



Decor-wise the place feels like a slightly shabbier (albeit newer) version of Dr Beer and is catering for a similarly local crowd with dance-pop blaring, plenty of tables and live sports on a number of screens throughout the space. At the bar itself, there are five ales on offer, all brewed in-house. The prices undercut the expat-run likes of The BREW beside Century Park, the former French Concession’s Shanghai Brewery and Jingan’s Dr Beer with the cheapest, a pilsner, at only 35RMB/500ml.





But sadly, upon sipping it becomes clear that it’s a case of getting what you pay for. All of the five beers, including Dunkel lager (40RMB/500ml), Hefeweizen (40RMB/500ml) and Amberweizen (45RMB/500ml) suffer from a drastic lack of taste and punch to the point of blandness. For the Dunkel lager it’s to the point of strangeness, too: coloured an almost opaque mud-brown it looks like it should blow your ears off in terms of taste, but it’s a shrug of a drink that makes you consider going for an on-tap Hoegaarden or Stella instead.





The food, sadly, won’t prove a greater draw if our sausage, sauerkraut and mashed potato platter (70RMB) is anything to judge by, mainly as it didn’t actually feature any mashed potato.





Shanghai Beer Factory’s poor delivery is a shame; a locally-run microbrewery in a good location with drinks significantly cheaper than its pricy rivals is, on paper, the perfect addition to the city. But relatively reasonable prices count for little without at least drinkable brews on the end of them and for the moment there’s little to justify a trip here. Brewing is an evolving process, though – we’ll be back to see if things improve should SBF make it past the summer.

















Found on the edge of Shanghai Indoor Stadium, at first glance Shanghai Beer Factory seems to have enough positive elements to get beer hounds’ tongues moist, even if said ale-seekers are increasingly spoilt for choice by the ever-blooming microbrew scene here.

By Jamie Fullerton