WEEK 81--from South East Asia to Copenhagen---chit chat with LAN-XIN of Warpigs

Anyone who has been to Warpigs would know the place is known for 2 things:-  BEER & American style BBQ meat indulgence.

Being a brewpub collaborated by Mikkeller & Three Floyds--it is only natural that there would be crazy tap takeover events from time to time or many other friendly brewers' beers on tap whenever one visit--some if not most were actually brewed inside the bar with Warpigs in-house brewers. 

As part of the brewing area is in the open--where patrons can have a clear view of what's going on--it's a daily scene to see the brewers at work--be it the brewers from another brewery here for a collab or the 2 main in-house brewers of Warpigs--Kyle Walok and Lan-Xin.

酿吧(BREW PUB)，字面上意思指的是有现场酿制自家啤酒的酒吧。

 在哥本哈根，众多不同CRAFT BEER吧中，WARPIGS酿吧是很多不同城市啤迷列为必须到访的一家。

 刚在今年庆祝一周年，WARPIGS是由当世两大高手----丹麦MIKKELLER美国THREE FLOYDS联手打造的酿吧，除了美国特邀来的主厨打理美式烤肉，最让啤迷关注当然是啤酒。既是酿吧，除了内设酿酒设备，当然要有驻吧酿酒师，从开业至今，酿吧的两位主要酿酒师是来自美国的KYLE WALOK和来自新加坡的女酿酒师LAN-XIN。（是的，你没看错，是长堤另一边的新。加。坡。）

 东南亚不同城市，自酿或小型酿造不是起步中就是受法律限制，换句话说只是萌芽阶段，这种情况下，赫赫有名的WARPIGS酿酒师之一来自东南亚不免让人有点好奇。

本期“顽啤主张”跟LAN-XIN聊聊她的酿酒路程。。(中文是精简版本）

It's interesting that Lan-Xin is from Singapore--where home brew or small brew is either outlawed in certain South East Asia countries(for examples Thailand and Malaysia)--or still very much a minority game--though the scene in Singapore is fairly active--it is still quite fascinating to find someone from this part of the world working as brewer at one of the most well known brewpub in Europe.

SO how is it possible that someone from South East Asia where craft-brewing is still very much in it's infancy became a brewer at Warpigs?

Let's have a chat with Lan-Xin :- 

Q: To become a brewer -- was it more of an ambition or sort of accidental path?

I was supposed to be an engineer and actually enrolled in college as one. But my heart wasn't in it. Food science/engineering was a compromise between my parents and I. It was a blessing in disguise as that later became the foundation of my brewing education. 

Q: What triggers your interest? Or rather what were maybe some of the important moments that shape your interest on wanting to brew

The brewer I apprenticed with had assembled his own distillation still but brewing beer was his bread and butter. And I ended up enjoying the process of brewing more. And when I first started drinking non-macro brewed beers the flavors were incredible. Being a foodie too, that wasn’t something I could ignore. 

Q：成为酿酒师是有意为之还是无心插柳？

我原本报读工程，可是志不在那，于是转读食品科学，实习期间接触到酿造，也开始喝到口感风味丰富CRAFT BEER，爱美食的同理让人不能抗拒，当时也逐渐对酿酒过程这件事倍感兴趣。

Q：从新加坡到哥本哈根，这中间是段什么样的路？

基本是这样的，食品科学实习期结束後回到新加坡并在城里一家卖啤酒自酿材料店打工，那一年内做了很多自酿，之后决定去德国柏林正式学酿酒，并在挪威一家酿坊实习一段时期，有一天来哥本哈根探朋友时被介绍去“米吧”，就那样，点点连成线，后来就变成在WARPIGS酿酒。

Q: From Singapore to Europe --tell us what has it been so far.  The road to being a brewer

It’s been a pretty incredible journey. After my apprenticeship, I returned to Singapore to work with Raymond Lee at iBrew. We brewed quite a lot on his home-brew set up. Most of the time it was trying to perfect pale ales and such but from time to time, we would try something crazy. Especially when his annual event, iBrew challenge, approached. It was a lot of fun :) After a year or so with Raymond, I made the choice to explore brewing as a career and moved to Berlin to attend the brewing school there. I was in Copenhagen visiting friends and was introduced to the Mikkeller bar on Viktorigade. And there’s been no turning back since.

