The past several years feels like we're entering a sort of Cat Century - and yes, I mean the feline - cats are having a real moment, and as the saying goes art imitates life, which is really just a fancy way of saying that the world of drinks is certainly not immune to this affinity for cats. In fact, it's almost become a running joke that if a brewer or distiller wants to sell more beer or what have you, just put a cat on the label! And I'm certain this applies to likely any product you can imagine possible.

Now as to what resulted in this onset of cat worship, I really can't say I have that figured out - but what I will say, is that I'm certainly complicit to this phenomenon. And it's even well-established in my family that this is very much the case. 

Image Source: @Chinesewhiskers on Instagram)

And thus on one fine evening, as my mother was on her way by foot to a meeting, she had stumbled upon RichKat Brewing's taproom along Central, in Hong Kong - of course she felt compelled to ask me if I'd have her pick up a couple of cans of beer. No surprises what my answer was.

But of course, there's more than warms the heart with this utterly cute stylisation of a cat's facial features, I had heard that RichKat Brewing (猫员外精酿酒馆) was growing incredibly fast in Shenzhen, mainland China, and was now well on its way to establishing its footing in Hong Kong. This of course justified my interest in trying their beers, and as such I had my mother pick up a can of their popular Hazy IPA and their Chocolate Imperial Stout.

Before we get to the tasting, let's find out alittle more about RichKat Brewing - after all, clinching fastest growing craft beer brand in Shenzhen is no small feat!

As the story goes this all started with one former software developer by the name of Zhao Yong (赵勇), who whilst having been sent by his company to look into the expanding into the Shenzhen market, instead became enamoured with the idea of starting F&B concepts. Zhao Yong enjoyed the atmosphere that watering holes offered, and he too was a fan of beers, and thus he began setting about establishing several F&B concepts all around Shenzhen - this was in 1994. 

Zhao Yong.

Now, fast forward some 20-plus years and Zhao Yong was an F&B veteran by then, yet it was only in the late 2010's that craft beers began finding its way to Shenzhen, China's tech hub. And whilst Zhao Yong had loved the taste of craft beer, what he couldn't get behind was the prohibitive prices. Whilst local macro lagers would cost 20-30 yuan a pint (US$2.80-$4.20), craft beers had remained niche and something of a high end luxury that was priced at 70-80 yuan a pint (US$9.70-$11.10). Zhao Yong had thus began imagining the possibility of "democratising craft beers" and making it more accessible to the everyday consumer, whilst not compromising on quality.

This plan kicked into high gear when by fate Zhao Yong would meet the British-born Gavin Hemple, who really was just a regular customer at Zhao Yong's bar as far as Zhao Yong was concerned. Yet, when Zhao Yong had found that Gavin, who had first come to China to study traditional medicine, having had a background in food and hospitality, had been an avid homebrewer and have even clinched several competition prizes, it must have felt like a match made in heaven. On top of that, as it so happened, Gavin had just completed a brewing internship at Norway's Nøgne Ø craft brewery, and had even studied brewing and the business of brewing at the famous American home of craft brewing, the Siebel Institute of Technology.

Gavin Hemple.

And so the pair would come together in 2017 to create a Chinese craft beer brand that they would name RichKat, or Mao Yuanwai (貓員外) as it is known locally. Zhao Yong had felt that enjoying beer was a respite from the weariness of life, and had envisaged creating a taproom that would be a relaxing and comfortable third place for his customers. And so drawing upon his own cats whom he felt had always brought him to a good mood when he got home, he thus decided to call the brand as such. He would further combine it with the word Yuanwai (員外) which can be taken to mean "wealth" or "a wealthy gentleman", signalling a desire to wish prosperity upon his customers and an invitation for his customers to patronise the beer house of a respectable cat proprietor character. Nevertheless, over time the nickname Mr Mao Craft Beer House would take off and become what RichKat would be known to its customers.

Over the next half a decade, the combination of quality craft beers at affordable prices would prove to be a success, with RichKat expanding to over 100 locations in Shenzhen and then more recently having begun establishing itself in Hong Kong.

