Chinese change tastes to embrace imported premium beers

When Jin Xin first started selling imported premium beer a decade ago, his bar manager predicted that it would take a month or two just to sell a single case. But within a few years business picked up, and soon customers started frequenting the bar for its India pale ales and other European beers.

金鑫十年前刚开始销售进口优质啤酒的时候，他的酒吧经理预计或许一、两个月才能卖出一箱。但过了几年，酒吧生意就兴旺了起来，顾客很快开始在这里流连，饮用印度淡啤酒和其他欧洲啤酒。

Now, one of Mr. Jin's bars, NBeerPub, tucked away in a laid-back part of Beijing's old town, buzzes with young Chinese customers ordering imports like Delirium Tremens, Lindemans Framboise and Brewdog Punk IPA. Mr. Jin even sold a bottle of Brewmeister Snake Venom, a high-alcohol barleywine-style beer from Scotland, for about 2,700 renminbi, or more than $420.

金鑫的一个酒吧牛啤堂坐落在北京老城区里的一块休闲之处，现在有很多中国年轻人光顾这里，饮用Delirium Tremens、Lindemans Framboise和Brewdog Punk IPA之类的进口啤酒。金鑫甚至把苏格兰酿造的高度数麦芽啤酒Brewmeister Snake Venom卖到了大约2700元人民币一瓶。

"Slowly, Chinese people have more money in their pocket," Mr. Jin, 43, said in his apartment, where over 6,000 bottles from more than 60 countries filled the shelves. "After they have money, some want something better in terms of taste as well as lifestyle, especially young people."

"慢慢的，中国人口袋里钱多了，"43岁的金鑫在他的公寓里说，酒架上摆放着6000多瓶来自世界60多个国家的酒。"有了钱之后，有的人就向往更好的口味，更好生活方式，尤其是年轻人。"

As tastes rapidly change, Chinese consumers are swapping mass-produced local beers for imports and local craft beers.

中国消费者的口味迅速变化，他们正在从大规模生产的本地啤酒转向国内外的精酿啤酒。

It is the type of opportunity that is at the heart of Anheuser-Busch InBev's $106 billion deal to buy SABMiller, its rival global brewer. While major markets in Europe and the United States have been sluggish, developing markets like China offer a growing customer base and the potential for a stronger profit.

百威英博斥资1060亿美元收购对手南非米勒啤酒公司，就是看准了这样的机遇。虽然在欧美主要市场一直低迷，但像中国这样的发展中市场为他们提供了不断扩大的顾客群和较强的盈利潜力。

The Chinese middle class is swelling with young, affluent professionals who are more willing to spend money on brands and who are experienced travelers looking for a taste of other countries back home. And in China, most beer is still considered affordable. So sales have held up relatively well even as wine, the Chinese spirit baijiu and other more expensive liquors have been hit by the country's anticorruption crackdown and the slowing economy.

中国中产阶级的规模正在蓬勃壮大，年轻富裕的专业人士更愿意把钱花在品牌上，经验丰富的旅行者回到国内后也想追寻其他国家的滋味。而在中国，人们仍然认为大多数啤酒的价格很亲民。因此，虽然像葡萄酒、白酒和其他比较昂贵的酒类受到了中国反腐行动和经济放缓的冲击，但啤酒的销售形势相对较好。

"It's an escape route from maturity in the West," said Spiros Malandrakis, a senior analyst of alcoholic drinks at the research firm Euromonitor International, referring to the established markets of the United States and Europe.

"这是逃离西方成熟市场的一条出路，"酒精饮料研究机构欧睿国际的高级分析师斯皮罗斯·马兰拉基思说，他指的是美国和欧洲的成熟市场。

In China, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller are betting on premium products.

在中国，百威英博和南非米勒把赌注押在了高端产品上。

The two beer behemoths were among the first international entrants into China in the 1990s and initially teamed with local brewers. At the time, domestic breweries produced beer of inconsistent quality, but they were quickly multiplying, and consumption was soaring along with disposable incomes.

这两家啤酒巨头都属于1990年代进入中国，与本地酿酒商合作的第一批跨国公司。当时，中国国内的酿酒厂生产的啤酒质量很不稳定，但产量很快就成倍增长，销量也随着民众可支配收入的提高而飙升。

SABMiller took a 49 percent stake in a joint venture that makes Snow, which is now China's best-selling beer brand. Anheuser-Busch InBev has since bought Harbin and Sedrin, two other top domestic brands. Together, the international brewers account for about one-third of the overall beer market in China.

雪花啤酒是目前中国销量最大的啤酒品牌，南非米勒持有这家合资公司49%的股份。百威英博后来收购了中国的另外两个顶级品牌哈尔滨啤酒和雪津啤酒。整体来说，国际酿酒商占据了中国啤酒市场的大约三分之一。

The focus follows the shift in the market in recent years.

对于中国的关注源于近几年市场的变化。

Imports have swiftly grown to 1.4 billion renminbi in 2013, or around $220 million, from 335 million renminbi in 2009. But the total volume of beer sales in China has dipped of late. Homegrown craft beers are gaining favor. Beijing is home to about half a dozen microbreweries, and others have popped up in cities across China.

啤酒进口额从2009年的3.35亿元人民币迅速增长至2013年的14亿元，但啤酒在中国的总体销售量最近有所下降。本土精酿啤酒正受到人们的青睐。北京本地有大约六家小型精酿啤酒商，中国其他城市也纷纷涌现出这样的啤酒商。

At the Jing-A Brewing Taproom in Beijing, the owners, transplants from Connecticut and Toronto, serve American-inspired beers with local flair, including Worker's Pale Ale, Airpocalypse Double IPA and Mandarin Wheat.

