Beer In Situ: Kaiba

The Pertinents

• Kaiba Beer Pub
• 479 Wuding Rd, Jing’an, Shanghai, China (closest station is Changping Road on Line 7). Two other locations available. 
• Founded in 2008

  

Their Self-Description

“We are motivated by the fact that 1.3 billion people have been missing access to a selection of great beers and more importantly, a focus on Belgian Beer, the best beers in the world.” –kaibabeerbar.com

The Space

It’s big, brown, and warm inside with a long bar and shining, hanging glasses for all the different styles. This is a prerequisite for the Belgian bar, and one that is often overlooked in Shanghai’s haste to add as many highbrow beer bars as possible in a short time. The attention to detail is striking, with touches of the US craft beer scene in the chalkboards and little nudges in the direction of Brussells all about, like modeling dolls tucked into cabinets. The only nod to Chinese sensibilities is the plastic ‘money kitty’ facing the door.

The staff are knowledgeable and cheered when I did a happy dance for Libertine by Brewdog, an old favourite of mine from my days at Brewdog Camden.The only negative thing was an expat having a fight with his date, who starting swearing at her and calling her names in the bar around midnight the second time we visited. We called him out, and when she left we clapped.

The Beer

There are 20 taps running at any time, flowing with Belgian deliciousness. There are the typical ones like Chimay and Duvel, but also less typical beers to find in Shanghai. A few weeks ago they had a tap takeover from Boulevard Brewing in Kansas, and that was what I drank a lot of when we visited. Prices are reasonable, especially for those of us who tend to be afternoon (read: Happy Hour) drinkers.

The Munchies

We samples some frites and calamari from the kitchen, and both were well-fried and salty. We’ve yet to try the lunch specials, but they looked tasty.

Russell’s One-Line Review

Later. He’s napping and reading and can’t think of one right now.