Tuesday, August 1, 2017

WEEK 110----IPA Bla Bla Bla

Mention the word IPA to those still very new to craft beer--most often that not many would perhaps give you that "BITTER" look.
IPA--short for India Pale Ale--is probably one of the best known as well as  best selling craft variants around the world of craft including here in different cities of Asia.
IPA INDIA PALE ALE简称,但凡喝过CRAFT没有不知道的。
对新朋友来说,IPA可以是蜜糖,也可以是毒药,有人一喝即刻感受到啤酒花强大震撼,觉得很特别,跟之前喝过任何啤酒完全不一样,也有人浅尝过后就逃回去喝惯的淡然无味大厂啤酒怀抱。
个人对味感受不一样,会有不同反应很正常,不过,同样是IPA,却又有很多不同层次分别,到底什么才算是好喝的IPA?把这个问题抛出去问喝过的人,可以肯定不会有一致答案,对一些人来说,IPA就只是以苦涩为主的啤酒类别,“苦味程度高低”几乎已经成为一些人对IPA的认知。
For newbies--IPA is something of a "must try" variants when entering the door of craft--obviously it's very different from the usual MACRO BEER--so much so that some would try a few sip and "ran away"--preferring something much lighter or simply run back to the comfort of boring old MACRO.

Here in ASIA--IPA is no doubt the most commonly available craft variants whenever you walk into a craft beer bar or bottle shop wherever you might be around craft cities in ASIA--the only issue drinking IPA in ASIA is Freshness--how fresh an IPA do we get?
在亚洲,除非住的城市有本土酿坊,可以喝到新鲜酿造IPA,很多亚洲朋友对IPA的认识大多是通过市场供应进口欧美酿品,因为货源类别局限,很多时候会觉得IPA就是苦而已,或甚至有越苦越厉害,越代表酿酒师功力高深的误解。
这么说,IPA就真的只有苦涩?强调苦味?没什么其他?
实际上当然不只是一个苦字而已,IPA是最能展现不同啤酒花使用如何融和不同麦芽/酵母展现不同程度的酿品苦涩,甘甜,果香等等不同变化的啤酒,
You see--unless one lives in a city where there's local breweries or brew pub which can brew some decent/good IPAs--most of the time craft drinkers living in ASIA need to rely on importers to bring in IPAs from US/Europe/Australia/New Zealand---and that's where the freshness issue starts...

We all know that craft is after all still a business--and when it's a business--business sense/calculation must come into play--capital efficiency is needed--and that would mean majority if not all of the imported IPAs we can source from the market would all be coming into ASIA via shipping--not air plane.
平心而论,在亚洲,要真正领会IPA的美妙是一件不太容易的事,IPA是需要尝鲜的类别,越新鲜喝越好,除非所在城市有高水准本土酿坊,要说想喝进口IPA,特别是来自美国欧洲一些高手酿坊作品的话,会是很有难度的事。因为距离,因为经济效益的现实问题,在亚洲要喝到很新鲜的上佳进口IPA可以很难。一般情况下,进口商轻易不会让啤酒坐飞机进来,绝大多数都是让啤酒装上货柜坐船来,先不说啤酒是不是一定有装进冷冻货柜,只是坐船这件事意味着至少需要好几个星期超过一个月,就是说,啤酒从欧美酿坊装箱到出现亚洲酒吧,至少需要一到两个月时间,从啤酒花新鲜度来说,已经减退,在美国,有些啤迷是不喝超过两个星期鲜度的,相比之下,在亚洲,除非进口商很爱或因为某个啤酒庆典特意把啤酒飞进来,要喝到最新鲜可口欧美IPA真的有难度。
In ASIA--basically no one fly in fresh IPAs (geeks own beer mail not counted) just to distribute--it only happens when there's special occasions and only very very few importers who's passionate enough( or wanted to drink fresh him or herself) want to do that.

