Spring is a great time to embrace Shanghai’s craft beer scene with great local brews, an ever-appreciative audience of locals and expats, and local festivals heralding in warmer months ahead. Here are some of the top spots you should be headed to.

You may not realise this but China is the world’s biggest beer market. The Chinese drink more than US$80 billion in brew each year, with beer second only to tea in terms of consumption. Consequently, younger savvier Chinese gents are getting a taste for small-batch craft beers, with the scene seeing a 25% growth year on year, both for off the shelf products, and for specialist drafts found at the best craft brew joints.

Mark Andrews has written about everything from Japanese houses to heli hikes on New Zealand glaciers, test drives of Chinese cars to bar and restaurant reviews. He currently specialises in travel articles and reviews of Chinese cars plus articles about the Chinese auto industry.