Q: Tell us the Warpigs experiences so far ?  how you get in there anyway? :)

WarPigs is an incredible ride. I can't believe we just turned one, it seems like yesterday when we opened the doors with a bang. But when I look back at how far we've come, then maybe a year seems too short :)

I'm not going to lie, I think an incredible series of events happened in order for me to be where I am. How to get in...there's a very secret knock on a mysterious door :)

Q：WARPIGS常有很多不同品牌酿酒师来客串酿酒，这中间包括被誉为世界最佳酿坊，美国HILLFARMSTEAD的主创酿酒师SHAUN HILL，是什么样的经验？

因为MIKKELLER和THREE FLYODS的关系，酿吧经常邀请很多不同品牌友好酿酒师来共同酿造啤酒，每个人都带来自身不同方式/酿法，可以跟业界高手们学习是美好的经验。至于SHAUN HILL，因为他的声望，酿酒前一天到正式当天都非常紧张，不过一旦开始酿酒後，发现有关他的传闻都只是源自SHAUN对酿造的高度热情投入，是难得的学习机会。

Q: there were many collaboration brew--including the recent one with Shaun Hill -- tell us something about that experience as well how was it like collaborating with some other brewers/ craft beer brand out there

It's a great honor to be the child of two very respected breweries. And as a result, we get to invite many of their fantastic friends to WarPigs to create something together. I think everyone has their unique methods of brewing so it's a wonderful learning experience talking shop with some of the best in the industry. 

You ask about Shaun…there was much anticipation brewing with him because he has a reputation for being great at what he does. I was really nervous and anxious the day before and when brew day came, even more so. But as the day progressed, I recognised that the intensity that people described, to me, is a side product of his level of passion. It was exciting and very educational. 

 Q：说说你个人喜欢的啤酒风格选择

我喜欢较低度易喝啤酒（SESSION BEER）， 最近开始很“介意”啤酒和食物的配搭。

Q: What would be some of your personal favorite beer styles? If any

I’m a sucker for session beers :) And very recently, I find myself fascinated with fusing beer with food. 

Q: Any moments you felt like needing to get away from beers or brewing for a while? What do you do?  

I definitely have moments like that. Where I need to reset and return with a fresh eye and fresh palate, if you will. Then I drink with friends and anything goes!

 Q：在亚洲一些不同城市，有不少啤迷在玩自酿，也有想当全职酿酒师的，说一下酿酒师的日常工作状况是怎样的？

虽说每个酿坊/酿吧状况不一，不过，酿酒师日常工作中一定有的就是酿造过程中避免不了的各种清理工作，这是我每天必须做到的，也包括像是酿酒，入桶，装瓶，清理酿造桶，或任何其他听起来不怎么罗曼蒂克的工作。。

Q: There's many people expressing all sorts of comments online nowadays about beers they tasted--those comments especially the not so nice ones--how do you treat them ?

Some of our beers fit into categories quite easily and the more experimental and crazy ones do not but we always have to find a 'home' for them. I think that's when things get tricky because then I think the beers get misunderstood. 

Q: Do you have someone that's a role model in brewing? How has that influence what you do and perhaps your brewing philosophy? 

Oh man, at the risk of sounding cheesy, once I discovered Mikkeller, I knew I had found where I wanted to be. I really appreciate their approach to beers, attention to design and packaging. 

Mikkel's vision is boundary challenging and being a part of that is very cool. 

Q：酿出让人惊叹的啤酒—是关乎学识和不断试验，还是说只是个人天份所致？

这是个唬弄人的问题吗？ 我想是两者皆有，加上热情/投入。

Q: Tell us some of  your “comfort drinks”?

I always default to dry hoppy beers and sours, usually alternating if possible. Otherwise, it'd be whiskey/whisky sours and gin and tonics. 

