Brewed with organic tea, hot spring rice and Chinese herbs: 3 Yilan shops launch limited-edition craft beers
Craft beer has become very popular in recent years, and opening a bottle to savor slowly on a scorching summer day is quite refreshing. Three shops in Yilan have teamed up to launch the "Lanyang Field Local Beer, Summer Terroir Beer Set," combining Dongshan organic tea, Jiaoxi hot spring red glutinous rice, Chinese herbs and craft beer
Craft beer has become very popular in recent years, and opening a bottle to savor slowly on a scorching summer day is quite refreshing. Three shops in Yilan have teamed up to launch the "Lanyang Field Local Beer, Summer Terroir Beer Set," combining Dongshan organic tea, Jiaoxi hot spring red glutinous rice, Chinese herbs and craft beer to release 5 Yilan-exclusive beers; one sip lets you taste the distinctive "sweetness" of Lanyang.
Hot spring areas in Japan use local agricultural products to brew "limited-edition beer," letting guests drink it after soaking in the springs. Liao Jijie, owner of "Congzao," opened a self-service private bathhouse in Jiaoxi more than 7 years ago, and recently succeeded in developing "Mulberry Time" craft beer, using Jiaoxi organic hot spring red glutinous rice and New Zealand hops cold-brewed to bring out peach and nut aromas; it drinks light and not bitter, making people feel relaxed and lazy.
Liao Jijie admits that organic rice costs more, but he hopes that by developing organic rice beer, more people will get to know Jiaoxi's organic farmers; in addition, the label incorporates imagery such as Guishan Island and Matcha Mountain, so that one look brings Yilan to mind.
After Chou Tung-yen, the fourth generation of Guangsheng Pharmacy, returned home to take over the family business, he wanted to develop products exclusive to Yilan. He blended two tea bags, "Zao An" and "Zao Mian," one to refresh and one to aid sleep; extending the tea bag flavors, with Yilan kumquat as the base, he made Zao An beer with osmanthus, red ginseng and longan smoke aroma, and Zao Mian beer with added reishi mushroom, dwarf lilyturf and chrysanthemum.
You Cheng-fu, owner of "Zhengfu Tea Garden," is also a returning young person, growing tea in Dongshan with the concept of "nature-friendly." Using Jinlan tea leaves and Egret black tea, he launched "Jinlan Organic Green Tea Beer" and "Egret Black Tea Wheat White Beer."
You Cheng-fu said that Jinlan leaves are green but show a "golden flame" pattern in the middle, and drinking it brings a hint of orchid and wild ginger flower fragrance; Yilan's characteristic is lots of rain, and the finish returns sweetness, "it will carry a bit of the sweetness of Yilan's rain."
Most breweries use lower-cost tea dust to brew beer, while You Cheng-fu uses organic tea leaves to brew beer, at more than 10 times the cost, but he likes to experiment, and if the industry can be built up, operators can also share methods and cooperate with one another, together shaping a Yilan brand.