12 Hong Kong Breweries Withdraw From Beertopia Due To Costs

Beertopia is Hong Kong’s biggest beer festival. And although it attracts hordes of beer lovers from all around the world, some of city’s most important craft breweries have pulled out.

Here’s the deal…

!2 independent breweries from the 20-member Hong Kong Brewers’ Guild, including some of the city’s best known brands such as Gweilo Beer, Young Master Ales, Moonzen Brewery, and Black Kite Brewery, have announced that they will not participate in October’s Beertopia after the event organizer raised the costs for exhibitors.

This from their Facebook announcement…

“Beertopia has previously been one of the calendar highlights for local Hong Kong breweries – they like nothing more than sharing their beer with like-minded passionate craft beer fans.”

“However, the increased cost of the event to Hong Kong’s craft breweries would necessitate exceedingly high prices for end customers”

“Collectively, the Guild feels that the ethos of Beertopia has shifted away from its original focus on the enjoyment and promotion of craft beer. Whereas large international producers can afford the newly raised event costs by serving industrial-scale beer, local Hong Kong brewers have no financially viable way to participate in Beertopia,”

However the event organizer Jonathan So, explained to SCMP that the rent for Central Harbourfront venue, a prime location which affords breathtaking skyline views, has risen by 50%. And in order not to pass on the price hike onto consumers, the costs needed to be shared among participating breweries.

So explained that “last year stall rental prices ranged from HK$9,000 to HK$17,000, while this year they were HK$11,000 to HK$24,000, arguing the exhibitors might be complaining about additional costs from logistics, staff hires, and booth decorations.”

But smaller scale breweries such as three-year-old Lion Rock Brewery, see the cost of renting a stall was a major financial concern as Donald Yeung To-fung from the brewery explained the newspaper…

“Before it was around HK$20,000 to rent the booth and we would just break even or lose a little bit, but when we inquired about this year’s event, we were quoted HK$28,000 to HK$30,000 and so there was no way we would even break even,”.

In protest, the Hong Kong Brewers’ Guild, the Craft Beer Association of Hong Kong and local breweries are working together to organize new craft beer festivals that could serve as alternatives…

But in spite of the craft brewer’s exits Beertopia will return to the harborside location that’s been its home for the past six years on October 5^th-6^th.