WEEK 84---NEWBIES RED ALERT 123

Craft Beer is NOT something most consumers familiar with.

Unlike MACRO beer--owned by a few international corporation--funded by big advertising/marketing budget--focusing on just a few core beer--it's very visible to the common folks--it's everywhere, easily accessible.

如何推广消费者完全不熟悉的Craft Beer文化是不同城市业者都面对的共同习题。

财力雄厚的大厂啤酒国际大公司一直通过大量广告行销，围堵市场销售点手法等<烧钱找钱>方式推广几个主要通销品牌，而Craft Beer特点是星罗棋布，供应链来自世界各地非常多不同酿坊或本身没有酿坊的"吉卜赛"酿酒师。

很自然的，Craft Beer酿坊没有大厂啤酒公司那种财力去玩推广游戏，一路来都是靠口口相传方式在宣扬，社交媒体有不少部落客，评酒人等，大家基本都本着自身热情做免费推广。花大钱推广品牌这件事，在Craft Beer界不被推崇，至今也还没看到有哪些比较成功酿坊会那样做。

既是大家本着热情做的闲事，就会是各司各法，不过，就像世上所有事情那样，就算以创意为首，鼓励天马行空的Craft Beer也是有值得新朋友注意的红色警讯。

Craft Beer is the complete opposite--the source of supply is from thousands of small breweries--some not even owning a brewery but merely a "Gypsy" brewer--there's hardly a marketing/advertising budget to speak of---the spreading of craft-culture is mainly via "viva-voce" or word of mouth--nowadays kinda also meaning Social Media---breweries would--drinkers would--bar/bottle shop owners would---basically everyone do say things about craft beer--all trying to promote craft beer in their own way..

How to reach out effectively--sending out the right messages to newbies--potential newbies--is something everyone who cares about craft-culture trying to do --including here in ASIA.

Comparatively--craft culture is still something very new in ASIA-craft beer operators in different cities are doing their part in promoting craft beer as better option to MACRO beer--as everyone is doing/saying things differently--perhaps it's good to look at a few things from a newbie's perspective:-

Let's call these Newbie's RED ALERT:-

RED ALERT 1

It's true that operating a 100% craft beer only bar or bottle shop in ASIA is no easy task--with craft-culture in the starting stage--and various cities having different Government taxes/policy on (imported) alcoholic beverages to contain with.

It is quite common to notice owners/staff  of a craft beer bar or bottle shop rave about/promoting the shop's core line or a certain beer style/s they are selling.

1) 只爱单一性
无论是业者也好，又或单纯喜欢啤酒，了解Craft Beer文化精神的，都不会，也不应该只强调单一风格啤酒类别。无论是基于自身生意通销货，或啤酒来自本身城市酿坊理由，都不成立。
Craft Beer之所以跟大厂啤酒很不一样就因为不同风格类别繁多，可让味蕾有很多有趣美味享受，如果基于某种自私原因，业者只是一味强调例如IPA或STOUT的美好，否决甚至诋毁其他啤酒类别的可试性，那肯定是大红讯号，完全错误示范。
只强调单一啤酒风格类别的人，不会是真正热爱Craft Beer的。

Everyone in business do that--obviously craft beer is still a business once you invested time and money--BUT--in cases where owners/staff keep telling newbies that a particular beer style(which they DON'T SELL) is NOT WORTH trying or a certain brand is TOO GIMMICKY/TOO HYPED to warrant a try(again they DON'T SELL) --then those words can most certainly be concluded as business (rivalry) motivated.

It is ALL RIGHT to PROMOTE what you are selling or your best selling items--but anyone who truly love craft beer would not say bad things about a certain beer style/another brand purely out of business concern---please DON'T MISLEAD newbies.

RED ALERT 2

It's quite often we hear people say--fresh beer is the best.

In the world of craft beer-- this is NOT always right.

We all know--Some beers are much better after AGEING(say Lambic?)

