WEEK 35--WHAT's in a name?

首先，要承认自己是BEER SNOB，也是GEEK。

SNOB是因为已经好几年不碰普通大厂啤酒，也有时候不喝一些自觉不是心目中那杯的“轻量级”酿品。（不是指LAGER或PALE ALE---比较多是看酿酒师/品牌/产地）

说了这些，其实这一期写的只是玩笑性质，没有什么需要认真的。

无论是NEWBIE也好，SNOB.GEEK或NERD都好，重要的只是要欣赏好的作品。就像听歌那样，有那么多不同类别音乐，虽说每个人口味不一样，可总是会有一两种或以上是对味的。

喝CRAFT BEER---讲究的是对味。

花名这玩意儿，笑笑就好。

This is more of a jest than anything serious.

First, have to admit that i have been turned into a SNOB, as well a GEEK ever since craft found me---or maybe it's the other way round....by that i mean no more "factory beer" for the past few years...

Anyway--craft beer is a bit like music---there's so many different genre out there---there bound to be something that would suits your taste....regardless if you are a Newbie, SNOB/GEEK/NERD or whatever...

The thing about craft beer is simple---just find the taste/s you like---and you are good to go.... 

as for nicknames---it's just a play...nothing serious.

QUOTES:-
"BEER GEEK--there's no clear definition--it's just how deep are you into--and you could very much just measure yourself/label yourself with one if you think you are...."

"BEER SNOB---it's a bit like self-pleasuring by calling yourself a snob.."

"BEER NERD-- kind of like someone who is into fashion trend or antique collection--you would chase some rare bottles-- JUST GOTTA HAVE EMMMMMM...."

NEXT WEEK---craft in BKK

WEEK 34--drink Craft--learn ABC

这期来点“免费英语教学”。

当然是开玩笑的。

喜欢撞意啤酒的新朋友可能最先发现的就是变化多端，什么STYLE都有的瓶子贴纸，这跟之前大厂啤酒比较统一化，比较沉闷的帖子/设计有很大不同。

然后，再仔细留意的话，会发现有些酿酒师会在瓶子贴纸上“留言”--会告诉你为什么这酒是这样酿，或用了什么啤酒花，什么麦，什么酵母，什么提味食材之类的，又或是这是向谁谁谁或什么传统文化致敬之类的信息。

撞意啤酒之所以好玩，有时候不是只在于酒本身，有时候酒背后的小故事，初念，想法都让喝CRAFT BEER这件事变得更有趣味。

这期的ABC都是很浅白撞意啤酒单词，就像喝啤酒这回事一样，没有什么太复杂的，喝了-------自然就懂了。

One of the things newbie drinkers would probably notice very early on is the ever changing--free form expression--almost anything goes--different labels design on the bottles.

And then you might slowly noticed that it is not just the graphic design---the labels actually contain lots of other thing---such as info about why a particular beer is brewed the way it is---basic info of what malt/what yeasts/what hops/what other organic/food item added and so on.....sometimes the label would say this is in tribute to so and so/or to a particular tradition/culture....

All these make drinking craft beer a little more fun--the fact that there's a little info here and there to pick up--to understand what's behind a brewer's thinking/cultural influence/little stories behind the scene.....

QUOTES:-
"BA is not an abbreviation for a university degree---it stands for the word Barrel Aged---the process of aging a beer"

"BA does NOT necessarily make beers taste better--some beers are better off without BA--the Original version could taste much better"

"Carbonation has always been the benchmark for big factory beer drinkers--to determine if a beer has gone bad---not always correct when you are opening a craft beer bottle---because some craft beer were born WITHOUT much carbonation or none at all..."

"Craft beer--anyone or everyone who thought this is just the same bloody boring/one dimensional "alcoholic yellow piss"--try it--then you will see...."

NEXT UP--what's your nick name?

WEEK 33--"GUAILOH" Cooling Tea---SAISON

这是上星期的专栏。

说的是“鬼佬”凉茶--广东话啤酒的泛词。

SAISON是法语季节一词演变而成一种啤酒类别，指的是传统以来，农家在冷季节酿造，准备夏天喝的啤酒。

换成亚洲人的说法，就是热天消暑的“凉茶”。

当然，SAISON不只是“凉茶”这么简单，虽然普遍来说，这个类别在亚洲似乎并没有IPA或黑啤类那么受落。

某些程度来说，好像被忽略或被误解为易喝无难度无层次啤酒类。

这个，是要归咎东南亚，甚至亚洲来说，市面上不多SAISON选择？还是因为口味关系？

SAISON，肯定不只是消暑凉茶而已。

This is last week's column.