Yes, we would like to think that craft business is at times a little different from conventional bar/beer business when words such as  "taste" "passion" 'appreciation" might come in play BUT the reality is--Flying in Fresh Ipas DO NOT make much economic/capital efficiency sense when majority of drinkers don't really know what is craft beer--or say there's quite a large group of drinkers feeling quite happy to drink a 3 to 6 months old IPA or even up to 1 year old IPA(or American pale ale or any hop based variants) when some who lives nearby a US brewery or tap house don't drink any IPAs or hop forward beers that's more than 2-3 week's old.
如果你住的城市跟我一样没有本土酿坊或酿吧,喝不到新鲜酿造IPA,只能靠进口欧美澳纽酿坊啤酒的话,请留意:-
1)赏味期限,或者看一下瓶子/罐子酿造/装瓶日期。
2)要是在瓶子店买,要注意是不是有阳光直接照射/暴晒,有的话,免费也别喝。
3)无论是在酒吧喝上了啤酒泵版本还是瓶子/罐装,如果喝到类似过期奶油/芝士/湿纸皮/皮革或感觉“漏风”老化麦芽甚至发酸之类的风味,那就是可能已感染污垢或严重老化或坏掉的IPA,倒掉吧。(是有酿酒师特意酿带酸味版本,不过一般IPA是不可能有酸味的)
4)如果有人跟你说,喝IPA是越苦越爽,那只是个人喜好,不代表正确观点,虽然IPA有依照“苦味指数”(IBU)分为IPADOUBLE IPATRIPLE IPA三大类,另外,喜欢烤香麦芽的还有黑色版本BLACK IPA可选择,不过,无论哪一类,真正酿得好的印度淡啤并不只是强调啤酒花苦味攻击,而是讲究酿品的均衡度/适饮度。
5)假如你是之前喝过一次IPA之后就“逃之夭夭”的新朋友,或许应该再试试其他变奏版本,比如适合新人喝的低度SESSION IPA,又或者是近期开始大热的类果汁混浊NEIPANEW ENGLAND IPA),这会是让人对IPA改观的不同类型/分支。
6IPA喝多了感觉没什么不同?可能情况是,喝来喝去只是那几个市场现有品牌酿品所以会那样觉得,试试自己设法找些亚洲没供应的欧美酿品,特别是一些美国盛名酿坊的IPA,有机会较新鲜喝的话,就能体会什么是层次差别,什么是上佳IPA该有水准。
So, if you are very new to craft beer, and if you have tasted 1 or a few IPAs--and you have this question :-
"IPA is only about BITTER?or the more BITTER the better?"
OR
"what is a nice IPA / how to choose a nice one?"
that's quite fair questions to ask though it depends on few scenarios such as :-
1) how fresh is that pint or bottle or can of IPA you drank?
if it's a bottle or can--you can always check for best before date- bottling or canning date--if it's from a tap room then it's a bit more complicated as you won't know for sure the date or how the keg was handled or even how clean the pipes are....

2) if your IPA is from a bottle shop--look carefully if some of the bottles/can being displayed are under direct sunlight or very strong white lights. IF SO--DON'T bother even if it's FREE.

3) regardless if you are drinking from a bar or bottle shop--there's some very clear signals that your beer would have already died/gone bad if you smell anything unpleasant elements such as onions/corns/buttery and so on(also look for the meaning of the term Diacetyl)--or worse if your IPA tasting sour :)
4) If anyone--especially someone you think is a more senior drinker than you telling you that IPA IS ALL ABOUT BITTERNESS--the BITTER it is THE BEST it is---that is simply his or her own preference and surely NOT the truth about IPA. There's something to measure bitterness in a beer named IBU--and there's also the variants of IPA--Double IPA- Triple IPA---as well if you like a roasted malt and dark looking IPA--you have the choice of a Black IPA--so it's really not only about bitterness--it's much more than that.

5) If you are someone who had a bad encounter with an IPA the last time you had 1 and ran away from craft---you should give it another try--there's this thing called SESSION IPA which is lower in intensity be it hops or abv--or you could try out some of those fruit juice like NEIPAs which is quite the rave now--those are IPA variants which will make one change perception about IPA being only BITTER.
6) You have had some IPAs--or even been drinking IPAs for few years now and though "ipa is only ipa--nothing special"--well you could be right( if you have tried most of the awesome ones) or you could be very wrong especially if you have only been drinking what's available in ASIA--try to bring in some beer mail with IPAs you will never get from your regular bar or bottle shop--try some new names/variants--and let's see if you still think the same?

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