Q: There are many aspiring home brewers here in Asia—some just doing it for fun—some hope to make something happen--tell us what is it like –the typical day/week of a full time brewer?

I'm guessing this will be different for different brewers...but the one guaranteed common ground is that cleaning is something I'm doing every day :) 

Otherwise anything and everything is possible. Brewing, cleaning tanks, kegging, bottling, filling barrels and some mundane/unromantic things that I'll leave out :)

Q: Brewing awesome beer that geeks rave about---is it more about knowledge and experimenting? Or it’s more of individual talent thing?

Is this a trick question? ;) I think it is both.  And passion. 

Q：对没喝过CRAFT BEER或很新人的话？

无论你的个人口味选择是什么，都可以在CRAFT BEER不同风格类别中找到，这正是它的美妙之处，

Q: Has Asia—Singapore in particular—been calling you home?  (for beer related projects)

I think home is always on the horizon. That's where most of my family is. But for now, I'm really enjoying where I am, on this fun and educational journey. 

Q: In your own words-- explain to a newbie—what is craft beer—why should he or she give craft beer a try?

No matter what your taste preferences or mood, I think craft beer has something to offer everyone and that's the great beauty of it. 

WEEK 80--Chit Chat with Boxing Cat Brewmaster--Michael Jordan

A slightly lengthy piece this one--as usual--the Chinese newspaper column version is a compressed one--Blog version would include few sentences not published in newspaper.

拳击猫（BOXING CAT），唯一连续几年受邀出席哥本哈根啤酒庆典（CBC）的亚洲品牌，能受邀的都是当今高手，说明这家上海酿坊功力所在。

『顽啤主张』找来主创酿酒师MICHAEL JORDAN聊聊亚洲和中国市场相关啤酒经。

#专栏中文版已浓缩，以下是英语对话全记录。

here's the chat:-

On CRAFT in ASIA

Q:- You have been invited to other Asian cities -either for beer fest or tap takeover ---give us your view on Asia craft beer scene:-

Yes, we've been fortunate to be invited to some very cool events and beer festivals in a few other countries in Asia. I'm always eyes wide open when I'm traveling around Asia and looking at the craft beer market. I feel Singapore has been ahead of most of Asia as the scene there has a lot of history since Brewerkz opened nearly 20 years ago. The new influence of brewers in Singapore is evident and the amount of imported craft beers is very high. Hong Kong has gone from nothing to something substantial in the matter of 3 years. The first year we did Beertopia we were one of the only Asian craft brewers pouring beer at the festival. The next 2 years it changed drastically to the point where there were around 7 HK breweries pouring beer at the festival - with a few more in HK but not pouring at the beer festival. The variety of craft beer in HK is overwhelming - almost too many products that have flooded the shelves in a very short time. This is a bit different than we see in mainland China as the import regulations are substantially different. I was also surprised by the craft beer scene in Seoul when visiting there about 6 months ago. A nice vibrant local brewing community with a nice selection of imported beers present. It's super exciting to travel around Asia and see what's happening with craft beer - Asia is the next big global market for craft beer production and consumption. 

Q:- You have been to international beer fest -- as well have a fairly wide knowledge about the craft beer scene in Asia -- what are maybe some of the Asian brew that you personally like or thought under-appreciated?

I think Baird is a solid brewery with some great brands - I feel they sometimes get overlooked in certain markets. I've been impressed by Pasteur Street in Saigon as well - great beers and super people. We were honored to have both Baird and Pasteur Street make the trip to Shanghai in May for the beer festival we hold during Shanghai Beer Week. 

对CRAFT BEER在亚洲不同城市看法

Q：因为啤酒节或占领啤酒泵活动，过去几年你经常在亚洲不同城市出现，你的观察？

我觉得新加坡跑在前头，近年小型自酿风潮影响明显，也有越来越多进口啤酒。香港过去三年时间，从基本没什么选择快速发展到有不少自家品牌酿品，不同品牌/类别进口啤酒更是数量繁多。几个月前去了一趟首尔，那边有活跃的自酿活动，进口啤酒也蛮多，让人觉得意外惊喜。

过去5年亚洲市场发展很快，可以这么比喻，如果说相比先进市场亚洲落后了25年，因为过去5年的神速，现在大概只落后15年。

Q：- The home brew scene is getting strong in Asia --even in South East Asia-- places like Singapore or Thailand -- Is the Asian brew being handicapped by difficulties in sourcing better quality brew materials?  Or the standards been rather fine?