In giving SAISON a nickname--"GUAILOH Cooling Tea"--which is the direct translation of the Cantonese word--"foreigners' herbal tea"--which is referring to beer--rather than tea.

Saison is traditionally being prepared during cold season, to be consumed in the summer--as a thirst quencher---a little bit like what some Asians/Chinese always do--if you feeling "Heaty"--go drink some herbal tea.

Generally speaking, it seems Saison is not a much sought after category of beer as compared to say IPA or porter/stout in South East Asia--or the whole of Asia. 

Not sure if this is due to what's available in the market, or it's just a personal taste issue, but the fact that there's not that many selection available here locally is a fact that hopefully would change in the not too long future...

QUOTES:-
"if you ask a brewer, is saison a straight forward easy beer or a complex one--answer would be the latter"

"someone once said, saison is the type of beer you would find  closest to wine in many aspects"


THIS SUNDAY's column will be uploaded in few days time....

WEEK 32---Denmark-Kiwi---chit chat with Soren Erickson---8WIRED

8WIRED的酿酒师/创办人SOREN ERIKSEN是丹麦人。

不过，他第一次玩自酿是在澳洲，送他简单自酿工具的是当时的女朋友，现在的太太。

他成名的地方是纽西兰，理由很简单，因为是太太的故乡。

要是很老土的简介，大概可以把8WIRED说成是一个爱情酿的酒故事。

本地去年开始有不少8WIRED啤酒可选择，比如，还不是很习惯喝IPA的新朋友可以试试SEMI CONDUCTOR（半导体）较浅IPA。喜欢加强版本的可以试试SUPER CONDUCTOR。如果喜欢有点海洋咸味的STOUT可以试I-STOUT或BIG SMOKE。要挑战味蕾+酒精度的可以试MIGHTY。。。

If there's a cliche angle to tell the story of 8Wired---say from the HOLLYWOOD angle---then we could probably say it's a love story..:)

The fact that why Soren Ericksen made his name in New Zealand instead of Denmark where there‘s no shortage of big names brewers is sort of well documented( for those who are in the known)

This week's column is a short chit chat with Soren.

QUOTES:-

#why New Zealand?
"I moved to NZ 8 years ago. My wife is from NZ so I followed her down here, same old story really."

#what makes you think 8wired could work?
"The response was good right from the beginning but more importantly I liked what we were brewing. We never really had a plan set out to grow big but it always felt like it could work."

#comments from various people(ratebeer/advocate..)affects you?
"It doesn't affect my personal mood or mental state, no. But I do take the feedback on board and try and improve things that people don't like. If I agree with them at least, if it is just a matter of personal preference, there is not much we can do about that."

#winning( or not) international awards--affects you?
"It makes me happy to win awards of course but it doesn't affect the way we are brewing or which beers we are making."

#brew at own pace or do more to meet increasing demand?
"We have always been relatively limited by capacity and flexibility, but we are in the process of building a new brewery. Once this is fully up and running in early 2015 we will have a lot of room to grow. We don't have any specific sales targets, nor do we have a cap on how big we want to be. But I don't have much desire to become so big that I loose touch with the daily production of brewing."

#what to expect in the next 12-18month'?
"There will be a lot of new beers when the new brewery is operational. On top of that we have the biggest program of barrel aged sour beers in the southern hemisphere (250 barrels currently). These are slowly starting to mature so there will be a lot of these released in the next couple of years. "

#in South east asia--only Singapore is ok to homebrew--Bangkok & KL is illegal to do that--how to help spread the craft culture?

"Good question, i don't know. Homebrewing is always one of the best ways to start a good beer culture, but if that is not legal, then I don't know..."

#words for newbie
"Keep an open mind and try as many different beers as you can find:)

NOT included in the newspaper column

#any ritual when brewing?
"Not really. The only think I would mention is that I hate to store open bags of hops, so every recipe I write is in multiples of 5 kg." 

#on being invited to CBC(Copenhagen beer celebration)

"We've been invited to CBC all three years but have only managed to make it to one of them. We will be back next year though. It is of course a great honour to be invited to join such a great line up of world class breweries."

"Great experience of course. Not just trying many different beers but also networking with breweries from all over the world."

#Best 3 places to drink beer?

Portland (Oregon), Russian River (Santa Rosa, California), Warkworth (New Zealand, home of our new brewery).

NEXT uploading of weekly column will be after 13th NOV as the writer is going on a small beer trip soon.

NEXT UP--"GUAILOH LEONGCHA"---saison