Shawn Kidd says there were more craft beer gatherings years ago when the scene in Taiwan was just getting started.
Now, the brewer and craft beer importer says that bigger players are entering the industry and carving up larger slices of the growing market.
“We need to bring the brewing community back together again,” he says.“We little guys are gonna get squeezed soon, so we have to stick together.”
Photo Courtesy of Green Flash brewery
Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health.
But micro-brewery solidarity is not the only reason Kidd put together Drink Eat Taipei, a craft beer and food festival that is being held for the first time this weekend in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area.
Kidd hopes the event will recreate the magic of the outdoor fall markets and Christmas festivals of Europe and North America, with a homely, family-friendly vibe that both expats and locals will connect with.
The event will not only feature an array of local and international beer and bites, but also handicrafts such as handmade jewelery, scarfs and custom-made home wares. A woodworker who specializes in antique furniture will also be doing an open live workshop.
DJs will spin classic swing numbers and a free dance class from Lindy Island Swing Studio (林迪愛倫搖擺工作室) will begin at 5pm. A tag-a-friend Facebook post is all that is needed to enter the draw for food and drink prizes with a total value of NT$170,000.
There are lots of new brews to look out for, Kidd says, including a new line up from local Redpoint Brewery as well as offerings from three San Diego breweries that are coming out to Taiwan for the first time — Green Flash, Belching Beaver and Alpine.
Kidd bets on two new peanut butter stouts from Belching Beaver and North Carolina’s Mother Earth brewery to be knock-out favorites, saying they’ve recently proved incredibly popular in both Thailand and South Korea.
A total of 21 breweries will participate, 16 international and five local.
“We hope to get more local breweries on board as craft brewing grows here in the future,” Kidd says.
If the event proves a success, Kidd says he hopes to hold it every three or four months, making it a seasonal fair.
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