Sometimes you get to write nice things, but sometimes you have to write things that you wish you didn’t. After five wonderful years, Thursday, May 10th will be the last day that Great Leap Brewing #12 will open its doors to serve you all beer and food. The past couple years has seen Beijing change its attitude towards the food and beverage industry, and that has now reached Great Leap Brewing as well. The landlord at Ziming Mansion, where we have been located for the last five years, is adamant that there will no longer be tenants using this property for any and all food and beverage services. We’ve gone through rounds of discussions and potential compromises, but ultimately it was agreed upon that Great Leap Brewing will have to stop running our kitchen and find an alternative use for the space that does not include F&B. Because of this, Liu Fang and I have realized that one of China’s best bars and one of Beijing’s most successful locations has to change its function. We’ve done nothing wrong, this isn’t a punishment, it’s just the trend in Beijing right now. It’s not the end of the world, it just sucks. We can all agree on that. Well most of us can agree, if this news makes you happy, we hope you fill your time before you try and steal Christmas again.





Nevertheless, as everyone is well aware, one ending means opportunities for not just one, but many new beginnings. Many of you have already seen our announcement concerning our Tianjin Production Facility as well as the release of our Allied Series. That means while Great Leap Brewing #12 is closing, you will be able to enjoy Great Leap Brewing’s beer at more locations around Beijing – and greater China – than ever before. Also, please know that both our Great Leap Brewing Original #6 and Great Leap Brewing #45 Brewpub will continue operating 7 days a week, 365 days a year as always. Even more, if you’re worried about where you will get your burger fix during this time, Great Leap Brewing #45 will start serving our delicious burgers within the next couple of weeks.





On top of that, we are happy to use this opportunity also to announce that by early autumn, Great Leap Brewing will be opening up a new taproom restaurant in Lido. Unlike our current locations, this location will have an impressive 30 draft beer taps, providing you with the opportunity to drink more Great Leap Brewing beers in one location than ever before as well as beers from some of our closest friends in the craft world. We will provide more official information about this as the time gets closer, but just know that this has been in the works for a while and we are extremely excited to provide you with another great bar and restaurant at which to enjoy our beer and food.





However, Ziming Mansion will continue to be our corporate home as we convert the #12 space to a dual purpose cold storage distribution center and (after a brief period of renovation) one of the most innovative and progressive office spaces in all of craft beer (yea, we’re keeping the bar for ourselves. It’s been a long year. We need a drink.).





Finally, for those of you who are part of the Great Leap Brewing Collective at #12, please don’t despair. We have a plan with multiple options for you that we will send to your emails very shortly.







While it is certainly a sad day, it is also one of positives. This is not one step forward two steps back, but rather one step back and two steps forward. We are incredibly excited to see what the future holds for us at Great Leap Brewing, and hope we can continue to have the support we have had from all of you for the last almost 8 years of our existence.





Thank You,

Carl Setzer, Co-founder and Brewmaster









On these last three days of Great Leap Brewing #12's operations, we invite all friends to take as many photos as possible as you enjoy your last pints and burgers at our Ziming Mansion location. We also invite anyone with photos from the last five years to share them as well. Please send them along to contact@greatleapbrewing.com and we will create a big collage to celebrate the last five years of Great Leap Brewing at Ziming Mansion.