Scottish ale maker eyes China market

Scottish craft beer maker BrewDog is planning to open a brewery in China to capitalize on the country's rapidly growing market for premium beer.

According to company officials, BrewDog has already become one of the most popular craft beers in China, the company's second-largest international market.

The company is looking to raise at least 10 million pounds ($13.9m) in its latest equity crowdfunding scheme, with a stretch goal of up to 50 million pounds ($69.9m) to further its global expansion. This includes the construction of a brewery in Australia.

"We feel we can only really take advantage of the Asian opportunity by having a brewery in Asia and we are now actively looking at locations and opportunities in the regions," a BrewDog spokesperson told The Scotsman newspaper.

The craft beer brand also revealed plans to build what it says will be the world's first craft beer hotel at its headquarters in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

China is a key market for international beer brands and analysts believe the demand for craft beer will continue to increase as disposable incomes rise.

Last year, Edinburgh-based online drinks platform Flavourly struck a deal with Beijing brewer Panda Brew.

The deal is thought to involve the largest-ever amount of Chinese craft beer imported by the United Kingdom, with 10,000 bottles of Panda Brew made available to British drinkers.

Also, Scottish craft brewer Innis& Gunn announced a deal with Chinese beer importer Dxcel International to distribute its beers in China.

When President Xi Jinping was filmed enjoying a pint of ale with then British prime minister David Cameron during Xi's visit in 2015, consumers in China were interested and UK beer exports rocketed.

In the same year, Britain signed a deal to export 750,000 metric tons of barley to China for beer production over five years.