In some cities in ASIA--where the law permit selling of locally brewed beers or opening of Brew Pubs--inevitably there will be voices promoting DRINK LOCAL BEER/ or FRESH from BREW PUB is the best kind of messages.

AGAIN--there is nothing wrong to promote the business you have invested time and money into.

HOWEVER--if the claim is mainly/purely about FRESHNESS of BREW PUB beer being BETTER than IMPORTED ones--then that claim is very much debatable.

2) 过度强调本土或在地或新鲜度
喝啤酒就要喝新鲜酿造的。
这是一般认知，理论上也没错。
不过，在Craft Beer 界，事情不是那么简单，不然也不会出现桶陈熟成啤酒这件事。
的确，一些强调啤酒花功用，注重鲜味啤酒类别比如Pilsner, Pale Ale, IPA是越新鲜越好。
在一些有自家品牌啤酒或小型酿吧（Brew Pub）的亚洲城市，我们有时候会听到一些"支持本土酿造啤酒"或强调只有鲜酿啤酒才是王道的说词。
或许我们可以借镜奥运概念看下什么是什么。
从想象层面来看，说本土酿造啤酒或Brew Pub 鲜酿啤酒是比进口瓶装啤酒新鲜好喝是可以理解的事。不过，这理论对不对，取决于好些因素，例如进口啤酒是不是全程冷冻运送保持鲜度，进口啤酒类别，酿造水平等等。

Let's maybe look things from another angle--say OLYMPICS

we all know Olympics is one of world's highest level sports event--say if we could use that as yardstick---we could perhaps ask this question:-

WHAT IS YOUR LOCAL BREW/ BREW PUB beers level? is it only good to compete at local sports event? can qualify for Olympics? or more than just qualifying for Olympics?

Yes--it's kinda absurd to link Olympics with beer--and we all know whoever competed in Olympics all started from Local tournaments---but say IF a brewer is like a marathon runner--if you don't know the qualifying time for Olympics--or Olympics record--then most likely there's no Olympics coming your way....

It's true craft beer is no Olympics--it's not as straight forward as running a 100m or trying to break Usain Bolt's record to show the world you have arrived--craft beer is perhaps more flexi--DEEPER if you like to put it that way--but then craft beer can be quite straight forward too--any aspiring brewer/brew pub owner would know/want to know what is the expected level of a brew for a certain beer style---world beer competition aside---there's so many good brew out there--one just need to sample some--to at least know what is the LEVEL out there to compete better?

最关键当然是啤酒酿造水准。
就像奥运是其中一个最高水平赛会那样，无论亚洲哪个城市本土啤酒或Brew Pub小型自酿，最关键应该只在一个中心点，你的啤酒水准是本地运动会？符合奥运参赛资格？甚至是拿奖水平？

当然，能参与奥运的选手都是从参加本地运动会开始，啤酒也是那样，重点在于酿酒人知不知道这支酒的同风格指标水平什么程度，就像你至少要知道，入围奥运马拉松比赛最低资格是什么，想拿奖的至少要知道奥运记录，才能设好训练目标。

虽然有点抽象，抛开有啤酒世界杯评审比赛，或是独立评酒网站年度最佳之类的评选作为参考不说，一杯同类别风格啤酒，不同品牌酿坊，是佳酿是难喝，有一定经验品酒人肯定能分辨。

所以，当有人摇旗呐喊说本土啤酒好，或Brew Pub鲜啤是王道时，只要喝上几口，值不值得支持，是王道还是狗屁，味蕾会很诚实的告诉你。

It is totally all right to shout "Support Local"--but then--once openly selling a brew to public--that beer is inevitably competing with rest of the brew out there--and open to scrutiny by paying drinkers.

RED ALERT 3

Some believe that anything IMPORTED must be damn good.

In the case of Imported Craft Beer in ASIA--that notion is very much debatable as well.

