Throughout its 26 year history the Qingdao International Beer Festival has grown from a small annual beer tasting event to huge yearly occasion in the port city attracting thousands of visitors from home and abroad.

The festival has grown beyond the West New Coast Area, and for the first time a museum exploring beer history and culture has been opened to coincide with the event.

The museum building mimics Bavarian-style architecture harking back to the city's beer making roots first introduced by the Germans at the beginning of the 20th century.

Qingdao's new Bavarian-style beer museum opens just in time for this year's beer festival. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]