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Text|Dongsheng. While fresh beer was still bubbling into oval barrels, China was home to the first batch of beer workers.
In the blink of an eye, in November 1904, the first heavy snow of early winter fell on Jiaozhou Bay. As the roar of the motor streaked across the silent snow, the first barrel of beer was finally produced by the Germanic Brewery AG Qingdao Company.
The Qingdao branch of Germanbeer JSC also advertised its opening in advance: the beer company, which was established with the most modern equipment according to the latest experience, will be opened in October of this year. Pilsner-flavoured pale beers, Munich-flavoured beers made from the finest German hops and maltose, according to the Deutsche Beer Brewing Law, without any additives.
With a designed annual production capacity of 2,000 tons, the brewery is based on the ancient German tradition of brewing beer and producing pale and dark beers. The raw materials for brewing beer, except for Qingdao Laoshan spring water, which is sent to Berlin and tested for high-quality brewing water, are strictly from Germany.
At that time, when modern industry was still unfamiliar, the production of beer, which was compared to "horse urine" by the Chinese people, was beyond the imagination of cloth clothes and cheongsam.
Initially, the Germans were responsible for the business management and brewing of the brewery, but the rest of the jobs were farmers or fishermen hired from the vicinity of Qingdao. While fresh beer was still bubbling into oval barrels, China was home to the first batch of beer workers.
As ordinary workers became familiar with the beer production process, two years later, Tsingtao produced 1,300 tons of beer, which at that time was an astonishing output, even in some breweries in Germany. This year, Tsingtao Beer also won a gold medal at the Munich Fair. This is the first international award won by a beer produced in China in the history of Chinese beer.
The news spread, and boxes of beer produced in Qingdao were sent to the wharf and station in the reminder notice of the ** merchant, and went north and south, and entered the foreign companies in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, becoming the hot and sought-after goods of concessions and foreigners in big cities. Even the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was far away in the Qing Palace in Beijing, tasted the beer brewed locally in China, and also said a few "good" words in a row.
For a time, beer also made Qingdao a holiday paradise for Europeans. In the summer, they come to Qingdao's beaches from other Chinese cities to sip fresh pilsner or Munich-style beers. In 1906 alone, Qingdao had at least 10 hotels and restaurants used to receive tourists. At that time, in addition to draught beer in wooden barrels, there were also 10-liter banquet barrel beers. "For 20 pfennigs, you can buy a good Munich beer or a Plzeň," is the description of Tsingtao beer in a travel guide by a doctor named Momu.
In a documentary filmed today, a brewery owner in Nuremberg, Germany, tapped his finger on his forehead and said, as if remembering something: "The beer from Qingdao, China, has an old German name called 'Eigner'." "The beer produced in Tsingtao is like a Chinese symbol, which was imprinted on the hearts of Europeans at the beginning of the 20th century.
In September 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed through Qingdao by train and went south to inspect the development of China's railways. On September 28, the train arrived at Qingdao Station. After shaking hands and hugging, Dr. Sun Yat-sen declined the special car and banquet of the German Governor Melwald, "China does not recognize all unequal treaties imposed by Germany on the Chinese people with cannons." At the banquet prepared by the Sanjiang Hall, Mr. Sun Yat-sen drank the beer produced in Tsingtao, and Martin Weller, the director of the factory at the time, happened to be present, and Mr. Sun Yat-sen took the hand of the German businessman and said: "At the beginning of the creation of China, all kinds of waste are waiting to be revived, and the development of manufacturing industry is a top priority. Mr. Investment's investment is a righteous act, and there will be great development. Today, I can't go as promised, and I will have the opportunity to visit the factory another day. ”
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This article was published in the early December 2023 issue of Xiaokang.