In the brewery, some of the things Gavin does to bring RichKat to the fore includes a strong emphasis on canning its beers fresh, as well as weaving in local flavours to the beers. RichKat's canned beers are deliberately kept unpasteurised so as to preserve the live yeast in the beer, which allows for the beer to keep its mellow and rich flavours even if the beer is enjoyed outside of the taproom. As for adapting to local palates, Gavin has brewed with everything from osmanthus and jasmine to cucumber, hawthorn and plum. And whilst the Chinese market - much as it is the case across Asia - still has an overt affinity for the more approachable wheat beer style, Gavin has steadily sought to push for more hop-forward beers, and hopes to over time introduce the likes of Saisons and Sours.

"I hope that one day, Mao Yuanwai will be made into a well-known beer brand, starting from Shenzhen, going to the whole country and the world." says Zhao Yong.

Let's go!

Beer Review: RichKat Brewing Star Boy 貓員外精釀啤酒 星仔（三倍乾投渾濁IPA)

Presumably named after the "Star Boy" by The Weeknd, the song was apparently playing everywhere, so much so that RichKat decided to name their most popular beer after the song! This is brewed with Citra, Idaho, Strata and El Dorado hops - quite the classic modern IPA ensemble.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Aroma: It opens really fresh, with all manners of orange concentrate and freshly squeezed orange juice. Splash in some pineapple as well, and don't hold back on the leaves too. It's got a leafy greenness to it, as well as being quite big on that citrus pith. It's fresh and with a good richness already on the nose.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, great richness! It's super plush and pillowy, just absolutely creamy in texture, really well-saturated and filled in with all these big fresh citruses, of orange juice, pomelos, grapefruits and pineapples. It's still got that pith, with just a slight grassiness.

Finish: That citrus pith carries all the way through into the finish, all the whilst backed with such richness and this lush, pillowing texture. It's really super creamy and almost milky into the finish. More on orange juice and grapefruits, with now some savouriness here, and a light dankness of that hoppy leafy quality and a touch of gasoline that lingers.

My Thoughts

Wow! I am absolutely blown away by this! This is a ridiculously amazing IPA! Just spectacular and completely perfected in execution - it's fresh, juicy, rich, and with the most ridiculously plush and pillowy body a beer lover could dream of! It's ridiculously rich and creamy, and yet well and fully saturated with those juicy citruses that come through in the form of freshly squeezed juices. It's vibrant and expressive, and just completely takes you away with how perfectly composed it is. The flavours are bold, yet not over the top, fruit-forward and yet you still get a sense of the sheer freshness of the hops with that leafy quality. It's got great pacing and structure, absolutely velvety all the way through, with just this absolute burst of flavour. 

This has got to be in the running for the best Hazy IPA in Asia. An absolute masterpiece - definite must try in Hong Kong or Shenzhen!

Beer Review: RichKat Brewing Chocolate Imperial Stout  貓員外精釀啤酒 侍郎(摩卡帝國世濤)

This is said to contain an immensely sizeable volume of malt that was used in the mash, and is a blend of domestic and imported malts. At some point during the brewing, vanilla cacao nibs and coffee beans from Yunnan were added to the beer.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Espresso Black

Aroma: Lots of roasty coffee scents come through, with all these well-defined and expressive earthiness of coffee grounds and roasted coffee beans, along with the typical bitterness that comes from roasting.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's definitely getting more chocolate-y, backed up by the same roasty coffee flavours. It's got a really rich and creamy body, with just a gentle coffee roast bitterness that's well balanced against the richness.

Finish: Those chocolatey and lightly bitter espresso flavours carry through to the finish, still maintaining that balance and richness.

My Thoughts

A pretty classic Stout that's got a really creamy and rich body and balances well the roasty bitterness with the chocolate-y richness. This was aromatic on the nose, really expressive and realistic, almost as if you were nosing bags of coffee at a coffee shop. Yet it is on the palate where the chocolate-y flavours really start to come through almost immediately, taking the fore here. This all carries through the finish really well.

A mighty fine classic expression of a Stout with good balance and body, and a more prominent emphasis on some chocolate flavours.