北京的京A啤酒酿造作坊的老板来自美国康涅狄格州和加拿大多伦多，他们将美国风味与本地特色结合起来，供应工人淡色啤酒、空气大爆表双IPA和京城特白小麦啤酒。

Ji Chen, a banker, developed a taste for fine beer as a student in Belgium. When he returned to China, Mr. Chen, now 28, started buying imported beer at the supermarket and hanging out at brew pubs.

现年28岁的纪晨在银行工作，他在比利时留学的时候喜欢上了精酿啤酒。回到中国后，纪晨开始购买超市的进口啤酒，流连于精酿啤酒酒吧。

"I don't think it's expensive," he said, sipping the Flying Fist IPA at Jing-A. "If you go out to drink at a bar, you would have to spend this much for any drink you get. And craft beers here are of good quality."

"我觉得不贵，"纪晨在京A酒吧抿了一口飞拳IPA说。"你去任何一家酒吧，买什么酒都得花这些钱。这里的精酿啤酒质量非常好。"

The high-end varieties can fatten a company's bottom line.

高端产品可以提升企业的利润。

"All of this premiumization and trading up is the biggest revenue driver of our industry," Jean Jereissati, Anheuser-Busch InBev's China president, said at an investor seminar in September. "And it is very relevant for our company."

"这种产品高端化和消费升级是我们行业最大的营收动力，"百威英博中国区总裁让·热雷萨蒂去年9月参加投资者研讨会时说。"这与我们公司密切相关。"

Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller are digging deep into their cooler of longtime brands in the hope of attracting more discerning customers. In part, they are promoting the provenance of their brands.

百威英博和南非米勒都在深挖公司旗下历史悠久的品牌，希望吸引更多目光挑剔的顾客。它们的部分策略是宣传品牌的起源。

When Budweiser Supreme was introduced, the company projected a video detailing the recipe's origins and ingredients onto a giant bottle in various Chinese cities. Against a striking soundtrack, the company described how the beer had the "rich aroma of wheat malt flavor and aristocratic bearing."

在中国多座城市推广百威金樽啤酒时，该公司把一段视频映在了巨大的瓶子上，视频详细讲述了配方的起源和原料的选择。伴随着令人扣人心弦的音乐，该公司介绍道，这款啤酒"有香浓麦味，贵族的气质"。

Lifestyle, too, is major selling point.

生活方式也是一个重要的卖点。

Other advertisements featured Budweiser Supreme being poured in a restaurant by a waiter wearing white gloves. In the summer, women in their 20s, wearing dresses with Corona or Budweiser logos and sometimes long white boots, were often seen milling around the bars and chatting with customers in the upscale Sanlitun area of Beijing.

其他广告展示了戴着白手套的服务员在餐厅为客人倒百威金樽啤酒的场景。夏天的时候，经常会在消费水平较高的北京三里屯看到一些20多岁的女性，身穿印有科罗娜或百威商标的裙子，有时还穿着白色长靴，穿梭于各个酒吧与顾客聊天。

"They put a lot of money into the marketing, the heritage — all those things make consumers pay more for it," said Jonny Forsyth, a global drinks analyst at Mintel, a research firm. "That's what's been missing in China. Younger people are more receptive to it."

"他们花了很多钱营销，宣传品牌传承，促使顾客花更多钱消费，"市场调研机构明特尔全球饮品行业分析师容尼·福赛思说。"这是中国缺乏的东西，年轻人更容易接受。"

The message is getting through to consumers, who are increasingly willing to pay for beer.

这种理念已在消费者当中传开，他们愈发愿意为啤酒花钱。

At Heaven Supermarket, a store and bar with a backpacker vibe, Chen Jing, 30, browsed through the imported beer with her boyfriend, both of them clutching beers that cost about 50 renminbi each, or nearly $8. A bottle of Snow from the grocery store next door cost just 1.9 renminbi, or about 30 cents.

在有着背包客气质的酒铺兼酒吧天堂超市，30岁的陈晶和男朋友在浏览各种进口啤酒，两人都拿了每瓶价格大约50元的啤酒。而隔壁小卖部的雪花啤酒每瓶才卖1.9元。

Most of the bottles going through the checkout at Heaven are overseas varieties like Hoegaarden, Corona and Budweiser, selling for 15 renminbi. And the store, across the road from a Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealership, is not short of people perusing more expensive beers, which can cost up to 100 renminbi, or about $15.

天堂超市销量最高的品类是福佳、科罗娜和百威等进口啤酒，每瓶售价15元人民币。这家位于劳斯莱斯和宾利专卖店对面的商店并不缺少购买昂贵啤酒的顾客，这些啤酒的价格会高达100元人民币一瓶。

Ms. Chen started drinking foreign beer after vacationing around China and Southeast Asia. She has taken such a liking to the beer culture that she is planning a holiday in Belgium.

陈晶在中国及东南亚旅行之后便开始喝外国啤酒了。她深爱啤酒文化，正在计划去比利时度假。

"I would rather be spending money on few quality beers than buying lots of cheap beers and feeling full and headachy," she said. "It's more about the lifestyle I choose than simply drinking."

"我宁愿花钱买几瓶好酒，也不愿意买一堆便宜货，喝完了感觉很胀，还头疼，"她说。"这不只是喝酒的问题，更多的是我选择的生活方式。"