by Sandy Hugill | Dec 10, 2017 | anhui, beer, china, hefei, house, lazy, leisure
My recent visit to Hefei, China was for purposes other than touring breweries, but I still managed to visit one local brewpub. Many thanks to my hosts in Hefei for giving me the opportunity to meet the team at LazyLeisure Beer House (懒马舍), something I would not have been able to do on my own.
 |
| The drink menu and my flight (Bright, IPA, Dark, Wheat) |
My first experience with LazyLeisure Beer House (LBH) brews was two days before my brewery visit. I was at a party with my fellow traveling companions. Five of us from Columbus, Ohio, USA went to Hefei, China as part of a sister city marathon exchange. The night before the marathon, our host Echo invited us to meet with runners and English club members from the city. Echo’s friend Francesca had learned that one of the party attendees (me) was a craft beer fan, and she brought two different LBH beers to the party. The evening included some party games, discussion of cultural differences and holidays in China and the US, and the making of homemade dumplings and moon cakes. And for me and a few others, tasting the LBH beer: Dark Beer and Wheat Beer. I learned that Francesca worked for a brewing equipment company with a business connection to the brewpub. I hoped I’d be able to visit before leaving town.
 |
| Francesca and me at the party |
 |
| The beer Francesca brought to the party; it was all I could do to sit patiently until it was time to taste them |
The next day, our group from Columbus ran the Hefei International Marathon or Half Marathon with our new Chinese friends Echo and Bernard. It was a great day, and the subject of another blog post, linked here. The day after the marathon, my group of five split up to pursue individual activities in Hefei. Echo, Bernard and Francesca arranged for me to visit LBH.
Shortly before lunchtime, Bernard dropped me off at LazyLeisure Beer House, where I met Francesca. The brewpub wasn’t open yet but Woody, the manager, was expecting us and made me feel very welcome.
 |
| The outside of the brewpub |
 |
| Having met up with Francesca, I was excited to go inside |
The interior of LazyLeizure is cozy and inviting. It’s a place where you would want to stay for a while enjoying beer and good company.
 |
| The bar |
 |
| The copper tanks are quite attractive |
 |
| There’s a stage, so LBH can have live performances |
 |
| You can see the fermentation tanks from the dining room |
I sat with Woody and Francesca for a while. Woody encouraged
me to try a sample of all four LBH beers. And in the spirit of a true cultural exchange, I shared with her photos of the various tasting flight boards I’ve come across at breweries in the US. I think it gave her ideas.
While I looked through the
beautiful menu, Francesca was excited to speak with me about the beer. She mentioned that it is still rare for Chinese women to take much of an interest in craft
beer. She was happy to have a compatriot. As I sampled my way through the beers, Woody broadcasted our
conversation live on a social media app of some sort. I was a bit of a star,
apparently. I learned several things in our conversation.
The LazyLeisure logo is a horse, which represents a worker.
He is lazy because he has already put in his workday and is now relaxing with a
good beer. Each beer is paired with a different version of the horse, which was seen in
the menu. The Chinese characters for the brewpub (
懒马舍) represent the words for lazy,
horse and house. Without knowing any Chinese writing, I could see that the
second character was a horse and the third character was a house.
 |
| A tutorial on the brewing process |
 |
| Mr. Ding at work canning beer |
The craft beer movement is still recent in China and LBH has
been open for almost two years. Master Han, the brewmaster, worked in larger,
commercial breweries since 1992, and has a lot of experience. The four LBH beer
recipes are his own. Master Han is assisted in the brewery by Mr. Ding.
After sampling all four beers, Francesca and I sat down to a
lunch of veggie pizza and a green vegetable (maybe Chinese broccoli?) in soy
sauce. Woody offered me a full glass of my favorite. I chose the Wheat, which
was smooth and refreshing and reminded me more of an American wheat
beer, versus a German or Belgian version.
 |
| Veggie pizza and the Wheat beer |
 |
| Tasty Chinese broccoli (I think) |
 |
| The menu page for Wheat Beer, and the corresponding horse |
My second favorite was the Dark
Beer, which I liken to a brown ale, though LBH called it a stout. I also found the Bright Beer to be very drinkable,
and while LBH called it a lager, I’m not sure that it was; it seemed more like
a light ale of some sort. Finally, there was the IPA. The beer was good, but
didn’t meet my expectations for an English or an American IPA. It was light on
the hops (only 30-35 IBU), and I wondered if that is because the Chinese palate
is not accustomed to overly-bitter, hoppy beers. After all, most of the commercial
beers available in China are light lagers. I would drink the LBH IPA, but it
wouldn’t be my go-to if I wanted a traditional IPA.
 |
| Menu page for Dark Beer |
 |
| Menu page for Bright Beer |
 |
| Menu page for IPA |
Patrons from traditional beer drinking countries will find
the beers at LazyLeisure Beer House to be a little different than what they are
used to. The beers are examples of Chinese-created craft beer, versus the many
American or European-owned craft breweries in larger Chinese cities. These beers are so much more enjoyable to drink than the mass-produced lagers you typically
find in China. I like seeing a small place like this do its own thing. Master
Han is creating beers that must be very different from what he brewed during
his many years in commercial breweries. It’s exciting to see this happening in
a second-tier city like Hefei (which is still a large metropolitan area of
nearly 8 million people).
 |
| With the LazyLeisure team: Master Han, salesman, me, Francesca, Woody |
 |
| My generous gift from LazyLeisure, which made it safely home to the US for sharing |
Before I left LBH, I was gifted with a case of four 1-liter
cans of beer: two each of Dark Beer and Bright Beer. I felt like a celebrity
and a very special guest, but I’ve come to learn that this is typical of
Chinese hospitality. I wish Master Han, Woody, Mr. Ding and the entire team at
LBH the best of success as they continue to evolve their business. If I ever find
myself back in Hefei, I’ll make a return visit for sure.
