WEEK 79---some UNSPOKEN 'RULES" of GEEKS

This is a piece more for people who DON'T DRINK or Newbies....

有不喝酒的朋友说，喝酒在亚洲文化观念中 不是什么好事，什么不醉无归，一醉方休，酒逢知己千杯少，一醉解千愁，反正听起来喝酒就是为了醉倒。

喝酒(当然包括啤酒)，就真的只是那么一回事？

来看看啤迷世界中一些没有明言但啤迷懂的“潜规则”。。

Why to them? well--in ASIA--any sort of alcohol drinking is generally perceived as "No Good"--if you do day drinking--that's even worse.

There are many old sayings in Chinese associated with drinking, such as 不醉无归（BU ZUI WU GUI--literally meaning no drunk no home), 一醉方休（YI ZUI FANG XIU--only drunk would do), 酒逢知己千杯少（JIU FENG ZHI JI QIAN BEI SHAO--when with like minded people a thousand glasses is fine）or 一醉解千愁（YI ZUI JIE QIAN CHOU--once drunk all worries gone)

All these words---with 1 final conclusion---that drinking only serve 1 purpose--to get fucking drunk/wasted....BUT --is that the case?

CERTAINLY NOT with craft beer--in the world of craft beer--especially that of Geeks--there are some unspoken 'rules" or "code of conduct" or  whatever one might want to call it---that differentiates the general perception of drinking culture here....

IF you a NON-DRINKER or very new NEWBIES--this is what Geeks believe in:-

Craft is sharing

Every beer geeks knows this and have done this before--still doing it--and loving it. YES--sharing is fun--no decent geeks would like to down 10 bottles by him/herself in 1 session---sharing is definitely the way Geeks love to do.

craft beer是拿来品尝\分享的
craft beer类别繁多，就算同类型啤酒也有成千上万不同品牌选择，只因不是冠上craft beer 字眼就一定好，如何选择好啤酒是门功课。如何选择是好？关键在于品尝。简单说，就是每次尽量找三五个同好，浅尝不同啤酒，既分享也分担，小量喝味蕾可以保持较长时间敏锐度感受酿品，间接也缩短品尝不同类别/品牌啤酒所需的味蕾训练过程。

其实，真正啤迷都知道，是每次自己一个人喝10支啤酒涨肚好还是三五同好浅尝分享比较享受？

It's all in the NOSE/TASTE/AFTER TASTE

Much like drinking wine or whisky/bourbon---what so good about craft beer is all in the smell/taste/after taste---if you still think beer is just one dimensional fizzy yellow no taste boring cold drink--wake up from your nightmare--it's time to understand the word craft beer and for god sake get yourself a taste!

味道-口感-余韵
喝craft beer重点在于每一支不同酿品的味道，口感和余韵所带来的味蕾感官享受或“受罪”程度。这点跟品尝葡萄酒或威士忌是类似的。好的啤酒会在这三大要诀让啤迷有深刻嗅觉味觉感受，就像享受美食那样。这也是为什么一些少产量上佳酿品会让啤迷不管怎么难找都会设法寻求，就算只能尝试一小口也甘愿的动力。

The way forward

Craft beer drinking is like eating food--there would be items one dislike--it's a very personal preference kinda thing. BUT--the slight difference is the more varieties one try and genuinely seek out the differences--the better one's palate for better beers would become.

In case like eating food--if one only stays in a certain comfort zone of beer variants--and refuse or ignore other styles/variants--though he or she might not know what they are missing--but that's not how the journey of craft-tasting/discovery should be--varieties is the way forward.

