An American made good in China with pub brewery

Carl Setzer's transformation from mid-Western information technology guy to Chinese craft brewing pioneer can be attributed to one thing: love. He moved to the mainland in 2004 and married his Chinese wife, Liu Fang, shortly after. He worked as a "semi-successful" security analyst, and for a few years, life was good.

"I liked the job for a little while, but toward the end of my career, I resented it and didn't want to do it anymore," the 32-year old American says. "So my lovely wife suggested I come up with a hobby to distract myself from it."

In 2010, Great Leap Brewing was born. But at first, it seemed the business might be short-lived. Adhering to China's strict quality assurance and control, dealing with "greedy" landlords and scrambling for ingredients was a headache he probably would not have had in is native land, Seltzer says.