WEEK 26--TTO--the SUPER version

上星期很浅显的聊了一点美国撞意啤酒事。

这个星期要说的还是美国啤酒。

其实比较像是活动预告。

活动本身是最普通不过的TAP TAKE OVER。这是大家都很熟悉的，不过，决定写这个是因为个人觉得无论是可以在一间位于东南亚的酒吧喝到上了啤酒泵（ON TAPS）的FFF啤酒，又或是象征意义上的FFF将会长期出现在曼谷“米吧” 这件事，对喜欢THREE FLOYDS啤酒的亚洲朋友来说，算是件“大事”。

至今为止，个人知道的，在亚洲喝过的THREE FLOYDS瓶子都只是在日本找得到。虽然现在东南亚飞日本没有以前那么麻烦，不过，能在曼谷喝到连续几年RATEBEER.COM评选为世界最好酿坊的FFF啤酒，就算只是个不能完全代表真正地位的统计/象征式说法，也是件乐事。（当然，现在的FFF是世界亚军，冠军让VERMONT一家“偏远农场”的HILL FARMSTEAD拿下了。。）

有兴趣的朋友，上曼谷“米吧”FB找相关信息吧。

we all know that TTO--tap take over is just a very common activity that probably happen every weekend somewhere in a bar near you.

SO, to write an article in the weekly column about TTO is kind of unusual as the column does not do activities announcements.

The TTO by Mikkeller Bar Bangkok scheduled for late OCT is anything BUT a common one---because THREE FLOYDS will be on show, or rather---on tap(for details please check Mikkeller BKK FB/event page)

The significance of this TTO is not just the night itself--but more importantly--it means those of us who live in South East Asia will have a choice of flying in to BKK when craving for FFF beers, rather than having to travel to Tokyo(where there's rather good selection of FFF bottles as far as ASIA is concern)---or to MUNSTER near CHICAGO where FFF is based.

Just in case if you are not sure who FFF is--this "all in the family" brewery from USA was rated by ratebeer.com as world's BEST brewery for 4 years in a row---until last year when Hill Farmstead came a calling.

On paper it's already sounding like a TTO not to be missed for year 2014....how awesome the beers would be...?I guess all of you( me included)beer nerd would just have to be there to find out.

NEXT WEEK-- signs you are "poisoned"

WEEK 25--USA! USA!

看电影的话，都知道好莱坞大制作时常是大推头，轰轰烈烈，热热闹闹--兼且是票房保证。当然，也有让人边看边骂或边冷笑的。

来到撞意啤酒的世界，“大美国主义”一词绝对没有那种嘲笑一些好莱坞电影的贬义---完全相反，是赞。

NOGNE酿酒师KJETIL今年受访时候说过“美国酿酒师们领先着，欧洲的在追赶，亚洲就好像有点摸不到方向。。”

虽然会有不同意声音，不过，也道出美国CRAFT BEER界的生猛。

个人看法，亚洲来说应该是日本，特别是东京有最多美国撞意啤酒选择。至于东南亚，曼谷，吉隆坡和新加坡三地，则是狮城最多美式啤酒可供选择。

 

Yes--we used to kind of laughed off the "USA! USA!" notion when in cinema watching some big time Hollywood production.

Not so this time around.

It's the opposite sense of "USA! USA!" when it comes to craft beer.

Kjetil of Nogne O said early this year:- "USA leads the cultural revolution. Europe is catching on, but is copying a lot from the US.  I guess brewers in Europe has not had time to find their own identity yet. Asia seems to have a hard time to decide whether to go for big brash beers, as in the US, or to stay disciplined and moderate(almost like classic German brewing)."

Perhaps not everyone would agree with the statement---but it just shows the prominence of US craft beer scene to the world of craft. 

In ASIA-perhaps Tokyo is the city with the widest choices of  craft beer--including the US brew.

As for South East Asia--Bangkok, KL, Spore---the wider choices would be the other side of causeway in SG.

