Shanghai: Craft Beer Tasting in Former French Concession

Shanghai craft beer in the former French Concession sounds like a niche plan, but that mix is exactly what makes this tour interesting. You start in the Xintiandi area, then glide through old streets and landmark neighborhoods like you’re following a local friend, not a bus schedule. My favorite part is the guide, Jim, who ties each beer stop to what’s going on in Shanghai.

What I like most is how the tasting is structured: 6 glasses of beer plus rice wine, with time to actually compare styles. You also get Shanghai-style dumplings during the walk, so you’re not just drinking your way through dinner.

One consideration: you are tasting alcohol as part of the experience, and only six beer glasses are included. If you are trying to keep things very light, pace matters, and you may want to plan on buying something only if you truly want it.

Key points you should care about

• 6 beer tastings + rice wine so you can compare styles, not just sample one or two
• Former French Concession route with Fuxing Park area plus photo-worthy streets and architecture
• Jim’s Q and A on beer and culture, including ABV and IBU (so you taste with context)
• Dumplings included, plus extra snack bites along the way when available at the stops
• Boxing Cat Brewery inside Sinan Mansions, a very Shanghai kind of contrast
• Extra car service during the tour helps you cover ground without turning it into a slog

Shanghai craft beer in the former French Concession, with Jim guiding

This is the kind of tour you choose when you want your evening to have a point. You get craft beer tastings in real neighborhoods, and you also get a guided walk through places that shaped modern Shanghai, especially the former French Concession zone. Even if you only know Shanghai as a skyline and a shopping mall city, the route helps you see the older layout of the city and how people lived.

The guide matters here, and Jim is repeatedly praised for making the tour feel personal. You’re not stuck with a script, because Jim is the type who answers questions across topics like beer, local customs, and practical recommendations for your stay.

The 3-hour route: Xintiandi Langham to Sinan Mansions to Fuxing Park

The tour runs about 3 hours, so it fits well between a late lunch and a dinner that you can still enjoy afterward. You meet Jim at the front door of the Xintiandi Langham Hotel at 99 Madang Rd in Huangpu District.

From there, the route is built around a few anchor stops and some walking that feels like sightseeing rather than exercise. You’ll start in the Xintiandi area, then move toward the Old City neighborhood feel, and later head to the Sinan Mansions area before finishing near Fuxing Park.

One practical point: the tour includes additional car service during the tour, which helps when you want the variety of multiple neighborhoods without spending the whole night navigating streets on foot. You’ll still do some walking, including a segment described as about a 15-minute walk to reach Sinan Mansions.

First stop at The Brewer in Xintiandi: wheat, pale ale, stout

You kick off with beer at a gastropub called The Brewer in the Xintiandi area. The first pours are the classics you can recognize right away, like a wheat beer, a pale ale, and a dark stout. That starting mix is smart because it gives you a baseline before the tour starts getting more “craft.”

This is also where Jim’s style as a guide starts to pay off. You’re not just tasting and moving on. Jim helps you make sense of what you’re drinking by talking about things like ABV and IBU, which are the kind of beer terms that make the difference between I liked it and I know why I liked it.

Strolling the Old City feel: residences and alleyways

Next, you walk through a more traditional section of the city, described as the Old City area, with a sense of how residents lived and moved through alleyways. It’s one of those parts of Shanghai where you slow down without meaning to, because the street scale and the courtyard-style layout make you look up and notice details.

This walking segment matters for beer-tasting tours because it changes your brain from drink mode into city-observer mode. By the time you sit down again, the tour feels like you’re connecting food, drink, and place instead of doing a series of check-ins.

Dumplings break the pace: Shanghai-style wontons or potstickers

A standout part of the tour is the included Shanghai dumplings. You’ll likely see options like potstickers or wontons, and it’s positioned right in the middle of the walking. That timing helps your body handle the beers later, and it also keeps the tour from being all alcohol with a light snack.

What’s great here is that dumplings are not just “fuel.” They’re also a local comfort food, and Jim uses the food moment to explain how people in the city think about flavor, not just how to order it. In recent experiences, you can also expect snack bites alongside the dumplings at the stops, which makes the whole meal feel more satisfying than a typical tasting-only tour.

Traditional rice wine at a liquor store: a different kind of tasting

After the dumplings and alleyways, the tour shifts into a more traditional lane with a traditional Chinese liquor store. You get a guided introduction to rice wine and taste it alongside the beer theme.

This part is valuable if you want your night to show the contrast between Shanghai’s modern drink scene and older local traditions. You’re not being asked to be a rice wine expert. You’re being given enough context to taste it with curiosity instead of guessing.

Also, the tour includes soft drinks, so you can sip non-alcoholic drinks during the route. It’s not about avoiding alcohol, it’s about keeping your pacing comfortable.

Sinan Mansions: private villas turned upscale lifestyle space

The next major stop is Sinan Mansions, a set of private villas from the 1920s that have been renovated into an upscale lifestyle destination. Getting there by foot from the earlier neighborhoods is part of the experience, and the time lets you keep seeing Shanghai’s layers as the streets change.