 I think there is some handicap on home brewers due to the shortage of quality brewing materials - it can be challenging for professional brewers as well! This is getting easier for home brewers and I know we are happy to help home brewers with malts and hops from our supplies. I've judged in a number of home-brew competitions this year and the quality of beer is improving; some issues with temperature control and sanitation are apparent with some beers but overall the quality is getting better. 

Q:- Craft beer consumption is basically very small in Asia --many people still don't get the idea of craft beer or not heard of it --from what you noticed in China and Asia generally -- how much has the market move forward in the last 5 years?

 I think the market has made leaps and bounds the past 5 years. Instead of 25 years behind we're now only 15 years behind - so we gained 5 years on other parts of the world. I've been impressed with markets like Hong Kong and South Korea really exploding with local beer production. 

Q:- If you would like to- name them--what would be say the top 3 or top 5 craft beer places in Asia that you would recommend to visiting friends?

 I think the top spots to visit for craft beer based upon my travels would be Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. That would be my list but I believe Shanghai can be added to that list based upon what my brewing industry buddies say after visiting:-)

On CRAFT in CHINA

Q:- China craft beer scene -- some says it’s still kind of muddy-- some says it’s coming up strongly -- your view ? What are perhaps some parts needing big improvement and some encouraging signs?

It's definitely growing in leaps and bounds the past couple years. It's interesting to observe and get in touch with product quality around the country. There are many new brewpubs opening which is very exciting. Some of the beer being produced needs some improvement on quality but its' encouraging to see many young brewers enter the market with excitement. Yes - there are many new things happening with craft beer in China. There is strong interest from consumers so that is driving the growth with new brewpubs opening, new bottle shops and new tap houses also opening. In general the quality is getting better as well - there are still places making sub-par quality beer but the number of those places seems to be decreasing. There is also a surge in craft beer festivals - too many to be honest! This can be fun and exciting but the communication to work together on beer festivals has been poor in 2016. I guess everyone thinks there is a pot of gold at the end of the beer festival - pretty sure they're starting to realize it's a massive amount of work and not really financial rewarding. It's more of a craft beer community movement where we should all work together towards a common goal of increasing craft beer visibility. 

Q:- China -with its purchasing power -- and the tendency to buy up whatever possibly could- as shown by Chinese tourists and maybe the wine sector -- makes craft beer lover felt a little apprehensive about embracing the emergence of Chinese drinkers on the world stage -- your view ? Is that real or unfounded? 

The bottle shop shelves do reflect this a bit - many products with best before dates expired and many products parallel shipped from other markets. It's a bit sad but I think the market will correct itself naturally. Hopefully consumers begin to realize the freshness factor of craft beer and shift their focus to quality craft beer made locally as well as proper beer storage conditions.  

1 of boxing cat's bar in Shanghai 

对中国大陆市场发展看法：-

Q：有人说大陆市场近几年发展蓬勃，也有人说是一片糟乱，你的看法？

近年市场需求的确有提升，新开了蛮多新酒吧酿吧瓶子店，啤酒质素来说，虽然还是有些卖着次货，不过整体水平有提升。市场的兴起可从各地大大小小的啤酒节活动看出，说实话这些活动过多了，也许有些人以为办啤酒节等同可以赚大钱，实情并不，这类活动应该更好协调策划才能有效让CRAFT BEER文化更好的传递出去。

Q：对近年大量涌现“灰色进口/水货啤酒”乱象丛生的看法？

自去年开始，一些在国内没有正式代理入口的如BELL’S, DOGFISH HEAD, SIERRA NEVADA, STONE等知名美国品牌开始大量涌现，不少饮客趋之若鹜，不过很快发现不对劲，很多酒因为储存/处理不当或已过期，味道一早“死了”。国内瓶子店货架充分反映出这现象，很多瓶子不是“死货”就是“水货”，这是蛮悲哀现象。不过，我相信市场会逐步自我调整，希望饮客多认识“新鲜度”的重要，也关注啤酒应有储存要求/方法。

国内另一个现象是有国外品牌或通过正式代理方式，甚至通过“非法”方式进入国内市场，这些非法入驻供应链的品牌应该意识到，一旦市场开始调整，执法当局发现并介入的时候，他们会从市场上消失

Q:- Understand that there has been a lot more grey imports of European/US brew into the market for the last few years than ever before -- good or bad signs ?

