Draught at Kaiwei Beer House, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Near black, small head. Full roasty coffee flavour, but a bit tart around the edges. Mid sweet with mediuk body and soft mouthfeel. Nice concentrated flavours of mud cake and tar. Fairly low bitterness. Except for the tartness this has huge potential. It took me forever to get the waitress to understand that I wanted the Black Beer. It’s difficult to imagine a more friendly and attentive staff, but the level of English spoken is somewhat limited...

on tap-pours a tan, thick, creamy head that retains well. Black color. Aroma is malty. Taste is coffee, malty, OK carbonation. Not my taste but well done.

2010, Cafe Brussel, Wuhan. Dark brown with a finger of foam. Rich aroma is full of chocolate, toffee and dark fruit. These characteristics carry through the palate with the accent on the toffee and those subtle fruits. Though it gets a little thin at the end, this is a nuanced, complex dark lager. 8-4-7-4-15 = 3.8

2010, Shenzhen. Dark brown, hazy. Nutty aroma with light chocolate notes. Soft body. Beer showing maybe a little funk. Still soft in the finish, with chocolatey notes and light fruitiness. 6-4-6-3-12 = 3.1

2004 rating, flagship pub in Hankou. Chestnut brown, with thick head. Nutty, chocolatey aroma. Compex palate, though a little astringent. Tobacco, chocolate, coffee and nuts. 5-4-7-3-14 = 3.3