Beer in China and sometimes rye in addition to barley. Some beer is produced that uses bitter melon instead of hops as the bittering agent. Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers contained formaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage. This practice has now been made illegal. Snow Beer, produced by CR Snow is the best selling beer in China, holding 21.7% market share, having recently overtaken Tsingtao Beer, produced by Tsingtao Brewery, which is the brand most widely exported to other countries. Tsingtao Beer is brewed in the city of Qingdao
Beer in China Brewing, Jing-A Brewing, Panda Brew Pub, and Slow Boat Brewery have become staples in the local nightlife scene. Another popular brewpub is Kaiwei Beer House, a chain based in Wuhan. Craft beer festivals have been popularized since the early 2010s in Beijing and Shanghai. Two popular beer festivals in Shanghai, Shanghai International Beer Festival and Shanghai Beer Week, were both started in 2012. Since 2011, a few specialty beer delivery services were launched in Shanghai such as Cheers In and Dean's Bottle Shop. In 2015 market share of imported beer reached 1.14% and volume increased by 58.9% to 538.5 million