We do have some good US beers coming into KL from time to time--but what the local scene really need is for more people to become craft beer bar/bottle shop operators---when demand is up supply would grow accordingly...

This week's column is a little chit chat with Alvin of Tapsbarkl--who did a west coast trip earlier this year--about some of the things he observed:-

QUOTES:-
FIRST IMPRESSION:-
"there are so many microbreweries in every single town and state in the USA. And because of that craft beer awareness level is very high."

"It’s very apparent when you have 2 bars next to each other and 1 serves craft beer and the other serves the usual budweiser stuff and the craft beer ones are always packed from afternoon onward even on weekdays." 
" Everybody knows their craft beer and when you walk into a craft beer bar you are expected to know what beer you want and understand the basic styles of beer. The bar tenders don't have the time to stand there and explain to you and that is because the American market is way ahead."

AFTER THOUGHTS:-
"Inspiring yet humbling. Inspiring because i can see that craft beer is a huge huge market overseas and it makes me believe that there’s hope for Malaysia to be 30% of what they are! "

"But also humbling because Taps Beer Bar has not done justice to craft beer. Yes we might be the only ones doing it and we are enjoying it but we need to do more for local market and its a very very long way to go!"

#not included in published weekly column:-
PLACES U LIKE?
"Zeitgeist San Francisco is one bar that i will never forget because of the amount of taps they have and it’s just a very nice and cool place. Very underground grunge rock kinda place. No pretentious people and all very friendly. "

"The other place that i liked was rogue in Portland. Their restaurant served very good food to pair with their beers and the experience was very nice and warm. They have alot of flags hanging from the ceiling and the Malaysia flag is on the wall! heaehae so it was very cool!"

BREWERY U LIKE?
"Lagunitas keep true to the craft beer image. Their brewpub is so relaxed and so underground. Nice beer garden, rustic interior and also their own little outdoor stage for indie rock bands to perform. But when they brought me to the back where they brew the beer and their warehousing, it was clean and modern. Very organized and their beers are well kept in proper conditions. "

"Hair of the Dog - Just a plain and simple brewery but with great big beers. Met the owner and founder of the brewery who until today still brews his own beer. He starts at 5am in the morning till 5pm then his apprentice comes in from 5pm to 5am.and its just the both of them in the brewery. They have a nice small restaurant in front which serves simple food but very nice atmosphere. Some of his rare bottles can only be consumed in the brewpub. You can’t do takeaway for special releases because its resold online."

NEXT WEEK--Tap take over---FFF version

WEEK 24--of "Hot Head"(ALES) & "Cold Feet"(LAGERS)....

这期专栏说的是啤酒最基本功课。

什么是淡啤（ALES）， 什么是浅啤（LAGERS）。

这可以是写成一本书的话题。

不过，报纸专栏篇幅有限，加上只是希望浅浅的介绍什么是什么，不会有什么太技术性的说明。（有需要的朋友可以自己找找，网上能找到专业深入解释）

个人选择，把上面发酵(TOP FERMENTING)和下面发酵(BOTTOM FERMENTING)说成头脑发热和脚底发冷。。反正如果只是喜欢喝撞意啤酒，自己不亲手酿的话，不会真正了解什么酵母是什么酵母，什么变化会带来什么成品。

如果有新朋友被问到撞意啤酒有什么好喝的，很简单，不用出动IPA，就用一瓶最基本的PILSNER或PALE ALE介绍朋友喝吧，好不好，行不行，酒本身会说话，这比尝试跟只是喝普通大厂啤酒的朋友解释什么是头脑发热或脚底发冷直接了当的多。

ALL brewers would tell us drinkers, the different between ales and lagers is about YEAST.

That ale is using TOP fermenting yeast---that lager is using BOTTOM fermenting yeast.

for easy remembering, will just say ALES as " Hot Head" brews---while LAGERS as " Cold Feet" brews.  

This week's column is about the most basic of differentiating beer styles---i.e. what's ales and what's lagers---in the most simple form--and touching only about PALE ALE and  PILSNER/LAGER since the local market is full of golden/light golden color big factory (non-craft) beers.

