17 on Jul 11, 2005 9:43:04 GMT 7
Gee Raoul have you ever thought of writing advertising copy. I really would love a beer now. I think I might ring someone and have lunch. That nice American lady that can nearly kee pup with me in the drinking deaprtment and she is so witty
I have indeed supped from the stein and it was good.
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gengrant
SuperBarfly!
Hao, Bu Hao?
Posts: 1,818
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Post by gengrant on Jul 11, 2005 10:44:47 GMT 7
Damn! I misread the thread...I thought Raoul said "Free" Beer. Here I am looking foolish again...  since I'm here, could you hook me up with a beer anyway?  |
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Post by Raoul Duke on Jul 11, 2005 10:48:49 GMT 7
GG, the beer's on the bar for ya.
Yes, I think we're talking about the same stuff...green squarish kegs. And very good.
And, uh, I used to write ad copy. Still do, sometimes.....
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Post by con's fly is open on Jul 11, 2005 11:06:25 GMT 7
Excuse me a moment...  Mmm, mm. Daxue beer ain't so great, especially at room temperature, but it'll do fine.  FREE BEER!Now that I have your attention, I'd like to suck you away from the legitimate job offers here in the classifieds, and try to suck you into an indoctrination meeting near the airport. Here we will spend some time brainwashing you into harrassing unsuspecting civilians with offers of an inferior product sold at an inflated price. We will teach you how to give a good presentation. Then you'll sell one unit to your parents, who are glad you finally got a job, and perhaps a second to some relatives, who will listen to your shpiel like the good sports they are, then end up succumbing to emotional blackmail and buying one , then resenting you for the rest of their lives. There is a small chance you will actually continue past this, discovering a flair for sales; we will have to give you a higher commission, which hurts our profit margin. You can make it up to us, though, by "educating" some new suckers we'll get with our next "job" ad. PARTY NAKED!Now that we've got your attention... |
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gengrant
SuperBarfly!
Hao, Bu Hao?
Posts: 1,818
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Post by gengrant on Jul 11, 2005 11:12:08 GMT 7
let me guess...an Aussie wind-up thingy!?!  |
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Post by Raoul Duke on Aug 7, 2005 19:42:22 GMT 7
Some visual aids for you! Fresh beer, in that inimitable Suzhou/Dong Gang style. Here, the nice lady is pouring Raoul a nice big cold one.  The Finished Product, complete with polymer-based drinking apparatus. It's Beer-O-Licious TM!  |
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LJ
Upstanding Citizen
One piston, 10,000 revs!
Posts: 63
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Post by LJ on Aug 7, 2005 20:04:22 GMT 7
We have the same here, I've seen three sizes of 'tongs'. You can buy a tong direct from the 'tong man' (wholesaler). Only 15 yuan for a four litre, or 25 yuan from the restaurants. If they know where you live they can deliver and collect the empties! The first half is usually great, but try to leave the last half litre as it's usually fairly foul, if you are sober enough to notice by then!  |
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Post by con's fly is open on Aug 7, 2005 20:14:49 GMT 7
Meanwhile, at my school, I'm drinking twice as much... and everyone else has quit altogether. I'll keep my eyes open for a Bag-o-Beer stand- tomorrow and Tuesday i've only got the one (albeit morning  ) class. 13 more working days... |
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Post by Mr Nobody on Aug 7, 2005 22:46:17 GMT 7
I have to find one of them thar things.
I found they don't have them here, they made a bunch of people sick due to the warmth. So I miss out. Hopefully, though, moving to Guangzhou. Got a couple of nice look-ins up around there.
Edited in later when I read what I wrote. Guangzhou? Sorry, that was a mistake, Guangzhou is a hellhole. I mean, Guangdong. Either Shenzhen, Nanhai or Dongguan. Guangdong. Only a complete idiot would go to Guangzhou, I reckon.
And only the right half of me is an idiot. (left half of the avatar)
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Post by con's fly is open on Aug 7, 2005 22:53:49 GMT 7
Oh, I want to call that woman who's pouring the beer Mama. Something about gals whose profession is to kindly and safely get you drunk
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Post by Raoul Duke on Aug 7, 2005 22:57:47 GMT 7
This lady is nice. My predilections for cigarettes, Pepsi Light, and fresh beer are sending her to Hawaii.
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gengrant
SuperBarfly!
Hao, Bu Hao?
Posts: 1,818
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Post by gengrant on Aug 8, 2005 0:29:18 GMT 7
all i can think of when i see that is 'catheter bag.'  guess i'll have to try one firsthand...9 more days...too long... Nobby, let me know if you wind up in Shenzhen...I can look you up once I arrive... |
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Post by Jollyjunklass on Aug 8, 2005 4:33:23 GMT 7
Hmm,
I betcha I could get a few of those up and running around the Uni campuses here, a little less convenient than the usual tap to mouth deal, but more time to breath.
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;D 