We all know Asia is far away from US & EUROPE where most imported beers comes from---that usually mean 1 thing--LOGISTIC cost is high--even HIGHER if imported in COLD CHAINED all the way from breweries to ASIA.

And so the problem of NOT ALL IMPORTED craft beer would be in good condition when it hit the tap-line/shelves in ASIA simply because NOT EVERY IMPORTERS/OPERATORS in ASIA transport beers in necessary temperatures.

3) 进口啤酒一定好？
当今很多上佳/绝佳啤酒都源自欧美酿坊。不过，在不同亚洲城市，不是所有进口欧美啤酒就肯定是好啤酒代名词。
Craft Beer大多是小量酿造，意味着很多酿坊啤酒供不应求，来到亚洲的不同品牌进口啤酒，水准有高有低，加上不同业者不同运输处理方式，在亚洲有时喝到水准以下进口啤酒不出奇。

欧美啤酒来亚洲的成本不菲，特别全程冷冻运送的话更高，因此，不是所有啤酒进口商都那样做，一定程度上，注重新鲜度的啤酒质素会受影响。也有一些只把进口啤酒当生意，完全不理啤酒要避免阳光照晒或冷藏处理的所谓业者，只会把已变成次货或坏掉的啤酒卖到市场造成伤害。

If you ever tasted beers--be it on tap or from bottle that's kinda weird or felt rotten--that's likely due to some operators who are only in it for the business and did not bother taking good care of beers. (no cold chained transfer--no proper storage like exposed under direct sun light--contaminated or dirty tap line at a bar would be some scenario why a beer taste off or went bad...)

It's a fact that Lots of good beers/awesome beers can be found from the IMPORTED BEERS category--but just a note of caution--you might want to know who and where you are buying from--how to differentiate? perhaps someone who is very passionate-genuinely in love with craft beer-would drink/share/talk about varieties not selling at his/her own place- is someone worth paying your hard earned money to?

*新朋友最需要记得，不是所有冠上Craft Beer标签的就一定是好啤酒，Craft Beer也有不知所谓的酿品，又或是少数无爱商人卖着次货/坏掉啤酒。不过，重点是，无论是喝到难喝的还是买到次货，这些经验都只是探寻美好味蕾享受过程中小插曲，啤海浩翰，好喝的多的是。

To all newbies--craft beer is quite simple--it's all about tasting the good ones, but a long the journey of exploring vast varieties of choices out there--you are bound to taste a few bad ones/off ones/awful ones--just remember--there's far more good ones /awesome ones waiting to be discovered.

WEEK 83--Craft Beer Hierarchy of Needs--Maslow's theory style

The title probably sounds like a "Big"/"Deep" topic--but nope--i'm Not trying to be a Psychologist or  Philosopher--this is just a play basing on Abraham Maslow's theory in 1940s.

The Maslow's theory talk about human motivational factors/needs(not going to do a copy and paste here, so you would have to go wiki a little if wanting to know the Original theory:)--which is kinda similar to beer drinking scene in general.

啤酒的MASLOW五层次需求学说

心理学说中有一个马斯洛理论，用金字塔呈现人类5个不同阶段需求，从最基本的生理需求(衣食住行)逐步提升至最高层次的自我价值实现。

很自然的，越是上一层楼，人数越少。

如果用这个古老理论来看Craft Beer市场情况，相似之处很多，饶有趣味。

In his theory--there's 5 layer of needs, as shown here:-

MACRO DRINKERS

We could easily link the First Level in Maslow's theory to majority of the general public--who basically only think of BEER in the MACRO way--that beer is nothing more than just ice-cold-yellow- fizzy-thirst quenching alcoholic beverages---Nothing More.