QOUTES"-
"traditionally, ale is perceived as a stronger, thicker beer than lager, but does this meaning to say lager is a lesser, boring beer?"

"in the world of craft beer, lager is certainly NOT a dull and boring beer"

"thanks to the passion and innovation of craft brewers in trying to make lager interesting beers, or even see making yummy lager as a fun challenge ---the border lines between ales and lagers has become blurry in terms of beer taste and it's intensity(though the top and bottom fermenting still very much in tact)"

"nowadays, some lagers(like "premium pils", "imperial lager" and such)...can be very much compared to IPA or even stronger brew in terms of taste, body, aroma...thanks to the "craziness"/"fun factors" infused by some brewers"

"it has been proven--that is you use the right ingredients and brew with a heart that cares only for the goodness of a beer---lagers can be so so fun and delicious---anyone who says lagers are dull and boring should just grab one---make sure it's craft beer version..."

NEXT WEEK---USA! USA!

WEEK 23--"Subtle Brew"---the Japanese way--chit chat with HITACHINO

在撞意啤酒界，酿酒文化的盛行让很多欧美酿酒师的啤酒备受关注。

欧美撞意啤酒在亚洲很多城市受欢迎是明显趋势。

亚洲当然也有自己的品牌。从新加坡，曼谷，香港，台湾到上海北京，还有日本各地，都有人在玩自酿，当然也有人从自酿玩到变酿坊，变成品牌。

在日本，政策的调整鼓励自酿文化的出现，也帮助小型酿坊的成长，众多日本撞意啤酒品牌中，常陆野的“猫头鹰”标志是佼佼者。

这期专栏和木内家族的木内洋一先生聊点关于日本啤酒的偏见与事实。

喜欢日本和食的朋友应该会喜欢常陆野的酿酒精神。

有时候，不张扬不代表实力差，含蓄也不代表不想竞争。

和食精神，自成一家，当然有一定道理。

This week's column started with a certain perception about Japanese brew---that if compare to some US/European brew---Japanese brew is somehow "lacking" in big bold character, that it is at times too "gentle",nothing too overpowering....

That perception---is it a misguided stereotype or facts?

Thrown with the particular "perception"-- Kiuchi Youichi san, one half of the brothers from the founding family of Kiuchi brewery that produces the multiple awards winning HITCHINO NEST beers, has this to say:-
"alcoholic beverages(craft beers included) has long been closely linked with food culture, and Crazy beers match well with Crazy food. We believe Japanese food culture can be described as  SUBTLE"

And to think that the "subtle brew" from Hitachino is well received in many American/Canadian cities where there's never a shortage of "crazy brewers" is quite amazing.

Some quotes:-
on perception that Japan craft beer market is booming:-
"craft beer only make up about 0.3-0.4% of the alcoholic beverages market share in Japan"
"the craft beer market still have a long way to go(before growing into something huge)..." 

on International beer awards/competition:-
"we have been beer brewing for the past 20 years--the first 5 years we view it very seriously, then for 10 years we do not consider it as important--now we regard competition as very important events.." 

on Immediate plan:-
"expansion of local market via new canned packaging as well as collaboration brews..."
" to promote to more new market such as Korea, Italy, Russia, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia...."

on longer term target:-
" to have direct owned restaurant in Japan, as well as setting up brewery outside of Japan"

on craft beer experience so far:-
"craft beer link people up, it brought us uncountable encounters"

on craft sharing:-
'it's important to explain beer tasting method, beer styles to newbie, to share how wonderful and fun craft beer culture is..."
"same as how people see value in vintage wine, knowledge of craft beer is what makes people appreciate it's worth though it's priced higher than normal factory beers" 

on Brothers working together:-
"we just work and complement each other, there's never a thought of using brotherhood story for marketing purposes.."

on guiding motto:-
"GLOBAL THINKING, JAPANESE BREWING"



NEXT WEEK--Ale(Not pale)--Pils(Not dull)