Something new: the beer necessities

So popular has craft beer become in the US, that even President Barack Obama has his own brew: White House Honey Ale. Inevitably, the phenomenon has spread and Chris Wong - a Hongkonger who began brewing at home when he lived in San Francisco - last month opened HK Brewcraft, this city's first store dedicated to craft beer and homebrewing, in Tin Hau.

Besides selling a wide selection of beers from the US and elsewhere, the shop offers a range of homebrewing equipment and ingredients, as well as workshops for beginners.

Wong's motivation was that he had found it difficult to source ingredients here, a frustration he discovered he shared with other beer lovers in the city.

"Homebrewing is actually not easy in Hong Kong given the climate and available resources," he says. "We opened the store [to provide] a platform for homebrewers to keep up with their passion.

"There can be so much more to beer than just drinking it over a sports game or beer pong [a drinking game, not the way some of us smell the day after sinking a few pints]. Craft beer emphasises quality, taste and aroma, which opens the door for better appreciation."

HK Brewcraft's workshops include introductions to different styles of beer and to homebrewing methods. Students can take batches home and are encouraged to get started on their own - however daringly they please.

"Brewing beer is very much like cooking," says Wong. "At first you follow the recipe step by step. Eventually you start to be more adventurous and creative, adding a pinch of chestnut or lemon drops to create your own taste. We can't promise that we carry everything, but we do promise to help our fellow homebrewers to find it."

Who knows? Maybe you'll never buy another HK$90 pint in Central again.

HK Brewcraft is at 8/F, 88 Hing Fat Street, Tin Hau. For more information, visit hkbrewcraft.com or e-mail [email protected].