The fact that people are being surrounded with MACRO beer with such easy access everywhere you go--as well being influenced by marketing campaign--and peers--drinking a MACRO BEER is like picking up a glass of water--it's that simple--BEER is not something people would think about options--because Majority of the people Don't even stop for 1 second to think IF there's any other options out there

马斯洛理论第一层，也就是最多人那层被称为“生理需求”（Physiological Needs），在这里，大家基本只忙着照顾生存最基本需求，不考虑其他更高层次需求。

放在啤酒层面上看，其实蛮有趣，绝大多数人对啤酒的认识只停留在会花大钱打广告宣传单调无趣冷嗖嗖快饮干杯大厂啤酒，不了解什么是Craft Beer。这解释了为什么大厂啤酒充斥市场每个角落，易喝易买，什么场合都看得到踪影，大家也随便喝，只要有冷冻酒精饮料感觉就可以。

啤酒真的只是那样吗？这是绝大多数消费者想都没想过的问题。

The fact that Craft Beer is NOT commonly known to general public don't help--partly why most people Don't drink craft beer is because they never knew there's such a vast selection out there--craft beer is like a planet they never knew existing.  

Craft Beer Newbie

Remember when/how you started to drink your First craft beer? The scenario could be slightly different but it can be concluded that most people started drinking craft beer out of Curiosity or simply wanted a Change from boring MACRO beer.

心理学说第二层，“安全需求”（Safety Needs）指的是人在温饱之余会追寻较好的生活保障。

就像开始接触不同于单调大厂啤酒新人们，在这层，可能大家喝到第一杯Craft Beer的契机不同，不过，基本离不开好奇或自己想尝试这个框，因为那样，有人试了第一杯之后会开展探寻Craft之旅，有人会觉得不对味或完全不能领会而离开，这种情况周而复始，作为探索第一关，这一层不愁不够热闹。

某种程度上，啤酒质素优劣，是不是选对自己口味啤酒，去的酒吧或瓶子店和接触到的店主/工作人员或其他资深啤友，都会影响新人对Craft Beer的感观，有时候甚至是决定新人会继续探索或收起好奇离开的关键作用。

无论开头好坏，新朋友们只需要记住，啤海浩翰，你绝对会找到对味的，如果你愿意，可以是成千上万支不同风格/品牌啤酒。

Hence--it is quite normal to see people come and go in this level--some might have met with a first few beers that's "simply not my cup of tea"--some might have gotten so shaken up with bitterness or sour that they simply ran away...

But there will always be new people who would pick up their first bottle/pint of craft beer along the way--will they stay and venture on or will they leave after a few try--that's really an individual perception/palate issue....

Craft-Explorer

This is the real starting point of craft venture--the level where newbie starting to get more curious/intrigued by the sheer size/availability of how many more variants/styles of beers out there to be explored--it's almost like a new found land--though some newbie would maybe only kept drinking only 1 or 2 same style of beers over and over again--while some would set out on an adventure of trying out more unfamiliar variants/style of beers....

罗斯洛理论第三层是“社交需求” (Love & Belonging Needs)，就像接触Craft Beer後觉得有趣的朋友会成为探索者，这是兴趣的雏形，有人会开始比较认真探讨什么是某一个类别风格啤酒中比较优质选择。有人会不管什么啤酒，只要没喝过就想试。也有人懒理什么其他选择就只想喝一两种自己爱的类别风格。这里基本也是个人口味喜好偏爱的展现，反正不同啤酒类别繁多，大家可以尽量挑对味啤酒，也可以尝试不知道的新口味。

很有趣的，这层次也是很多人接触/投入类似UNTAPPD，RATEBEER， BEER ADVOCATE这些纯Craft Beer社交媒体的起点，因为对啤酒的热情，很多陌生人会成为啤友/朋友。

The Maslow's theory of this level is about Love & Belonging--interestingly---this is also the stage where many newbie starting to seek out/involved with beer social media such as Untappd- Ratebeer- Beer Advocate....

Beer Geek
There's maybe some very different interpretation of what makes a Beer Geek--for me here in Asia--or South East Asia to be precise---it basically means someone who is passionate about well made beers--prefer tasting rather than downing pints and pints of beer in a single session--and if somehow lives in a craft-desert--you would try your utmost in trying to seek for beers Not available locally.

