WEEK 64--Drink WHAT, Drink HOW.....

I kinda always tell people who are drinking craft beer for the first time or newbies, that probably the "MINUS" method is the best way to get your first few beers spot on...

it's a simple method really, just "MINUS" out beers with taste profile that you don't like when it comes to food, or fruits....if you don't like sour don't choose a lambic or sour ale---if you don't like bitter don't start with an IPA.....so on and so forth...simple...right?

踏出来，别窝着。。。

选择喝什么撞意啤酒是很个人的事。
也是不少新朋友觉得困惑的事。
或许，最简单方式就是“删减法”，把选择范围缩小，比如不喜欢苦味，酸味，就把这些啤酒类型删减掉，只选自己喜欢类型，就能选到合适口味啤酒。

可是，如果你已喝撞意啤酒一段时日，还在使用“删减法”，那就有问题了。
选择喝什么啤酒确是个人自由，不过，“删减法”等同固步自封，不会提升对不同类别啤酒鉴赏力，也就不能享受撞意啤酒的天马行空不同酿品乐趣。

如果喝来喝去只喝3个不同类别如ipa, pale ale或stout。而从来不碰其他类型啤酒，

However, if you have been drinking craft beer for a while--say maybe 2-3 years already and you are still very much using the "MINUS" method---then it's probably wrong, very wrong indeed.

It is wrong because you will be missing out on a lot of other interesting, delicious styles of beers--if you just keep drinking the same style/styles over the years---it's almost like eating the same food everyday and not knowing there's a lot more choices out there.

Yes--beer is like food--choosing what to drink is all personal preference---BUT-in the vast and deep world of craft beer--it is simply not right to just keep drinking say 1,2 or 3 styles all the way all these while without even wanting to try other styles of beers--because essentially craft beer drinking is a palate building process--only when the palate is given a chance of trying out different styles of beers with various taste profile would one know how to appreciate further the beauty of craft beer....

提高不同类别啤酒鉴赏力是必要的吗？
如果你爱撞意啤酒，答案是绝对必要。

比如说，同一支啤酒，这时喝跟隔一段时间喝，会有不同感受，酒的品质固定情况下，几个月或一年前喝跟之后再喝会有截然不同感受，分别源于个人鉴赏力的层次。

真实个案，有只喝重口味IPA和黑啤的朋友2年前完全不喝轻量级酿品，觉得像喝水。不过，今年开始，这位朋友觉得之前喝的啤酒过于强调抢攻味蕾，反而太单调，开始会欣赏低度啤酒和果酸啤酒的不同层次感，对重口味啤酒的平衡层次质素要求更高，更能乐在其中。

撞意啤酒是对味觉嗅觉的训练，固步自封的话，鉴赏力绝对停止长进，错失很多不同类别啤酒同时，更怕是以为撞意啤酒世界就只那样，以偏概全就可惜了。

喝酒是个人事，选择对味啤酒当然重要，不过，别忘了啤海浩瀚，没见过没尝试过的啤酒肯定比自己喝过的多很多。
有时候，踏出舒适对味区发掘自己不知道没试过的啤酒类别会更好玩。试多些就知道了。

It would be very sad--if one choose to just keep to a certain style/s of beer and think that's the whole picture of craft beer, that is what craft beer is all about---ITS NOT-- the world of craft beer is so vast the varieties available would always be more than what one has covered...

In fact, it would be a lot more fun if you step out of your comfort zone--try something new, something weird, something mediocre, something good, something out of this world---because that's the fun part of craft beer--be free, be adventurous, be open minded... 

The one BIG TRUTH about craft beer is that--just like NOT every ramen, burger or chicken rice stalls can be equally good---there's awesome, good, average, mediocre and sucks big time craft beer...

And so the newbie would frequently ask--how to choose a good one? some would suggest going to ratebeer/untappd/beeradvocate--just check out the high score beers--those would generally be good or awesome beers--in some way ---it's like telling a diner--go grab a Michelin Guide, you wont go wrong...

But hey--the truth is--there's also a lot of good food out there which are not listed by Michelin Guide....

