Smokehouse brews

Once he caught wind of Acker's idea of bringing authentic Texas BBQ to Beijing through a mutual friend, Dilda, in true Texan style, was ready to saddle up and head east to spread his smoky gospel.

"When I first heard about this, it was a gamble," explains Dilda. "I thought 'we'll see if this happens or not'."

He and Acker opened lines of communication through email, Skype, FaceTime and WeChat to bring the idea to life－to bring Texas barbecue to China.

However, none of it was to come to fruition without a smoker, the most important ingredient to create that Texas taste. Dilda and Acker spent a long time at the drawing board working hard to design and make one for the new Brewpub.

In Texas, the smoker is often modified by a salvaged propane tank, because they're easy to find and the thick steel holds and disperses the heat evenly.

It was difficult for Acker to find one in China, and then he faced the challenge of converting it into a working smoker.

"The design of the smoker is very much like brewing," says Acker. "There is a real science to it.

"For example, the size of the opening between the fire box on the smoker will have a huge effect on the way the whole thing works."

Dilda has also added a thermometer on the smoker so that cooks can constantly monitor the temperature.