Nanjing's king of hops

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Gao plans to make a documentary next year, to record his adventures as he tours several Chinese cities to develop craft beers using local ingredients.

"Some imported beers have intense flavors, but my beers are specially brewed for Chinese, with balanced and mild flavors," he says.

His beers are sold both online and in stores via distributors all over the country.

While ordinary beers are one-dimensional and have no outstanding characteristics, he says, craft beers are diversified in flavors and cultures.

"Homebrewed beers are like homemade casual meals, and small factories are doing professional cooking, delivering the best dishes," he says.

Gao's beer-drinking buddy Yang Ping, 25, an office worker from Beijing, says: "Gao brews craft beer because he is really fond of it. He wants more people to share the drinks. He gets on very well with others in the craft-beer circles, too."

The Master Gao crew is a fixture at craft-beer festivals around the country.