The release of craft beers at selected branches of Starbucks may be old news, yet it is very rare that one ever actually gets the opportunity to ever try one. I came across this Starbucks Reserve branch by complete and utter accident; my intention that evening was to visit a Japanese pancake restaurant at Lee Gardens 3, Wanchai only to find upon arrival that there were at least 50 people queuing outside the door. It must have been good or very well advertised, but either way, it would take far too long for us to get served.
We headed back downstairs feeling defeated, needing to head back to Shenzhen and then somehow spotted the larger, fancier looking branch of Starbucks staring us straight in the face. My girlfriend wanted to have a look, so we walked in and spotted the advertisement for beers at the front of the store.
Shortly after that, we were greeted by a member of staff who was very polite, friendly and enthusiastic compared to almost any that I had ever been served by on the Mainland. I’m not sure if I am technically allowed to call her a barista as she was manning the beer pumps. She was quick to tell me all about the beer, but recommended the ‘Sparkling Kenya IPA’ as it was apparently only available at this particular branch in Wanchai (for the HK market). It seemed to be an offer that I couldn’t refuse, although I may find myself hunting down the other two on my next trip. The prices were quite high at $78 HKD for a 400ml glass, although this is to be expected in most places in Hong Kong, where drinking is not exactly the cheapest of habits.
Seating was scarce due to the sheer popularity of this branch; yet it appeared to filled with people genuinely enjoying their coffee or coffee related beverages, rather than drinking Frappucinos and taking selfies with cat ears on. I sent my girlfriend off to find seats somewhere, while I was left waiting to pick up my beer and her Pumpkin Spice Latte, a globally popular Starbucks product that has mysteriously never been sold on the Mainland. Also, why can Starbucks in HK offer a ‘short’ cup for petite, slimmer women but not in China?
Annoyingly, the beer and coffee were served at separate counters, so the tasting of my beer was prioritised as it was served much faster than the beer products that everybody was queuing up for. I was advised to taste the beer straight away at its freshest, while all the foam was up. Who was I to be able to refuse such an offer? So I took the first sip.
The initial flavours were not offensive but didn’t really stand out in any real way. I was even slightly disappointed at first as there was no real coffee taste to be found, it was just another craft beer; not a badly made mediocre one like many produced by others that are also jumping on the bandwagon, just a rather unremarkable one. It was clean, refreshing but lacked that something special/coffee that one was hoping for. It was just another attempt at an IPA and right now, the world probably has too many really average IPAs; we really don’t need another one.
I brought my beer to the table while I went to the coffee counter to collect my girlfriend’s drink. While I was briefly away, she took a few cheeky sips. Upon arriving back at the table, she commented that it was nicer than most of the beers that she had tried in China. Trips to HK often bring out such scepticism of the homeland when one can fully experience that capitalist, Cantonese/English speaking alternative version of what it could be.
I decided to persist with my beer; at least it wasn’t going to stop me sleeping like a cup of coffee might. As the beer warmed, the subtle fruity flavours of the Kenyan coffee started to appear; but such flavours did not overpower the beer in any way. It was still primarily just a beer, it didn’t rape your mouth with an excessive amount of hops like some of those efforts produced by the hipster breweries may do, the coffee notes were merely a nice touch but not the main event.
I’m not a beer expert; I don’t make my own beer and I just enjoy drinking it, not writing silly, poetic tasting notes like all the beard strokers. Therefore my review might not be the most detailed or the nicest to read. If you’re just a regular customer, you may find this to be worth trying out. It is not a bad effort from a company that is not known for making beers and let’s face it, it’s the only time you’re going to get away with ordering a beer in Starbucks; not to mention that you’ll never find any of these beers in a real bar.