LazyLeisure Beer House is open daily from 11:00 AM to 1:00 AM. It is
family friendly and has a menu I’ll characterize as Chinese pub fare, with a
mix of pizzas and traditional Chinese dishes. I was unable to find a website. The WeChat ID is LLBEERH (WeChat is a popular Chinese social media app, and there is an English version).
by Sandy Hugill | Nov 2, 2017 | barrel, brewery, columbus, house, ohio, pretentious, sour, usa
Dear Friends – welcome to the first review of The Brewery Log. I hope you’ll enjoy learning about the breweries I encounter during my travels. Without further ado –
I’ve been tasting my way around Columbus, Ohio breweries since moving to town this year. I’ve been to every brewery with an open taproom at least once, and I’m subscribed to several social media sites or mailing lists to learn about all things beer. So it came as a surprise when I found out, quite accidentally, that there was a new brewery in town. Pretentious Barrel House opened on October 14, 2017 in an unassuming neighborhood on the East side of Columbus. I made a point to get out there the very day I learned of its existence.
Pretentious Barrel House, run by owner and brewer Josh Martinez, specializes in sour beers. While I enjoy all beer styles, I do have a soft spot for sours. I arrived shortly before closing on a Sunday evening and the crowd had left for the night. Lucky for me, I had my own one-on-one tasting and conversation with Josh. I learned that he chose to focus on sours because they offer the most room for creativity in the beer world, not having strict style constraints like most other beers. The actual brewing process is done off-site at
Four String Brewing’s Hague Avenue facility, but the fermentation and the magic occur in the barrel house.
The Beer
The week’s festivities had tapped out some of the grand opening brews, so what was left for me to try were four versions of Truculent, one of the Pretentious signature sour ales. My first pour was the classic Truculent, described as “a subtle sour that pours a hazy golden color…bouquet is reminiscent of mango, banana, and pear” (via Untappd). I liked it immediately. The second and third Truculent varieties were dry-hopped with Citra hops and Centennial hops, respectively, and the fourth was infused with ginger and lime. All were smooth and drinkable, but I preferred the two hopped varieties.
 |
| Truculent ale |
 |
| Initial draft list – there’s more now! |
 |
Exterior, with garage door to the taproom halfway open
|
The Taproom
While the “Pretentious” moniker doesn’t exactly describe Josh or his brews, it might apply more to the taproom décor. This was not a casually thrown-together taproom like I’ve seen at many breweries that focus on the beer at the expense of the atmosphere in which it’s enjoyed. Pretentious Barrel House excels at ambiance. It has a simple but thoughtfully designed interior with a picture window looking into the back room containing the fermentation tanks and barrels. During nice weather, the oversized garage door can be opened to let in fresh air while creating a larger open space and providing easy access to the wooden picnic tables outside. But the focus is really on the wall opposite the bar. Here, you’ll find a triptych mural, each panel a unique design by a different local artist (Monster Steve, Dr. Selrz and Katchup). The three works complement each other brilliantly. The colorful artwork carries over to the brewery’s truck, which was parked out front on my visit.
 |
The bar, which looks into the barrel room
|
 |
| Mural panels by Monster Steve and Dr. Selerz |
 |
| Mural panel by Katchup (via Pretentious Barrel House on Facebook) |
Josh, a chemist by trade, has been brewing since before he could legally drink his creations. Like many, he started as a home brewer. He honed his beer palate in and around the many breweries in San Diego, and then worked for a brewery in Lexington, Kentucky. After settling in Columbus with his wife, a resident at the Ohio State University Medical Center, Josh decided to launch his own venture. I was impressed by how put-together everything was for being open just over a week. Attention went into every detail, down to the tulip glassware and the Pretentious stickers. And science geeks might notice that the Pretentious logo is a molecule of lactic acid, which is a key component in brewing sour beers.
 |
| Fermentation in progress
|
 |
| Pretentious apparel for sale (so are the signature tulip glasses) |
The Return Trip
I enjoyed my first visit to Pretentious Barrel House so much that I went back less than a week later. This time, it was on a Thursday after work. The happy hour crowd started out light, but patrons trickled in throughout the evening, and everyone seemed to enjoy the sour brews. There was a fifth Truculent on tap, this one dry-hopped with Azacca and Idaho 7 hops, and it was good. Before the evening got busy, I had the chance to meet the rest of the core team. Luis Gutierrez is a partner and runs the taproom. Jullian Gonçalves manages the back office. They’ve all been putting in long hours to make things just right, and it shows. There’s even talk about expanding the space, already!
 |
| Looking toward the front of the building, the happy hour crowd |
 |
| Luis trains new bartender Nacole |
Pretentious Barrel House is definitely catering to a distinctive brewery clientele with its exclusive offering of sour beers. The brewery will appeal to the hipster crowd as well as to classic beer geeks like myself. I plan to return again as Josh adds more beers to his lineup (a sour red ale awaits me). Even if you’re not sure about sour beer, I say give it a try. There is variety among just the Truculent series, and there’s possibly something for everyone (unless all you drink are dark, malty beers). You’ll also find Truculent on tap at select local bars and restaurants, but for the best experience, go to the source.
Visit
Currently, Pretentious Barrel House is open four days a week: Thursday 4-9 PM, Friday 4-10 PM, Saturday 1-10 PM and Sunday 1-8 PM. You’ll find food trucks most nights (Zone 5 BBQ is a favorite); just follow the brewery on Instagram and Facebook for the lineup. Check out Pretentious at pretentiousbarrelhouse.com. And tell Josh, Luis and Jullian I said hi.