心理学说第四层指的是“认可需求”（Esteem Needs），生活无忧後需要社会认可。

换成Craft Beer说，已是啤迷阶段，所谓啤迷，虽然姿态有异，肯定对啤酒有热情或狂热，基本会选择品饮，跟同好或新人分享好酒，就算有难度也会想方设法找一些所在城市没供应啤酒。

讨厌劣质啤酒，理解为什么一些啤酒本质上会比其他啤酒优秀，又或者为什么某些品牌啤酒会受追捧。再有是，如果住在亚洲的话，绝对不会问为什么某些啤酒要给十几二十美金甚至更多？（虽然有时会付较高价追一些难找瓶子，可是绝不让唯利是图二手市场卖家予取予求）

其实在亚洲当啤迷并不是那么爽的事，因为市场供应有限，狂热啤迷基本都需要向欧美城市啤迷朋友或网店求助才能买到一些心头好，不过，狂热啤迷不会因为那样退缩，至少，心中那张梦想啤酒清单打完勾之前，肯定不会。（更何况，梦想清单可以是没完没了的黑洞！！）

Geeks are generally people who know why Not All Craft Beer is the same--that some beers would certainly taste better than others.

Also-- Beer Geek who lives in Asia--generally DO NOT ASK why a certain beer would cost more than 20USD or more....(though paying silly prices for a certain HYPED up beer is quite another issue) 

HOWEVER--the biggest hallmark/problem of a Beer Geek is that one " WISH LIST"--every Geek would have a list of his/her own--a list that sometimes can be like a never ending story/black hole that sucks you in so deep it would take forever to see lights...:)

The No-frills Stage

Personally i don't really know many who have reached this stage of Beer Pyramid--i mean we are only human--and it's worse when you add that "Geek" title onto the human desire....

Anyone who have reached this stage is almost like went to the Galaxy and back on Earth---yeah-- like Been there DRANK THAT 

马斯洛学说的第五层是实现自我价值(Self-Actualization)，这是最高点，基本已达到个人想要达致的人生高点。

在Craft Beer界，有时候我们会了解到一些很出名酿酒师或评酒人，基本都选择喝那种被视为平易近人的啤酒，不再执意喝的一定要大酒，名作之类，或许用看穿意识形态有点夸张说，不过，当我们试着把所有不同品牌啤酒标签形象名气等等都放一边的话，啤酒本质就可以分成非常佳酿，中上，中下或劣质4个分类而已，

换个角度看，这层次的啤迷可以诠释为已喝过很多不同类别佳酿，清楚了解一支啤酒优劣点，心态上有点返璞归真，回归啤酒本质为主。

In a way--these are probably the people who have drank lots of well made beers/big beers/hyped beers---people who can now just ignore the distraction caused by a certain Brand/ Beer Label/Noise created in Beer based social media---the only thing that matters is JUST the beer itself--nothing more--nothing less.... 

WEEK 82---Bitter -Spicy -Sweet -Sour - all in the name of Craft beer

I was actually asked a while ago by someone very new--or rather still very blur about craft beer:-

"what's there to be so fussy or excited about?"

Think i said something along the line of "because you can find many different flavours which can be found in real food items--and they are not those cheap/ fake kind of food chemical flavours.."

有新人朋友问---Craft Beer有什么魅力让啤迷玩的那么入神？

答案很简单，只因真材实料，变化多端，很多食物中找得到的味道，在Craft Beer中不单只找得到，有时还因为酿造过程增添/丰富了新滋味----这期就挑最基本的酸甜苦辣说。

this weekly column is a piece about basic flavours which can be found in a pint/bottle of beer... 

BITTER

i still remember someone told me few years ago--that when he first started drinking an American pale ale---a bottle of Dead Guy by Rouge---"it was so bitter, i have to stop drinking..."(*thanks to WayneLin from Taiwan Geek's group--who pointed out that this is NOT an APA but rather a German style Mailbock or Helles Bock)

That was many years ago--the same beer is tasting "very sweet" already to that same person.

