The empress of Shanghai’s craft beer scene opens deluxe venue

Zhang Yindi, better known as "pi jiu ayi" or "beer auntie", is all the evidence that one needs to prove that the craft beer scene in Shanghai is booming.

Since setting up a small craft beer supermarket called Beer Lady in 2011, Zhang has gone on to open another four outlets across the city. The second, third and fifth outlets aren't different from the first-they are essentially no-frills supermarkets that, apart from craft beer, sell a smattering of light bites like sausages, pizzas and potato chips.

Her fourth store, however, would leave most of her ardent fans floored, because this iteration clearly shows that Beer Lady is no longer just a supermarket.

Opening in November last year, this sprawling 3,000-square-meter outlet can accommodate about 1,200 patrons and comes with a performance stage, beer fermentation tanks, rows of tanks containing live seafood, a professional kitchen and a private room filed with beer-related paraphernalia that aims to showcase beer culture to important guests.

The entire project might appear to some as overly ambitious. Given the store's location in Baoshan, a suburb in northern Shanghai that is an hour away from the city center by subway, it seems unrealistic to rent such a massive space. Some patrons have commented that the crowds here have been thin, even on weekends.

But those who think that Zhang is drunk on her own success and has overestimated the draw of her brand might be better off reserving judgement for now, because the 57-year-old appears to have a solid game plan in mind.

This fourth outlet, she says, is not just a food and beverage establishment-plans are already underway to work with partners so that this location will be a stop in the tour itineraries of travel agencies and the preferred location for company events.

"When I first started selling craft beer, I didn't have ambitions to expand it on such a scale. I just followed my gut instinct," she quips.

Although Zhang has liked drinking alcoholic beverages since she was young, her love affair with craft beer only started around 2008 when she had her first sip of it. About two years later, when her grocery store business was affected by the rise of e-commerce, Zhang started toying with the idea of selling this beverage to boost sales. Serendipitously, a Belgian craft beer distributor approached Zhang and asked if she was interested in carrying his products.

"I told him to send me a crate of every type of beer he had. You should've seen how shocked he was," she says.

"When he asked what I would do if I didn't manage to finish selling these beers, I told him that I'd just drink all the leftovers. It was that simple. I didn't really give it much thought!" she laughs.

Zhang's stock of Belgian beers sold out within a day, bought up by hordes of thirsty foreign students from nearby universities. That was when she knew she had struck gold. Within months, Zhang revamped her grocery store into a supermarket that primarily sold craft beers.