Shanghai, China — April 29, 2026 — Beer Matters has announced the winners of the inaugural Chinese Tea Beer Awards, following a full day of blind judging held in Shanghai on April 25, 2026. The competition received 105 tea beer entries from breweries across China, reflecting the rapid growth of tea beer as one of the most active and distinctive localized beer directions in the Chinese market.
Alongside the competition results, Beer Matters also released the first edition of the Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines, a new style framework intended to help beer competitions, judges, brewers, and educators better understand and evaluate Chinese tea beers.
“In the process of studying the localization of Chinese craft beer, I have long believed that tea beer may be among the first Chinese beer styles to be introduced to the world through a dedicated guideline,” said Tian Zhou, founder of Beer Matters, International Beer Judge, Podcaster, and author of the Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines. “China is the birthplace of the tea plant and the origin of tea culture. Tea brings aroma, bitterness, astringency, structure, and cultural resonance. It is not just a Chinese ingredient; it is one of the most promising sensory languages for Chinese beer.”
A Competition Designed to Define, Not Just Award
Tea beer has become one of the most recognizable localized directions in the Chinese beer market. In recent years, Chinese breweries have increasingly explored tea as a brewing ingredient.
At the same time, the rapid growth of the category has brought confusion. Some beers show natural tea character and technical balance, while others rely heavily on synthetic flavoring, excessive bitterness, or tea character that overwhelms the beer itself. Beer Matters created the Chinese Tea Beer Awards not only to select strong examples, but also to clarify what makes a well-made Chinese tea beer.
“This was not only a competition,” Zhou said. “It was also an experiment in building shared standards.”
105 Entries Across Eight Tea Beer Subcategories
The inaugural competition received 105 entries, divided into four major groups and eight subcategories:
Green Tea Beer: 43 entries
- 1A Pure Green Tea: 21 entries
- 1B Specialty Green Tea: 22 entries
Black Tea Beer: 21 entries
- 2A Pure Black Tea: 15 entries
- 2B Specialty Black Tea: 6 entries
Oolong Tea Beer: 28 entries
- 3A Pure Oolong Tea: 16 entries
- 3B Specialty Oolong Tea: 12 entries
Dark / White / Yellow Tea Beer: 13 entries
- 4A Pure Dark / White / Yellow Tea: 7 entries
- 4B Specialty Dark / White / Yellow Tea: 6 entries
One notable finding was that oolong tea beers outnumbered black tea beers, making oolong tea the second-largest tea category in the competition after green tea. This reflects the breadth of Chinese tea culture: Chinese tea beer is not limited to the green and black teas most commonly recognized internationally.
According to the competition rules, if both the A and B subcategories within a major group reached at least 15 valid entries, separate awards would be given for each subcategory. Since both Green Tea subcategories exceeded that threshold, Pure Green Tea and Specialty Green Tea were awarded separately. Black Tea, Oolong Tea, and Dark / White / Yellow Tea were awarded by major group.
Judging With Both Beer and Tea Expertise
The judging panel was designed to combine beer expertise with tea expertise. Two-thirds of the panel consisted of professional beer judges, including BJCP judges and professional brewers. The remaining one-third consisted of tea specialists and beverage professionals.
Before judging began, Beer Matters invited an expert from the tea industry to conduct a dedicated tea sensory training session for the judging panel. This helped establish a shared understanding of Chinese tea categories, processing methods, and key sensory attributes before the blind tasting.
“A good tea beer must first be a good beer, but it must also express high-quality tea character,” Zhou said. “Judges need to evaluate whether the tea character is natural, whether the astringency adds structure or becomes harsh, and whether the beer still works as beer.”
All entries were judged blind. Beer judges evaluated aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall impression using BJCP-style judging principles, while also considering tea character, tea quality, and tea-beer harmony. Tea and cross-disciplinary judges focused on natural tea expression, typicality, tea-beer integration, overall drinkability, and sensory pleasure.
