Craft is Art: WEEK 113---Beer really can be DELICIOUS

Let's talk about beer in the simplest form/terms possible.

What is beer? the simplest answer is alcoholic beverages brewed using 1.Water 2.Malt 3.Yeast 4.Hops

If you have heard of a law in Germany(purity law or Reinheitsgebot) which insist that beer can only be brewed using those 4 ingredients and thought all along beer must ONLY be brewed that way--then you know perhaps only half the story of what beer can be.

啤酒基本是水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母的融汇结合酿品。

这样的组合，听起来看起来都简单得很，能有什么样多样化的味道变化吗？

大家那么长久以来所喝到啤酒味道来说，确实没什么变化好说的，啤酒就只是那样，酒精冷饮一枚，跟美味一点都扯不上关系。

以上只是大众对啤酒的片面认知，啤酒当然不只是酒精冷饮一枚，而是可以变化多端，以各种不同风格类别出现的美味选择。

Craft Beer的出现彻底打破了水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母只能酿出单调味道啤酒的错误看法，最简单说法是，除开大家都知道的不同水质问题外，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母其实有很多不同味道类别，个别不同组合会带来很多不同风味层次变化，再加上不同处理手法，比如Adjunct, 比如Blending, 比如Barrel Aging等等，让啤酒的玩味变得更浓更有趣。

Someone actually questioned "with only 4 ingredients--how beer can become complex or delicious even?"---can't blame this perception since majority "BEER" drinkers only know of 1 or 2 'taste' profile(for lack of proper vocab) ingrained by years of MACRO drinking/campaign effects.

Truth is--even with only 4 main ingredients--because of the hundreds of varieties of malt-yeast-hops, as well different quality of water--when the craft brewers turn on their creative minds--beer can become a totally whole new thing never imaginable by MACRO drinkers--and that's the single biggest reason why geeks go gaga over craft beer.

In the world of craft beer--brewers obviously don't give a shit about limiting oneself to brewing only with water-malt-yeast-hops since it's almost anything goes for some crazy ass brewers, here's a very basic/simplest look into what other things craft brewers do to increase the deliciousness/complexity of a given beer(and mead):-

ADJUNCT

if one were to check the definition of this word with any beer glossary--it's actually a Negative word describing low act of replacing malt-hops-yeast with cheaper alternatives/artificial flavoring agents with the intention of cutting cost--end up bringing down quality/flavours of beer.

BUT just like a coin with 2 sides--in craft beer ADJUNCT can be a good thing--a Positive thing when brewers starts adding at times ridiculous amount/types of REAL food/fruits/spices etc with 1 aim--to make that beer delicious--or crazy delicious.

In this commercial/profit first world--it's not uncommon for some food producers to find much cheaper/at times even harmful chemicals/artificial flavours to cut cost just to maximize profits--in the world of beer--the truth is ADJUNCT can become a good thing which enhances flavours and deliciousness of a beer--not downgrading or destroying it.

Adjunct(添加物)

根据Craft的定义，利用添加物酿酒原意是贬义词，意指不能用例如粟米或大米或人工香精之类的廉价代替品意图减低酿酒成本导致啤酒风味变低变质变次。

不过，转个念，这个原本的贬义词其实也能变成褒义词。

在德国，为保持啤酒的固定味道，有"纯酿法"的存在，列明啤酒只能以4种原料，即水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母酿造，不能有任何其他食材或添加物，从另外一个角度看，这也可以是固步自封，Craft Beer 酿造手法中的Adjunt(添加食材如咖啡豆茶叶巧克力胡椒辣椒蔬果等等)就证明了正面的使用添加物是可以大大提高啤酒风味层次，而不是减低或破坏。

BARREL-AGING

It is common knowledge that certain food items needed time to give it another dimension(or more)--think cheese/vineger/kimchi /soy sauce/smoked beef/sausages and so on...

In the world of craft beer--there are lots of BA or barrel-aged version--in simple word--putting beer into barrels to let it rest/ferment/evolve--barrels can be from the hard liqour kind of whisky-bourbon-brandy-tequila to wine/port wine barrels--the latest is that mead barrels are in for some delicious beer soaking/resting too.

Of course not all BA beer would turned out way better/complex than the base beer--but at the very least--barrel aging is a way craft brewers like to try add complexity/layers of nuances to some already delicious base beer--the thoughts the efforts the intention that goes into a barrel is all there for drinkers to feel.

Barrel Aging(桶陈)

一般认知来说，桶陈就像是把酱油或泡菜放进缸熟成，又或是把蔬果食材腌制成另一个层次食物那种原理。

在啤酒的世界，桶陈的目标没变，也是为了让酿好的啤酒变得更有层次，更有不同风味，基本做法是把啤酒倒进使用过的不同烈酒木桶比如威士忌，波本，白兰地，伏特加酒桶等又或者是葡萄酒桶熟成，很多不同风格啤酒如Stouts, Porter, Saison, Lambic, 甚至是Ipa都会玩桶陈，最新情况是，有啤酒酿坊开始使用蜜酒(Mead)桶来熟成提味。

虽然不是所有经过桶陈处理的啤酒一定比没桶陈原版美味好喝，至少说明啤酒不是只有平铺直叙那么简单，啤酒也有多工序多心思的一面。

实际上，好些Craft酿坊玩起桶陈游戏是不惜工本，为了提升味道层次，很多时候不单只是桶陈，更多时候是加入食材蔬果浸泡，目的只有一个，让啤酒变得更美味。

BLENDING
Not everyone is a brewer--including some very sought after craft brew/names(think Bokkereyder-Casey-Tilquin and such)--there are some who do not brew their own beer yet they are not gypsy brewers--these guys are the Blenders--they buy wort from others and do their own things through "blending-adjunct-barrel aging"--whatever means that would make the brew the way they envisage/imagine or hope it to be.

Blending can be a fun thing even for us drinkers in a small way--by trying to find a nicely blended one through mixing different styles/variants of beers during a tasting/sharing session --the key is different styles/variants of beer though no one stops you from blending ipa A with ipa B or stouts A with stouts B if you so wishes.