Region & History

How did German beer come to Qingdao? Through the colony of Kiautschou. In November 1897 the German navy occupied the bay, and in March 1898 the German Empire forced China into a 99-year lease. The city, then spelled Tsingtau, was developed into a port and naval base.

The colonial administration laid out separate quarters for Europeans and Chinese, built roads, water pipes, and sewers, and brought in craftsmen and merchants. All of this happened on leased land that China had not handed over willingly. So anyone admiring the red roofs of the old town today is also looking at a piece of colonial history.

On August 15, 1903, the Germania Brewery was founded, backed by the Anglo-German Brewery Co., a German-English joint-stock company based in Hong Kong. It was meant chiefly to supply European settlers and sailors, brewing a German-style lager in the Pilsner tradition. According to the brewery, the first brew came off the line in December 1904, and in 1906 it won a gold medal at an exhibition in Munich.

With the colony's end in 1914, the German brewery's story also came to a close. Japan besieged the city and took it in November, and in 1916 the Dai Nippon Brewery of Tokyo bought the plant for 500,000 silver dollars. Ownership changed hands several times afterward, and after 1949 the operation was taken into state control.

Today the company is called Tsingtao Brewery Co. and is listed on the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Its largest shareholder, holding around 33 percent, is the Tsingtao Brewery Group. Asahi of Japan sold its 20 percent stake in 2017, with 18 percent going to the Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which later reduced its holding. There's no protected designation of origin here: Tsingtao is a brand, not a registered geographical indication.