If the creative cocktails at Hawkeye or CLOSET are not your thing, then there’s always the option of creative and locally made craft beers!
Jim and Dad’s Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Yilan that opened in 2015 as a producer of some of the tastiest beers in all of Taiwan.
The co-owner, Jim, wanted to differentiate his brewing company from other craft beer pubs and taprooms by sourcing all his ingredients from local farms – coming up with the slogan, “Drink better, drink local”.
They have their very own taproom and bottle shop branch right here in Taipei, about an 8-minute walk from the Beimen MRT station, which allowed us the chance to swing by and check out their ales for ourselves.
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1. Taproom & Bottle Shop |
The first floor is the taproom and bottle shop, which looked more like a micropub – then we realized there’s a stairway to a fairly spacious, dimly red-lit lounge on the second floor.
We arrived around 7pm on a Saturday to find the place had a relaxed atmosphere, making it a decent spot for casual drinks. You’re even allowed to bring your food here as long as you responsibly throw your trash away in the bins provided.
When it came to choosing what to drink, the bartenders were knowledgeable and friendly as they took their time to explain what was on tap and gave us helpful recommendations.
Despite the causal flow of customers, we noticed it never got fully packed which made us feel comfortable as we were able to enjoy the music without it being too loud.
Sadly, we missed their happy hour as it’s only on weekday afternoons from 4pm to 7pm where you can get 25% off any draft beer. Another happy hour deal is on their large beers which you can get the second large beer at half price.
Craft Beers
The craft beers are creatively brewed using local ingredients including a variety of local fruits, wheat, and high mountain tea which makes their beers distinctly Taiwanese.
As we glanced at the drinks menu (that includes English), we noticed that all their ales and IPAs are fairly strong. The ales are at 5% and 6%, and the IPAs are at 7.5% and 9.7%.
If you’re ordering from the taps, you get the option of a large or small glass, the larger being more expensive. As for their bottles, they all come with a small glass for you to pour into.
Dry-hopped Pale Ale ($140)
The drink we tried was a chilled bottle labeled ‘Summer Mosaic’ which is named as Dry-hopped Pale Ale on the menu. We were told it’s one of their best-selling ales.
This beer was quite light and sweet with a strong tropical fruit note to it which was enjoyable with each sip.
They used a combination of Pearson barley malts and mosaic hops with passion fruit and mango which are sourced from Tainan.
Just as its label name implies, the Summer Mosaic is very ideal for the summertime, better still, for the hot months of the year.
Erget Black Tea Weizen ($140)
The next drink we tried was from their taps. As you can guess from the name, it’s was brewed with black tea which makes this beer creatively Taiwanese touch.
We could taste the black tea notes very well, followed by a delicious and crispy aftertaste.
As much as the tea beer was refreshing, we felt it was a little stronger in taste compared to the Dry-hopped Pale Ale despite both being at 5.5%.
On the left: Kumquat Wheat Ale, and on the right: Kumquat Pale Ale.
Kumquat Wheat Ale ($140)
The last of the beers we tried were the kumquat-based ales – sourced from Yilan. As for the kumquat wheat ale (on left), it had a strong citrus flavor of kumquats and grapefruit.
We also noticed that the ale had a nice and subtle malt aftertaste which we quite enjoyed.
Kumquat Pale Ale ($140)
This particular ale was by far our favorite of all the craft beers as it was bursting with fruity flavors. Not only was the Kumquat Pale Ale refreshingly sweet and fruity, but it also did a good job hiding how strong it was.
Since we particularly enjoyed this beer the most, we recommend it for sure!
The Menu
Worth visiting?
Absolutely! We enjoyed the evening as we spent it comfortably sitting back while enjoying our beers.
The drinks were delicious, and they weren’t expensive despite the fact we were drinking high-quality and locally brewed craft beer.
Will we go back?
Most definitely, and next time it’ll be a group of us.
Jim & DadsHours: Happy Hour: Telephone: 02 2550 5030 Reach them on Social Media: Facebook: Jim & Dad’s Taproom & Bottle Shop Twitter: @JimAtTheBrewery English address: No. 4, Section 2, Yanping North Road, Datong District, Taipei City, 103 Chinese address: 103台北市大同區延平北路二段4號 Closest MRTs: Beimen Station, exit 3. |
🗓️ Updated: April 2021 – Taipei.Expats
