Chinese turn to drinking beer out of plastic bags

Forget about beer in a can or a bottle, the latest trend that’s gripping residents in the coastal city of Qing Dao, the home of China’s most exported beer Tsingtao, is drinking beer out of a plastic bag.

Local residents often buy the draft brew off from a street vendor’s keg or barrel and carry them in a branded plastic bag at RMB 1.5 for a pint. The take-away beer is then poured into a mug or a can as they wish, and drunk with the city’s abundant seafood.

It’s unknown how the phenomenon got started but Global Times speculated that brewery workers at Tsingtao are partially paid with freshly brewed beer, thus prompting them to sell off the drink on the street.

Founded by Germans in 1902, Tsingtao Brewery has become one of the most recognisable and popular beer brands within China.

The beer is sold in more than 60 countries, accounting for half of China’s total national beer exports.

The country’s top selling beer brand is actually Snow Beer, a light lager owned by China Resources.

The country is currently the world’s biggest beer market, responsible for double the sales of the U.S. and eight times that of Japan.