苦啤酒

很多新朋友刚开始接触Craft Beer喝的第一二三杯\瓶，八九不离十会是Pale Ale 或 IPA。
很自然的，新朋友都会觉得苦，很苦，甚至苦到喝不下去。

真有那么苦涩难喝吗？
有位啤迷朋友说，好多年前刚开始接触Craft 级别啤酒时，第一瓶喝的美国啤酒是Rouge的Dead Guy Ale，当时觉得苦不堪言。不过，这支美式Pale ale 在啤迷朋友味蕾经过一段时间历练後，再喝已是"甜"的。(谢谢台湾啤迷朋友WAYNE LIN指正--这其实是德国风格MAILBOCK/HELLES BOCK）

TOO Bitter--that's usually the first comment we hear from someone having his/her first Hoppy ale--be it a Pale Ale or an IPA or even a hop base Pilsner. Sometimes newbies got scared and thought "That's It"--craft beer is no fun--not for me...

The idea people have about how a BEER should taste is almost 100% basing on what they know from drinking MACRO Beer--ice cold, fizzy, easy to sip---nothing more than that....

BUT Why so Bitter you ask?--that's because your palate was never properly develop as far as beer taste is concern--the mind and senses were precast with the idea of how a crappy beer should taste like--and when finally challenged with a craft beer --the mind & senses/palate just crumble!

这是喝Craft Beer好玩之处，大家之前基本都被单调无趣大厂啤酒预设对啤酒刻板印象，味蕾处于未开发境界，一喝到真材实料加了适量或大量啤酒花酿造IPA或Hoppy Pale Ale感官就被震撼/醒觉，一开始不适应觉得苦不堪言是正常。

不过，不吃苦的啤迷也不用担心，只要经过一段时间味蕾开发训练，很快的会发现，这些开头的苦，其实只是甘香，甘甜，易喝/好喝的很。

If you still think Pale Ale or IPA is too bitter--keep trying--you will soon find out it's really fruity/citrusy/bitter sweet--or down right sweet! so easy to drink and tasty--- *(FRESHNESS of Pale Ale/IPA is very important--but that's for you to find out--learn your lesson by drinking some "dead already" bottles/pint along the way--and you would know how to differentiate soon enough)

SOUR

That people actually love drinking sour beer is something most non -geeks cannot understand.

in Asia--sour food item is not a big preference- especially among Men.

Not so long ago, a geek friend shared a bottle of highly regarded Lambic with his family member/s--and got this remark:-

"WORSE TASTE ever in my mouth!!!!"

 酸啤酒

亚洲普遍来说，酸味不是很多人，特别是男人会喜欢的风格。
或许是饮食习惯影响，或许是一路来被大厂灌输所谓<啤酒>观念影响，很多新朋友都不知道啤酒原来可以是酸的。
不久前，有位啤迷朋友兴致勃勃把一支备受推崇很难找到比利时LAMBIC分享给家人喝，结果换来一句"有生以来最难喝东西"评语，让人哭笑不得。
酸味啤酒什么概念？ 基本可以想象下把酸味水果比如橘子，柠檬，酸樱桃之类的用来酿酒，如果你看到Wild Ale，Sour Ale，Berliner Weisse，Gose，Flanders RED/BROWN标签啤酒，基本就是酸味为主，或酸咸兼具。

What is so nice about Sour Beer?

I guess if you can imagine having a beer brewed with whole fruits of say Lemon, Yuzu, Sour Cherries and so on( and sometimes with pinch of salt to make it sour & salty....:)--then you get the rough idea of how a sour beer might taste like---BUT-- do take into consideration that though brewing process with combination of malt/yeast, and/or other accompanying food items--the SOUR you imagine it to be --can be a lot more interesting than you thought( this applies to beers with other taste profile too)

Generally speaking--if you see on label saying Wild Ale-Sour Ale- Berliner Weisse-Gose- Flanders RED/BROWN  then you are basically looking at beers which would taste sour--fruity but sour--sour & salty....