一路向前
喝啤酒有点像吃东西，人难免会有自己偏爱的食物，更有不喜欢不能接受的食物。在craft beer众多不同类别中，有啤迷喝了一段时间只停滞在某个阶段，不尝试不接受其他类型风格啤酒。虽然喝酒是很个人口味的事，对真正啤迷来说，在某个阶段停留不前是可惜的，因为代表着味蕾修炼的停滞，也意味着错过其他类型精彩酿品，不都说偏食不是好习惯吗？更何况，要是踏出“舒适圈”，多尝试其他不同类别啤酒之后，再回来品尝之前觉得最爱啤酒时，很可能会有新领会，或甚至发现原来有更好的，之前自己眼浅了。

Overkill is NOT the way

Chasing after beers is always top of the list of things to do for geeks--but like everything else in the universe--balance is needed--in the process of that--sometimes we see certain geeks become one of these( or all of it):-

-keeping all good beers to him/herself ONLY--(sorry no sharing)

-would pay ANY asking price for a bottle from the grey market

-always brag about own collection/beers drank & Mock others

Well--no matter how big a geek you might be--if you tick one or more of the 3 mentioned---be prepared to be persona-non-grata.

过度是不行的
啤迷的世界，寻找，品尝难找限量上佳啤酒是乐事之一，对狂热啤迷来说，没有什么比得上找到一瓶<梦想清单>中啤酒更爽的事。只不过，如果你是过份藏私不分享的啤迷，或者是愿意付出任何高价收购某支啤酒啤迷，又或者是会在社交媒体炫耀自己喝过佳酿同时踩低别人喝过啤酒的啤迷，那基本就是把自己往《不受欢迎人物》范围推进，没什么人会喜欢过度自私或盲目抬高黑市价或是看人低又沾沾自喜的啤迷。

Something is a TOTAL NO NO

All right--craft beer is definitely something that would make you drunk--if you :-

-started on empty stomach

-too tired from no sleep/jet-lag/or whatever you did a night before

-already feeling under the weather(what the fxxk were you thinking to still wanna drink?)

-for whatever reasons--you just feel like getting shit-faced

YES--it's never a good idea to get too drunk--especially if you consider the best thing to do with craft beer is to TASTE rather than heavy drinking---but we are only human--so yes--once in a while even the most decent Geeks do get shit-faced..

BUT--IF anyone think that doing the not unusual act(mostly by Pure Alcohol Lovers seen in ASIA drinking culture)---of "going to the toilet--pluck your throat to force out whatever you have drank b mid way through drinking craft beer---so that you could drink more"---then you are NOT fit for craft beer--you are wasting good beers...

让自己太醉绝不是好事
喝酒会让酒精有机会搞乱你的自制力这件事是大家都知道，可是不是每个人都有自知之明或自律的。一班啤迷同好聚在一起分享好酒，偶尔喝到太高兴是可以理解的事，而每个人酒精承受能力不太一样，有人会比较醉过其他人是正常。不过，真正啤迷之间有个很清楚但从来没明言的潜规则--<从不会去厕所呕吐了之后再继续喝!!> 这是大忌，是浪费好酒行为。要是谁喝到一半有呕吐行为，那基本就是自废武功，应该要去深山闭关一段长时间之后再说。(要说那样是因为当天身体早有不适，那更加要打板，身体不适还出来喝什么酒？) 至于一些夜店出现的酒后闹事行为，说真的这些年从没看过懂得喝CRAFT BEER的啤迷有这种无趣行为，这肯定是会被鄙视/断交的绝对大忌。

啤迷的世界，其实很简单，大家爱分享好酒，不想喝到很次的酿品（虽然免不了偶尔中招，也只是寻找好酒过程插曲），只想跟一些同好把杯聊聊，上社交网络分享所喝。至于喝酒就是想买醉这件事，就留给“酒精爱好者”去做吧，那件事他（她)们比较在行。

And if you did the unthinkable during a tasting/drinking session with fellow geeks--like vomiting or became aggressive or rowdy--then be prepared to be shun by fellow geeks....

Those behavior belongs to PURE ALCOHOL LOVERS at the local pub or bars or clubbing places---NOT a craft beer place.