With bottles of beer now available from all over the world, we're spoilt for choice. Any day now, China will overtake America as the world's biggest producer of beer. Rising living standards are leading to greater consumption and soon the 1,300 breweries in the US will pale into insignificance as China surges into the lead.
Chinese breweries are so busy feeding the internal market that few of their products are exported.
The only regular beer to appear in Britain is China's oldest and biggest brand, Tsingtao. The Tsingtao brewing company has around 20 plants throughout the country and has enjoyed considerable investment from Anheuser-Busch. Its main product has a malty aroma and more character than most beers in the Far East. Guinness is popular in China, where the colour black signifies quality. The Anglo-Irish giant brews a version of its ubiquitous Foreign Extra Stout there.