定义好啤酒。。。

撞意啤酒不同类别选择繁多，浩瀚啤海中，什么是好啤酒？

像食物那样，不是所有拉面，寿司，海南鸡饭或汉堡包都一样好吃，当然，不是所有挂上craftbeer字眼的就是好啤酒。

怎样才算好啤酒？
有人说，参考独立评级网站如ratebeer.com或beeradvocate或untappd就好，评分高的就是好酒。就像参考美食权威指南米其林一样，也没错，问题是我们都知道，好吃食物不只在米其林星级餐厅有卖，街头小巷里也能找到美食。所以，靠独立评级网站找好喝啤酒这回事不完全可靠，说到底只是一大群勤于上网评分饮客意见，A意见不一定合适B口味。

说穿了，怎么挑出好喝啤酒虽是个人口味选择，却也是个人鉴赏力有趣考验。
有人喝了多年啤酒，从不知有craftbeer存在，以为啤酒就是不停灌下喉或斗快的单调冷饮。也有人知道craftbeer是完全不同境界，值得花钱花时间探索欣赏的另类艺术酿品。

So how? obviously there's 1001 things to consider if you were to go into each and every details of what constitute a good beer or awesome beer...

But--if we could just go back to the most basic reason why a beer is good----because it taste good and has got something that i like about the beer---then we can simplify the process of identifying a good beer to say something like this:-
say if you have already drank something like more than a hundred different beers(or few hundred and more)---and someone ask you what's your very memorable beers--without checking into your record(be it on ratebeer/untappd/beeradvocate)--you would say out so naturally like it was a question about the 5 best movies you have watched so far....

好啤酒定义？

抛开一切酿制技术细节或独立网站评级不理，最简单说，好啤酒就是，当你已喝过至少上百杯\支不同类别啤酒，被问到最有印象好喝啤酒时，不需看回任何ratebeer或untappd记录，很快说出酿品名称，就是心目中好啤酒。就像别人问起看过好电影那样，好啤酒的特质是会让人回味再三，久久都记得的。

撞意啤酒本质是让人快乐探索，品尝，分享，也尊崇天马行空，自由发挥，就算你心目中好啤酒没列入独立评级网站年度100大，那又如何？

Good beers are like very good movies--it leaves something on your memory, and it would stick on--for a very long time...and it does not really matter if your choice of good beer/s is in the TOP 100 beers of the year or not( according to others opinions--that's the ratebeer/beeradvocate or whatever....)

WEEK 63---Beer is nothing more than CHEAP-TASTELESS cold quick drink?

This is a back-dated piece--by no means trying to tell anyone that craft beer is expensive--or craft beer is so rare or hard to get---perhaps more of a reverse psychology piece? :)

At a craft beer bar in Tokyo city center, i was sitting next to a guy from the States--and started to talk:-

Mr.states "this place is quite pricey, i very seldom come"

and he went on "like this XXX beer and that XX beer--i could get it at much cheaper prices back home in the states..."

I replied(with a smile) "Maybe because Tokyo is an expensive city? and these beers do need air tickets or ferry tickets to arrive here at the bar?..."

"beer comes in a box like that? wow.."response from a newbie

这酒有点贵？

东京一家CRAFT BEER专卖吧，身旁坐着一位洋人。既然大家都一个人在喝，难免聊起来。

洋先生：“这间蛮贵的，我很少来。”

这家酒吧在东京以致撞意啤酒界蛮有名气，多年来以独家入口美国啤酒为主。

洋先生继续“像XX牌子，还有那个XXX牌子美国啤酒，我在家乡可以用便宜好多的价钱喝到。”

我说“可能因为东京租金比较贵？而且现在喝着的美国啤酒也是需要付机票或船票钱才能来到这里，比美国本地贵是没办法的吧？”

不只东京，在东南亚，港台等地，撇开各城市入口税务大不同造成的差价不说，只说价格的话，完全没听说过没喝过CRAFT BEER的消费者会觉得惊讶，怎么啤酒卖那么贵？

不同于普通大厂啤酒的产品单调划一，加上连年无休止的生产供应，CRAFT BEER的产量有限，然而，不同品牌类别啤酒却很多很多，基本概念是，如果大厂啤酒是一个集装箱的铅笔，那么CRAFT BEER就是一小盒颜色笔，数量不多，变化却可以很多。

全世界喜欢喝CRAFT BEER的朋友都面对着不同程度的供应/需求问题。这是没办法的，不是每个人都住在自己喜欢酿坊附近或方圆100公里以内。如果你喜欢的啤酒在几千或几万公里之外酿造，那就准备付啤酒的机票，船票钱吧。（当然还有税务，开销成本等）

how often does ASIA get to see this beauty?

The thing about craft beer is--not only in Tokyo where property prices is obviously very high( hence adding up to business costs such as rental and so on)--in fact the whole of Asia--if we were to ignore price difference caused by different taxes between various Asia countries---the TRUTH is ---some harder to get/highly regarded craft beer can be quite expensive--to the extent of shocking those who always think beer is just something you could always easily get from local super market for a few quid.

The fact is---if you do not live within a reasonable driving radius of your favourite breweries---then be prepared to pay for the air tickets/shipping cost and other associated business costs of a Beer.