Winners of the 1st Chinese Tea Beer Awards
Chinese Green Tea Beer — Pure Green Tea
Gold: Dalian July Longjing Tea Aroma Golden Ale | ABV ≥ 5.5%
Silver: WFSM Longjing Tea Craft Wheat Beer | ABV ≥ 3.7%
Bronze: Deerow Brewing Rizhao Green Tea Imperial Saison | ABV ≥ 8.9%
Chinese Green Tea Beer — Specialty Green Tea
Gold: Bei Jiang Charm Jasmine Tea Lager | ABV ≥ 5.2%
Silver: Maha Nine Nine Basement Jasmine Tea Wheat Beer | ABV ≥ 4.1%
Bronze: Kingstar Jasmine Tea Lager | ABV ≥ 4.1%
Chinese Black Tea Beer
Gold: WFSM Dianhong Tea Craft Munich Helles | ABV ≥ 3.7%
Silver: Not awarded
Bronze: Brewing Wave Assam English Ale | ABV ≥ 5%
Chinese Oolong Tea Beer
Gold: Weaver Brewing Osmanthus Oolong Kölsch | ABV ≥ 5.2%
Silver: Wusu Da Hong Pao Craft Wheat Tea Beer | ABV ≥ 4.1%
Bronze: NEWME Oolong Kölsch | ABV ≥ 4.6%
Dark / White / Yellow Tea Beer
Gold: BEIWU Brewing Yun White Tea Pilsner | ABV ≥ 5.3%
Silver: Dalian July Osmanthus Pu’er Weissbier | ABV ≥ 5.5%
Bronze: Brewing Wave Summer Pu’er Tea & Tangerine IPA | ABV ≥ 5%
Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines Released
Based on the winning beers, high-performing non-winning entries, technical information, brewing parameters, and sensory observations from the competition, Beer Matters has released the first edition of the Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines.
The guidelines currently include:
- Chinese Tea Beer
- Chinese Green Tea Beer
- Chinese Black Tea Beer
- Chinese Oolong Tea Beer
Separate guidelines for dark tea, white tea, and yellow tea beers have not yet been created, as the number of entries in those groups remains relatively small. Beer Matters plans to continue updating the guidelines as more examples are brewed, entered, judged, and discussed.
The guidelines define Chinese Tea Beer as a beer style using true tea leaves from Camellia sinensis, or tea products made from them, with perceptible tea character. They also distinguish Chinese Tea Beer from beers made only with non-tea botanical infusions such as chrysanthemum, roselle, chamomile, barley tea, or buckwheat tea.
The document is intended for beer competition judging, judge training, and related non-commercial beer education. Beer Matters welcomes international beer competitions, style committees, and judge training programs to reference, adapt, or adopt the guidelines in future competitions.
Following the release, Beer Matters has sent the Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines to major international beer competition organizers for reference.
“If international competitions recognize Chinese Tea Beer more clearly, it will be a major encouragement to Chinese breweries,” Zhou said. “It will help brewers understand how to enter their beers properly, help judges evaluate these beers more accurately, and hopefully encourage more Chinese breweries to participate in international competitions.”
A Step Toward China’s Own Flavor Coordinates
Beer Matters sees the Chinese Tea Beer Awards as part of a longer effort to build a shared language for Chinese beer styles.
An email alone will not change the world immediately, but someone has to send the first one.
The next Beer Matters seasonal competition, the Chinese Lager Awards, will be held in summer 2026.
Acknowledgments
Beer Matters thanks all participating breweries, judges, stewards, volunteers, and supporters who made the first Chinese Tea Beer Awards possible.
Special thanks go to Fermentis, Meto Equipment, DECK by NOA, and Thinker New Tea Institute for their support of the competition.
For more information about the Chinese Tea Beer Style Guidelines or permission requests, please contact: info@beermatters.cn
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