Also -- seems a lot more locally brewed beers -- signs of development –locally brewed beer quality on the up? (by International standard)

There has been a massive influx of grey market imports the last year -seeing Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Bells and Stone in China has been very eye opening. I think originally people gobbled up these brands but then realized the taste was kinda dead. A bad situation for the brewery with the bottle shop owner gouging customers with old product. We are seeing more breweries distribute their craft beer locally - some doing it by proper channels and some illegally selling their beer outside their production and distribution licensing. Once again - the market (or government) will correct this over time. I expect to see a few brands disappear from existence as my understanding is this can be a crushing blow to the business if the government steps in and discovers beer is being sold illegally to commercial venues. On the brewpub side we're seeing healthy growth by location and it's allowing us to expand our footprint a bit. I'm also seeing other brewpubs open a second or third outlet in the same city so this is very encouraging while providing customers a good beer experience onsite. 

On  BOXING CAT

Q:- Why Boxing Cat?  What’s the story behind? (Boxing part is easier to relate than the Cat part :) 

-and why Shanghai?  

The company name came from the former Brewmaster; Gary Heyne. He had a cat named Louie that he occassionally  gave beer to in a small bowl. If Louie had "enough" beer he would stand up on his back legs and do some small cat punches; almost like shadow boxing. Maybe the hops worked like Cat Nip?? The thought was vivid to Gary and he suggested the name "Boxing Cat" and it stuck - easy to say and had some visual identity. The reason for starting a craft brewery in Shanghai was that Gary Heyne, Kelley Lee and Lee Tseng were all in Shanghai already and they missed good beer from home (USA and Canada) so they decided to fill this niche that was missing in the market back in 2008. 

Q:- Some says Boxing Cat has deep American DNA in its brew though its being done in Shanghai --how much Chinese influence is there after all these years ?

 I think the company definitely has some American DNA - the food menu is influenced by cuisine found in the Southern Part of the USA (Gary was also from Texas) and many of the beers draw inspiration from the American craft beer movement. The Chinese influence has grown over the years - some influence on the beer styles and ingredients we use in the beer as well as a little sprinkling of Asian food on the menus; whether daily specials or certain dishes on the regular menu. 

拳击猫的基因，风格

Q：为什么叫拳击猫？拳击可以理解，不过，猫从哪来？

品牌名字确跟猫有关系，之前的酿酒师GARY养了一只猫，他偶尔会给猫喝一点啤酒，猫喝後会人立做拳击动作，因为叫起来顺口，就那样，拳击猫诞生了。

Q：上海酿制，美国风格，拳击猫的啤酒除了美国基因，有多少中国风影响？

拳击猫啤酒风格有很深美国基因没错，这些年，酒吧食物也基本是美国南方风格影响，不过，中国风影响逐步从我们酿酒用的一些中国原料/食材方面看出，食物选择也添加了些中式餐点。

Q:- What would be some of Boxing Cat’s immediate concerns in the coming 12-24 months?

Boxing Cat Brewery is growing a lot in 2016 and 2017. We're getting into distribution of our own beers so that means adding staff to sell the beer and service local accounts with cold chain deliveries and tap maintenance. We're also opening up 2 new concepts in Shanghai to help push craft beer to new heights. One concept is called Cobra Lily where we will highlight Asian food and craft beer together. This is something we've wanted to do for awhile so this is exciting for us on the restaurant side. The other venue will be Western style with a great selection of craft beer on tap. The main focus for the company will be the brewery operations though and getting BCB draft beer and eventually bottles into craft beer venues. 