*Question --would you rather spend the same amount of money drinking 24 bottles of boring one dimensional Macro commercial beer or say just drink 6 to maybe 10 bottles of craft beer where each would have different taste profile, giving your palate some new experiences?

some are willing to pay an arm or leg for these two...:)

啤酒也有炒卖的

跟其他酒类相比，啤酒价格显得很便宜，跟葡萄酒或威士忌的收藏投资（也有人说是炒卖）市场价格比起来，啤酒价格更微不足道，

那是一般大众认知中的啤酒。CRAFT BEER的世界，虽然绝大多数啤酒价格相宜，不过，也有价格不算便宜的酿品。

大家都听说过葡萄酒或威士忌可以卖上万美元到几十万美元这回事，也可能知道有收藏投资美酒这回事。

不过，如果说一瓶啤酒，要价几百到1000美元以上，是不是觉得不可思议？

是的，“收藏投资”这事情也在CRAFT BEER圈发生着，只是，对一些啤迷来说，这种行为更多被视为“炒卖”，就像房地产那样，炒。卖。

跟世上很多东西的经济原理一样，物以稀为贵。有人会问，付几百上千美元喝一支啤酒值得吗？这其实已不是价格问题，而是啤迷好奇心，欲望，厚利之间的追逐，有人觉得偏离撞意啤酒文化精神，也有人乐此不疲在买卖着。

这么说，CRAFT BEER是贵价的玩意？其实不是，只要不是在黑市极力追求那些大名鼎鼎稀有难找啤酒，一般情况下，很多时候买CRAFT BEER回家喝或在一些瓶子店专卖吧喝会比去夜店或高级餐厅喝单调普通大厂啤酒更便宜。

至于啤酒炒卖市场，就留给欲望玩家们自个热闹去吧。

a language perhaps the brewers don't use daily? what matters most is the content-- though name or packaging is part of the fun

We all know people "invest" in wine, whisky, bourbon and so on, in that part of the world---it is quite common to hear people  paying quite a lot of money( from few thousands to few hundred thousands USD) for a bottle of vintage.....

Well--the same scenario is happening in the world of craft beer--people trade--buy and sell--quite a varieties of harder to find beers--and it is not uncommon to see a bottle of beer changing hands for a few hundred USD....(or higher?)

trying to secure limited releases--that's part of the pain and fun for geeks

It is basic economics at work---limited supply of a certain beer met with the strong desire or curiosity of beer chaser....or in some cases--it's where the GREED of seller for a handsome premium is met with the overwhelming HUNGER to own of the buyer.

*the thing is----if you are not into chasing rare beers--big big name bottles--then craft beer is in fact something very affordable--it can be cheaper than drinking crappy Macro beers in popular restaurants or clubbing places in town.

WEEK 62----Beer is something cheap and easily available ?

Been away for a while--first to Tokyo, and then Bangkok--both very much craft-hunting related....so this is a "back-dated" piece from the newspaper column.( in fact there's another--will do that next week...)

Most cities in and around Asia---beer is always considered as something cheap--something readily available--easily obtainable. This is very true--if you are talking about the big factory made one dimensional COMMERCIAL BEER.

亚洲不同城市，取决于在什么地方买或喝，一瓶啤酒通常是几块钱到十几块内就解决的事。换句话说，在绝大多数人认知中，啤酒是便宜，不贵，很容易就买到的东西。

不过，踏入不同啤酒类别选择繁多的CRAFT BEER世界，啤酒是单调口味，产品划一，价格统一的大众认知会被彻底颠覆，一般人所知道的所谓啤酒概念，并不适用。

比如说，供应很多时候都满足不了需求，比如说。抢占市场不是重点。

跟普通大厂啤酒不同，一些很出名的CRAFT BEER品牌并不会大量生产最受欢迎类别啤酒，供应量有限，一些难找盛名啤酒可能每年或每几年只出几百瓶。

或许有人会问，既然那么受欢迎，为什么不多生产些，让大家轻松点就能喝到？说起来，原因不少，包括：-

For examples, right here in KL--there's big brewery not far away from the city center producing tonnes of commercial beers for local market--so yeah--beers can be readily available for a steal.

But--enter to the world of CRAFT BEER--the situation in cities around ASIA can be very different--because most of the craft beer selection needs to be imported from far away places all over Europe, US, New Zealand and such....and naturally--supply is an issue.

Maybe someone would ask---since Craft Beer essentially is still a BUSINESS--why don't the brewers/breweries just bloody up the volume/supply of some of their most popular/ sought-after beers?

Well--theoretically this seems like solution for the supply shortage issue faced by many--but it just would not happen that way in the world of Craft Beer---why?

