They Have PBR in China?!?

So this is something that happened a while ago in our time in China, but it's still relevant so I'm gonna speak about it now.

Since we've been splitting our time eating between the local school cafeterias, take out and restaurants, both western and Chinese, we've also been sampling the local brews, which are more numerous than I expected.  (For the record, everyone on this trip for Purdue is of the legal drinking age of 21, although to our knowledge China doesn't have a drinking age.)

The most common and China's most famous beer is Tsing Tao, and by our estimation it's comparable with the major beers back in the States.  It's in every restaurant and, more importantly, it's inexpensive.

We've also found Budweiser in large quantities, and it appears to be the largest American brand to be found in China, and the cheapest, as most imported liquors are significantly marked up in price.  Carlsberg is the next largest imported beer, at least by our estimation.

The greatest surprise for myself was on our first visit to the local supermarket.  For reference, they do have a Wal-Mart several subway stops down, but for most needs we get our supplies from the local store here on the Communication University of China campus.

I turned the corner to the drink aisle, and while perusing the different offerings on the shelves, I found the last item I would ever think to find in a Chinese superstore:  Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.  I mean, there are some places in the U.S. that you can't find PBR, and here we are a world away and a day ahead, and they have a sizable quantity of the stuff.  Most people look down on PBR, as it is a cheap beer, but myself, I think that blue ribbon means something special.  Yes, I'm joking here, but I do like the stuff.

So for those who care for such knowledge, Chinese beer is actually quite good, and while we think that the ingredients might vary from western varieties a bit, the essential taste isn't too affected.  Wine is a more drastic change in taste, but not so much that your forget you're drinking wine.

Our time off will continue for several more days, and with it the somewhat non-important wall posts.  So stay with me, hopefully something exciting will happen soon.