WEEK 112---BEER Drinking Sheep

The title of this week's column came from a Canton-pop song lyric quite sometime back, ending part of that song has got 1 line saying "people are so much like sheep".

It's quite true when put it in the context of beer drinking-where MACRO BEER been and still dominating consumers market-even their mind when BEER is always only BEER and nothing else(craft beer? what's that?).

有试过这种情况吗？跟朋友或亲人或同事聚会时，喝的只是大厂啤酒，没其他类别选择，对喜欢Craft的啤迷来说，当时虽然可能热闹欢聚，不过可以肯定的是，味蕾肯定难受得很。

一直以来，可以这样说，在所有人眼中，啤酒是没有任何门槛，没分优劣高低的轻松酒精饮料。

这是大众认知，啤酒就是啤酒，没什么稀奇，没什么大学问，啤酒就是一班人一起喝一起嗨随意怎么喝都可以的普通酒精饮料。

对绝对大多数人来说，喝啤酒需要有所讲究这件事是很陌生的概念，甚至是听起来就近乎可笑的事。

It's actually kinda laughable but also scary to think that most people immediately relate beer to CARLXXXX /HEIXXXXX/CORXXX and so on as beer- just like we automatically refer COLxxxx as toothpaste instead of saying toothpaste.

There's no denying how successful/pitiful beer consumption market has been/still are after all these years of domination by the MACRO giants via systematic "brain washing" with various seemingly trendy/life is good/close to the heart of working class/friendships/party hard theme(and so on)ad campaigns that the immediate reaction of most people when ask about beer would be :-

1) BEER is easy - no choices needed

2) BEER is just BEER- nothing to fuss

3) BEER is cheap- no flavours no complexity at all

4) BEER is to be down quick- to get high/pissed/shit faced with

大厂啤酒的广告策略效应让绝对大多数人觉得喝什么啤酒，味道层次之类的并不重要，在哪里跟什么人喝，场地热不热闹，是不是跟随风潮比较重要。

对热爱Craft Beer啤迷来说，啤酒当然不是那样单调，一直以来情况是，整个啤酒消费市场只有绝对少数啤迷知道什么是啤酒美味层次，不同啤酒之间水准可以有天与地差别，如何有效让一般人知道啤酒实际上有很大质素区别才能起到最起码的观念改变，这件事不是三言两语能说清楚，更需要一定时间尝味了解才能见效。

"人群是多么像羊群"是林夕帮陈奕迅写的词，放在啤酒消费市场很贴切很形象，因为绝对多数人都跟在大厂啤酒行销策略后面走，说是盲目追随并不为过，大家都植入式接受大厂啤酒广告设定的说词\口味\方向，觉得啤酒一定就要冷飕飕，见泡沫，趁冷快喝，从来不去想啤酒可以有怎么样多元化的美味变化，习惯了当羊群，就一直喝着羊群饮料而不自知。

We all know beer business can be a hugely profitable one-and we also know the MACRO BEER giants company will keep going with their multi millions advertising campaign-marketing strategy to conquer all corners and every beer drinkers mind possible.

For people who have tasted and understand what craft beer/mead is all about, we do know that there's so much more choices- delicious choices/varieties out there-question is--how do you break that chain firmly locked in most consumers mind about BEER? How can the craft community effectively spread out that 1 single most important message of " beer is NOT only BEER but has got varieties of styles and choices"?

或许，在一般人眼中，或许会觉得Craft啤迷是奇怪- 装腔作势-鸡蛋挑骨头的一群,不就是啤酒，有什么那么好挑剔讲究的？ 其实，说穿了，啤迷只是认识到更合适自己口味，致力寻找美味层次的一群，或许啤迷也还只是一群羊，不过，可以肯定的是，这是一群懂得自己想喝什么的羊。

第7季最新一集<王位游戏-Game of Thrones>中有一句对白是这样说的 "就算羊群鼓噪 狮子绝不动摇"，放在喝啤酒这件事来看，还蛮有趣的，当消费市场上绝对大多数"爱喝啤酒人"都是羊群，当财雄势大的大厂啤酒公司不断鼓吹啤酒只是轻松随意或时尚嗨爆酒精饮料时，市场少数群体的Craft Beer啤迷们虽然不是剧中比喻的狮子，不过可以肯定的是不会被动摇的一群，原因很简单，一旦了解并爱上Craft的变化多端口味选择，就再也回不去羊群中继续盲目追随单调无趣的大厂啤酒。

你还身在羊群中？是时候走出来看看羊群之外的选择了。

This blog is half jokingly saying(because to say seriously can be bit boring or too preachy?) majority of the BEER DRINKING people are sheep who do not realize they were/ been/ still are following the advertising messages/strategy of MACRO Giants--not knowing what other choices available in the world of beer--or worse- by simply dismissing craft drinking crowd/ geeks as a bunch of pretentious/fussy assholes.

In Episode 5 of season 6 of Game of Thrones--Jaime and Cersei repeated that sentence "a Lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep"--perhaps the craft drinking crowd would likely still be sheep instead of Lions--but 1 thing is for sure- this would be a group of sheep who know there's choices out there in the beer world and know how to choose their beers.

IF all these while you been led to believe that there's only BEER instead of beer out there in the beer world--it's time to stop being a blinded sheep--come out to the world of craft beer/mead--and be a some what picky sheep if you will.