1）再怎么出名，撞意啤酒酿坊的年产量绝对比不上普通大厂啤酒，根据美国酿酒师协会定义，年产量不超过6百万加仑才算CRAFT BEER，实际上，很多撞意啤酒酿坊的年产量都大大低于六百万加仑。

国际知名普通大厂啤酒年产量多少？几千万到上亿加仑。这些国际大公司在全世界很多不同城市都有酿酒厂，重复生产几个单调划一口味基本款，无休止供应市场需求是常态。

相比之下，很多撞意啤酒品牌没自家酿坊，只能“吉普赛”式酿造，更别说不同城市有据点了。

1) No matter how you look at it--in next 10 or 20 years time--the overall production in volume for Craft Beer will always only be a fraction of what the big boys of commercial beers are producing. With many craft brewers still very much into "gypsy brewing"--the world would only get so much for a certain beer, not to mention some brewers/brand are actually proud to keep certain beer very limited in supply annually--or even only releasing once every 2 years.

2）撞意啤酒最初出现原因就因为市场上只有大厂啤酒，没选择情况下，本来只买酒喝人群中出了搞自酿的，就那样，星火燎原，一些人创造了自己喜欢口味啤酒，慢慢变成品牌。这样的背景造成撞意啤酒酿酒师不会只酿制一两个基本款，而是会像玩游戏那样实验自己心中的味道，不停有新类别新口味啤酒出现是常态。

注重酿造不同口味，产量少是正常事。打个很片面比喻，如果你的资金和设备只够年酿十万加仑，只两三款啤酒的话，大概每款有三万多加仑。如果酿10款，那每款只能有一万加仑

2) Because craft beer is all about VARIANTS--Varieties--naturally if you only focus on producing 1 single beer like the big commercial beer boys--then you obviously can keep on producing in abundance---but let's take a very simple assumption here:-

if you have a brewing facility and working capital to produce say 100,000 gallons of beers--if you just do 1 style--then you will produce 100.000 gallons.

if you are doing say 5 different styles/variants of beers--then you will only get 20,000 gallons of each styles....

So--there you go....yes, it's simplifying matters here --but you get the picture why Craft Beer supply for certain beer is so little.( of course there's the small matters of hard to get raw materials--or like in the case of Cantillon--you have to wait for the right weather...)

3）很多撞意啤酒只在酿坊所在地或周边城市有供应，供应量难以满足其他城市啤迷。比如说，在美国本土，某个州酿造的啤酒并不会供应全美国，产量有限再加运输费种种外在因素，令供应外国市场更难。过去几年被独立评酒网站RATEBEER.COM评为世上最佳酿坊的美国农村酿坊HILLFARMSTEAD就是一个例子，因为供应有限，不管是美国本土还是国外啤迷都不惜长途跋涉去到偏远农村酿坊排队，为的只是可以买到一些酿品。

3) Let's face it---even if you stay in the States or Europe--unless you are staying within 4-5 hours driving distance from the brewery--you will not get the beer/s you want easily if they are not being distributed in a bar/shop near you.

Those who been driving up all the way to various breweries or beer festivals would tell you exactly why they do that---because the supply is so limited--you have to go to the beers--rather than the beers coming to you....

4）虽然有少数撞意啤酒品牌已是年营业额上千万美元，供应很多不同城市的大生意，不过，大多数酿酒师只酿自己喜欢的量，或满足于酿坊现有规模，不忙着应付市场需求而扩张。生意角度来说，好像说不过去，怎么会消费者想给钱都不要？真实情况就那样，对这些酿酒师来说，占据市场不是重点，自在自主才是乐趣。

4)It is true that some Craft beer brands has gotten very big--we are talking about tens of million USD a year turnover here---and some of these bigger guy's beers are almost quite readily available all year round in many cities around the world---BUT--the truth is there are way too many brewers who are just happy to brew as and when they like/can--at the volume they like/can---business volume? fight for market share?

Some craft brewers/brands just don't seems to give a FXXK about that.....:)

啤酒是便宜容易买到的商品？在撞意啤酒供应比较充足的欧美市场可能性较高，本地甚至整个亚洲来说，现实情况是，很多时候在自己住的城市，有钱未必买到心头好。

So--if you think beer is just some cheap yellow fizzy thing you can always buy from the nearby convenient store at anytime you felt like having one--think again--in the world of Craft Beer--unless you live in the States or Europe or some craft beer heaven somewhere, you chances might be better--BUT- if you are in ASIA the whole time--the truth is --many a times---even if you have the taste and money for a certain beer--you just can't get it in your own city.....:(