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Q:- Very briefly---how would you tell a newbie why he or she should give craft beer a try? 

To get away from flavorless lager beer! There are so many unique flavors available in craft beer - why would you limit yourself to such boring mass produced lager products. 

个人啤酒选择/看法：-

Q:个人喜欢的啤酒风格？

我喜欢IPA 或PALE ALE，因为可以好好喝上几杯享受啤酒花香。虽然偶尔我也会喝一些比较疯狂复杂令人觉得 “哇”的啤酒。

Q：个人推荐的亚洲啤酒城市？

台北，首尔，香港，新加坡和东京，虽然我也觉得上海应该列位：）

Q：对没喝过CRAFT BEER新人的一句话？

离单调无趣大量生产大厂啤酒远远的—CRAFT BEER有那么多天马行空的啤酒类别风格选择，干嘛限制自己的味蕾享受？

Q:- Tell us some of your personal go to beers—or maybe non-beer items? 

I'm a fan of IPA's and Pale Ale's so that is my go to style when traveling around. I like a "WOW" beer once in awhile but often I'm more impressed with an IPA or Pale Ale that I can have several and really enjoy the flavor and hop aroma. If Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA is available you'll see me buying that beer - luckily Deschutes can now be purchased in a few Asian markets. 

American Mead Maker Journal---Summer 2016--a piece by cttai

This is a piece written earlier this year for American Mead Maker association's Journal.

It's basically a piece about the lack of supply of mead here in South East Asia--which for the time being is few and far as long as source of supply is concern---but the signs are good so far--there's already some tasting going on in Hong Kong though there's practically no supply of craft level mead whatsoever--and with Bangkok spearheading the quest for more mead to appear more consistently in this part of the world--things can only get better....

之前发布了，原本想偷懒，因为有意见反馈，现在补上（不完全）根据季刊版本的中文版--分布在英文版本中。
应美国蜜酒酿造协会邀请，今年初为协会季刊写了一篇很浅白--有关蜜酒在东南亚萌芽状态的文。以下是原文，刊登版本自然已经过一些修饰，一直以蹩脚英文乱写，这次要感谢主编协助和邀请，因为说的简单，也就偷懒一下，不翻译中文版本了。

Below the original text(which perhaps i should re-look and edit but it's ok, gonna just let it be)---The Published version has been corrected/ edited with better English by Jeff---as well the opening part of the article....thanks.:)-

THE JOURNAL LINK IS HERE：-

https://issuu.com/americanmead/docs/amma_newsletter_summer_16_2016-06-2

CRAFTBEER在欧美城市发展已久，市场具备一定成熟度，近年也逐步立足于亚洲市场，不过，相对于CRAFTBEER，蜜酒-MEAD对亚洲啤迷来说是很新，很难找到供应的酿品。

蜜酒（MEAD）指的是以蜂蜜为最主要基本材料之一酿制的酿品，在亚洲来说，CRAFT级别的蜜酒供应链很难找，相对于IPA或STOUT之类啤酒的被热捧，蜜酒没有什么知名度，也很少人听说过。目前情况，绝大可能只是东南亚有来自欧美酿坊的很小量供应。

蜜酒第一次出现在东南亚应该是大约两年前，曼谷“米吧”（MIKKELLER BAR）有小量来自丹麦酿坊DANSK MOJD的瓶子，在酒吧以小杯卖出，当时，包含新加坡，吉隆坡在内，都没听说过有CRAFT 级别蜜酒出现过。

Mead in South East Asia---or the lack of it

MEAD---something very new to beer geek in and around South East Asia—in fact in the context of ASIA, mead is still relatively what most craft beer drinkers unfamiliar with.

For the uninitiated, South East Asia is indeed vast and inclusive of many countries, but for this article the writer would only concentrate on Bangkok(BKK) , Singapore(SG), and to a certain extend Kuala Lumpur(KL) as reference point due to the fact that craft beer movement is most active within these 3 cities.