至于比利时特有的Lambic--天然发酵果酸啤酒就更复杂些，因为是空气中野生菌起发酵作用，第一次接触的朋友会觉得Lambic特有的<发酵Funk香>是很怪异的发霉味或酸味，不明白个中奥妙的朋友分分钟会觉得是一瓶已坏掉的啤酒！

Of Course when you see LAMBIC--like Famboise, Kriek, Oude Gueuze, then you are looking at something uniquely Belgium with at times very strong hints of FUNK/Horse Blanket/ or like rotten cheese---whatever you might want to call it---just DON'T throw the beer away--those are perfectly fine beers--they just smell a bit odd--if you are very new to Lambic.

SWEET

Yes--there are beers that taste like dessert.

In fact the whole idea of sweet beer is like chewing on dessert in liquid form--though there's a sub-category that says " Sweet Stouts"--you do not have to limit yourself to only searching for sweet tasting beers within that sub-category, there are other beer styles which do have sweet variants....you just have to try on and seek them out...

甜啤酒
啤酒也有偏向甜味的。
比如黑啤就有一个叫Sweet Stout的小分类。
就像饭后甜品那样，偏甜啤酒也有不同程度甜味，也用很多不同食材比如巧克力，香草，甜甜圈，水果等等来酿酒，只要是酿酒师想象得到的，基本就有机会入酒。
近期，一种用蜜糖为主要酿酒原料的蜜酒(Mead)开始被啤迷注意，虽然是很古老酒类，严格来说也不完全是啤酒类，不过蜜酒已逐渐被纳入CCCraffft圈内。
既然主要以蜜糖酿造，蜜酒自然偏甜，不过，千万不要定论说这是很单调甜味酒，因为，通过跟不同食材水果还有其他酒类木桶的风味结合，蜜酒会呈现不同层次的味道与个性，是一个介于啤酒\陈酒\红酒\水果酒之间的好玩类别，绝对值得探索。

Well--if you want a category that's predominantly skewed towards the Sweet category--look no further than #MEAD 

BUT--though mead is essentially based on fermented honey for whichever variants they brew--to conclude that mead is only sweet, one dimensional and nothing else is VERY WRONG. 

Mead is something in between a cider/beer/port wine/bourbon/red wine/white wine....it's certainly more than just sweet sensation.

SPICY

Have you ever drank a beer so spicy--you practically need to run for the toilet within half hour of drinking some of it?

Though comparatively ASIAN FOOD is more known for it's spicy selection---but you be surprised to find out just as interesting are some beers brewed by US/European brewers with spicy in mind.

辣啤酒

亚洲很多城市食物都有辣味选择。

好玩的是，来自欧美酿酒师的不少酿品也强调辣味啤酒。
在本地出现过的辣味啤酒就有丹麦米记的Texas Ranger, 美国Prairie的 Bomb---这两款都是黑啤，在黑啤特有的烤麦芽香，黑巧克力，香草味中有一股很特出的辣味--与其说像我们习惯的红辣椒或小辣椒，这两支黑啤的辣味比较像是是墨西哥食材辣味。至于辣到什么程度，当然因人而异，不过，有一位洋人啤迷朋友喝了米记那支後一直喊辣，说像是喝了一支Tabasco。（个人觉得还好，没那么辣）

One of my old favourites-- Texas Ranger by Mikkeller--it's more like Mexican spicy than Asian chilies spicy--in a nice way--but i do remember a Geek friend had that one bottle and was like "i just drank a bottle of Tabasco....its burning!!!"

Craft Beer当然不止酸甜苦辣那么简单，多找找多尝试，肯定会让味蕾发现新境界。

Obviously craft beer is NOT ONLY about sweet & spicy or bitter & sour---there's a lot more quirky or tasty beers out there --you just need to look for it....