Sinan Mansions is a good “pause and notice” moment. The architecture and conversion from private residence to a public lifestyle space is exactly the kind of Shanghai story this tour is built around, where the city’s past keeps getting reused.

Boxing Cat Brewery inside Sinan Mansions: rotating craft pours

Here’s the craft-beer highlight for many people: Boxing Cat Brewery at Sinan Mansions. It’s described as award-winning, and the tasting lineup includes craft styles like pilsners, lagers, stouts, and rotating specials on tap.

This is the part of the tour where I think the craft beer nerd energy peaks, especially if you like comparison. You can feel how the flavor profiles change from lighter and crisp to richer and darker, and Jim helps you read those differences without turning it into a lecture.

If you want one specific reason to pick this tour, it’s that last bar experience people talk about: the sense of watching the brewing process, with the equipment or distiller visible right in front of you at the end. Even if you’re not a brewer yourself, seeing how beer is made adds a layer to every sip.

Finishing at Shanghai Brewery near Fuxing Park: more beer, more time

The tour ends at Shanghai Brewery near Fuxing Park. You’ll try even more craft beers here, rounding out your total tasting of 6 beer glasses across the stops.

The Fuxing Park area is a good place to end for practical reasons. You’re not tucked into a remote corner. It’s easier to step out after the tour and keep your night going, or grab a ride.

At the end of the night, your guide helps you hail a taxi back to your hotel, which is a small service detail that really matters when you’re tired and you just want the trip to flow.

Food plus beer, and how Jim makes tastings make sense

The best tasting tours do one thing well: they make you taste smarter. This one helps you do that by explaining what’s in the beer and what to look for while you drink.

From recent experiences, Jim gets attention for tying beer to culture and daily life. You’ll also notice a pattern in the questions guests ask during the tastings, from what makes a pilsner taste the way it does to how to think about bitterness. The ABV and IBU talk shows up again and again because it’s practical, not academic.

You should also plan your expectations around pacing. Six beers in three hours can be totally fine for most people if you sip slowly, use the included soft drinks, and eat the dumplings when offered. If you’re the type who likes to taste but not get tipsy, tell Jim you want to go slower, and you’ll likely get the room to do that.

Price check: what $83 gets you in Shanghai

At $83 per person for about 3 hours, you’re paying for a few things at once: guide time, multiple tasting stops, and included food. Specifically, the tour includes 6 glasses of beer, Shanghai dumplings, a rice wine tasting, soft drinks, and a private guide. It also includes additional car service during the tour, which helps keep the route efficient.

Is it a bargain? It’s not the cheapest thing in Shanghai. But it’s also not just a beer sample with a quick walk. You’re getting the structure of three breweries plus a liquor store stop, plus city context in the former French Concession area. If you were going to do brewery hopping yourself, you would spend time planning, figuring out which places fit together, and then paying for guide-level interpretation another way.

If alcohol is your priority, this is one of the easier ways to get a curated set of tastings without spending your whole night transporting yourself.

Where this tour fits best (and who should think twice)

This tour is a strong match for you if:

• You like craft beer and want to compare styles, not just sample.
• You want history and city layout, but in a walk-and-taste format.
• You enjoy guides who answer questions about food and culture, not only the drink menu.

It may not be the best match if:

• You don’t want alcohol as part of the experience, since the included tastings are built around 6 beers plus rice wine.
• You prefer fully independent sightseeing, because this is still a guided route with set stops.

That said, even if you’re not a hardcore beer fan, the dumplings and cultural context can make it feel like a food and neighborhood tour with excellent drink bonuses.

Should you book the Shanghai craft beer tasting in the former French Concession?

Book it if you want an evening that feels local, organized, and fun, all in one. The mix of former French Concession neighborhoods, breweries like Boxing Cat Brewery, and food like Shanghai dumplings is a great recipe for a first visit to the city or a return trip when you want something more specific than landmarks.

Skip it if you’re mainly chasing a view-heavy sightseeing day and you don’t want to work around tastings. Also skip if you strongly dislike tasting alcohol, because the core of the experience is built around beer and rice wine.

If you do book, my advice is simple: go hungry, pace your pours, and ask Jim questions. The tour is at its best when you treat it like a conversation, not a checklist.

FAQ

How long is the craft beer tasting tour?

The tour lasts 3 hours.

What is included in the price?

The price includes 6 glasses of beer, Shanghai dumplings, rice wine tasting, and soft drinks, plus a private English-speaking guide. It also includes additional car service during the tour.

Where do I meet the guide?

Meet your guide at the front door of the Xintiandi Langham Hotel, 99 Madang Rd, Huangpu Qu, Shanghai Shi, China, 200021.

What brewhouses and stops are part of the itinerary?

You’ll visit three local brewhouses and also stop at a traditional Chinese liquor store. Key named stops include The Brewer in Xintiandi, Boxing Cat Brewery at Sinan Mansions, and Shanghai Brewery near Fuxing Park.

What languages is the tour offered in?

The tour guide speaks English.

Is it wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the activity is listed as wheelchair accessible.

Do I get hotel pickup and drop-off?

No. There is no hotel pickup and drop-off, but the guide helps you hail a taxi back to your hotel at the end, and the tour includes additional car service during the tour.