In South East Asia, the first mead made available in a bar were some bottles from Danish meadery---Dasnk Mjod, brought in by Mikkeller Bar Bangkok nearly 2 years ago, in very small quantity, after all, not many people understand what mead is all about.

In fact, mead was never promoted by any of the South East Asia craft beer movers and shakers like how IPAs or Stouts would, and there’s clearly no supply whatsoever of craft-level mead in and around the region until very recently.

直到今年初，新加坡和曼谷第一次出现了来自美国蜜酒酿坊供应，其中，新加坡一月进行的小型啤酒庆典活动中第一次出现上了啤酒泵的B.NECTAR酿坊水果蜜酒，也有小量瓶子供应。到了二月，庆祝两周年纪念的曼谷“米吧”带来了当今最受推崇蜜酒酿坊之一的美国SUPERSTITION十多种不同类别蜜酒，有上了啤酒泵版本，也有瓶子选择。至于算是CRAFTBEER沙漠的吉隆坡，虽然没有任何正式供应，不过，至少本地啤迷可以去曼谷或新加坡找，也听说可能会有很少量来自新加坡货源供应流入本地。

It was only in early 2016 that both Bangkok and Singapore started to see some more mead coming in, this time from American meadery, Superstition and B.Nectar. First it was January this year when craft beer enthusiasts within the region gathered in Singapore during a mini beer festival organized by a craft beer importer, though there was only little variants from B.Nectar, that event still significantly marked the very first time Mead served on tap in Singapore along with some bottles for sale. In fact some very limited variants of Superstition bottles were sold after the event.

蜜酒在东南亚以致亚洲是什么光景？或许听听两位啤迷朋友的说法会有点了解。。。

YANCHENG CHOO（YC）是新加坡一位年轻药剂师，也是闲暇时间会义务帮忙CRAFT BEER活动的啤迷 ，两年前第一次接触的蜜酒是一位来东南亚公干美国朋友带来的KUHNHENN酿造BA FRENCH TOAST MEAD！对蜜酒的感觉？YC说“第一次接触蜜酒时完全没有期待，之后的感觉是，蜜酒完全可以像CRAFT BEER那样，有不同风味，多面性。”

而虽然“找蜜酒很难”，YC至今已品尝过的其他蜜酒包括美国的NEW DAY，B.NECTAR，SUPERSTITION和波兰的APIS POLTORAK。

Barely a month later, early February 2016 in Bangkok, Mikkeller Bangkok was celebrating  3^rd year anniversary, some variants of Superstition mead were on tap, along with 8 or 9 bottled variants available for sale.

The 2 event in Singapore and Bangkok, though very small in scale, as well limited in variants or brands of mead, has definitely opened up eyes and senses for some craft beer loving drinkers who otherwise would have no idea what to expect from mead prior to the event.

While there’s basically no mead supply in Kuala Lumpur where I live, the beer geeks here still  happy to know that at least there’s some mead available in Bangkok( 2 hours flight ) or in Singapore(1 hour flight). In fact it is likely that one or two craft beer shop here in KL would be getting some bottles in from Singapore to smoothen request here.

YC(on the left) from Singapore is a big fan of Mead, but like most South East Asia drinkers, he could not find any supply locally though his first encounter with Mead was quite early in 2014---a geek from Florida came to South East Asia for work and brought with him Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel French Toast! What a  start some might say…J

According to YC, for his first encounter with mead, he had “absolutely no expectation” of what mead might be though he knows it would be quite different from any other beverages he had. His verdict after tasting mead? ---“I found that mead is at least as divest as craft beer in its styles, and definitely not one dimensional if well made…”

To date, though “access is very difficult”, YC has had mead from some different meadery including New Day, Superstition, B.Nectar, as well Apis Poltorak from Poland.

在曼谷，曾任职“米吧”主要侍酒员，现全职酿酒的TAEY开始接触的蜜酒自然是当时“米吧”来自丹麦酿坊版本，他说“我喜欢蜜酒中的单宁（植物酸性物质），相比葡萄酒过多强调单宁，蜜酒更均衡，更富层次感。”

蜜酒对TAEY有多大影响？看看他早前在面子书发的图文就知道，当时他品尝了曼谷“米吧”负责人/他前老板—JAKOB赐于的非卖品—SUPERSTITION非常难得限量白瓷系列--至今只有四款--其中之一的STRAWBERRY WHITE後，这么写“感谢JAKOB让我品尝这世上最美好的东西，我找到爱。。”

mom approving Taey's choice of mead

Up north in Bangkok, Taey who used to be one of the earliest bar staff with Mikkeller Bangkok(he has since left to pursue his goal of becoming a brewer) was dumb founded by the beauty of what he sip—a strawberry white from Superstition—which actually was not for sale  but a private bottle of owner/partner of Mikkeller Bangkok—Jakob.  Taey subsequently posted a photo on his FB saying “I found love last night, thanks to Jakob for letting me try this most beautiful thing on earth!” when asked about his “after-shock” assessment,  Taey’s reply  “ too good to be true”.

Taey first came to know mead while working at Mikkeller Bangkok ---which is natural since they brought in a few different bottles of Dasnk Mjod, he felt that mead was “a little like wine, what I like about mead is the tannin, but wine can be too tannin…”, from a home brewer and beer geek point of view, Taey felt that mead “has got( the right kind of) texture, combination, layer of taste”

Here in KL, there’s literally no supply whatsoever of craft level mead until maybe later part of this year. However, some of us KL beer geeks did attended the above mentioned Singapore and Bangkok event and have had some taste of what mead is about, though still far from being able to explore the full spectrum of mead, it’s none the less a good start and definitely wetted the appetite of those who are in the known for more mead to be made available locally, fingers crossed! The craft beer scene as a whole in KL is still lagging behind Bangkok and Singapore in terms of numbers of importers, bar and bottle shop operators, which translates to lesser varieties and choices. The situation is such that myself and some guys from the KL tasting group can only do whatever we could to try and secure beers we want internationally, and looks like some international mail order might well be on the card for some tasty mead J

至于吉隆坡，虽然有一小圈啤迷，虽然也想方设法找自己想要啤酒，不过情况就像蜜酒在东南亚的缩影，正式供应管道很少，只能通过自身方法从欧美城市取得些少供应。

虽然在东南亚以致亚洲还是很新名词，正式供应也少，不过，至少有迹象显示蜜酒已开始受到啤迷注意，在曼谷“米吧”有过SUPERSTITION“占领啤酒泵”活动，在新加坡这个月底会有来自欧美的不同酿坊蜜酒出现在一个小型啤酒庆典，而在完全没有正式供应管道的香港至今也已出现过几次啤迷自组的品（蜜）酒会。是的，亚洲很多专卖吧，瓶子店都没有蜜酒供应，搞不好很多经营者也没喝过甚至听说过蜜酒是什么冬冬，不过，CRAFT BEER文化的重点就是分享，如果业者没有动，那就让亚洲喜爱蜜酒的啤迷朋友们都先动起来，把蜜酒的美好分享出去，那样，至少会多些人知道什么是MEAD。
Mead is certainly something very new to this part of the world even for some seasoned craft beer drinkers due to lack of supply, various difficulties faced by importers in different cities in South East Asia also did not help ease the situation. For examples, income per capita for Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand is very different, which would affect spending power, while varying taxes and other import barriers too are not easy matters to solve at times. However, despite all these, craft beer movement is very surely, albeit slowly, growing from strength to strength in South East Asia.

In fact, as I’m writing this, there will be a mini craft beer festivals happening on the last weekend of March in Bangkok at a community shopping mall, the first of it’s kind, and Mikkeller Bangkok just completed the first ever Superstition mead tap-takeover last week with good response from geeks in and around the region---including a beer geek friend who flew in from Hong Kong for the event as there is still no supply of mead in Hong Kong or nearby Taiwan where craft movement is quite strong.

Mead in South East Asia, or Asia as a whole is certainly very new, still unheard-of by most, but the beauty of craft beer culture is such that people who tasted mead and loving it would spread the love, it is with this hope that we as geeks would look forward to maybe influencing the craft beer importers and bar/shop operators into moving more tasty mead this way comes!