Into the second week of 2018, looking back, there's obviously the big miss of not able to make it out there in Copenhagen for MBCC beer week--though there's a consolation of sort of having attended Asia's first ever mead+casual fine dining pairing dinner at Upstairs@Mikkeller Bangkok.
我的2017精选酒单--也加了一些没在专栏中提起的酒。
Here's my list of memorable ones--as well added a few not mentioned in the newspaper column( partly due to limited space a page can accommodate)--in no particular order*
一年刚过，身为啤迷，最大憾事莫过于没能参与去年哥本哈根啤酒庆典，值得安慰是有幸去曼谷参与美国顶级蜜酒作坊SUPERSTITION MEADERY在最近拿到米其林一星的“米吧”楼上餐厅（UPSTAIRS AT MIKKELLER BANGKOK）亚洲唯一一场蜜酒美食配搭晚宴。虽说少了一次哥本哈根啤酒周的洗礼，回望去年喝过的不同类别啤酒蜜酒中，仍有好些精彩酿品值得一提。（排名不分先后）
B.Nektar--- Mutant Zombie Killer
Had this in a sharing session here in KL--it was instantly attention grabbing--and then some sort of F words followed--not because it was bad--but Dangerously drinkable/delicious---it never felt like a high abv brew--more like a very easy drinking fruits influenced session mead/cider sort--what an amazing accidental brew.
因为酿酒师无意中犯错情况下误打误撞碰出来的美酒，虽然酒精度相当高，但喝起来一点都没负担，易喝到让人以为只是5/6度左右低度好喝水果蜜酒，喝当时第一印象是，好好喝，但也很危险，美味易喝程度实在有些过份。
Homage--- Chat Flou
Not heard of this US brewery before tasting it in an after party at Mikkeller Bangkok- right after the mead pairing dinner-was totally surprised by the finesse displayed first through the nose--think rotten peach( in a nice way)--then the layering of body/taste--thanks to JJ for sharing this beauty.( and duck duck gooze)
美国啤迷朋友从洛杉矶带到曼谷分享的瓶子，是一家新酿坊的杏子酸啤酒，用最直接语言形容的话，闻起来就像发酵中的杏果汁，有点意料之外的带比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒风味，喝起来充满醇香果酸味，可口舒畅。
Cloud Water + The Veil -- Chubbles
& Other Half ---All Citra Everything
No doubt NEIPA was the buzz word last year( and still is)--for the uninitiated--what NEIPA do is to make the usually more bitter/harder style of IPA into something more juicy/fruity--in some cases much softer than the hops attack focus "traditional ipas"( which is a misconception as there's also some very balance and easy drinking IPAs)
As with any beer styles, there's different approach/school of thoughts applied by different brewers--and it's natural that not all NEIPAs willl be tasty or to one's liking--some NEIPA can taste overly sweet or cloying to some.
With fresh/finer NEIPAs harder to source in ASIA--these two were the standouts among some in vouge/in demand US/UK brews tasted last year.
New England IPA, 近期最热门IPA新形态，简单说就是口感酒体类似果汁的印度淡啤, 跟口感比较苦涩传统IPA 最大分别是酿品做出类似果汁口感，为IPA 带出另一种层次。由于是类果汁，一些酿品喝起来比较像是喝着果汁或浓缩果汁多过像印度淡陴，有些感觉过甜或腻口，个人来说，不是很爱。
个人喜好之外，酿品水准高低当然有很大影响，今年喝过酿品中，英美高手合酿的Chubbles和来自纽约酿坊的All Citra Everything均衡可口，感觉对味。
The Lost Abby --Duck Duck Gooze
A bottle brought in to Bangkok from the states by JJ for a sharing session---long heard of this hard to come by bottle--the biggest impression after pouring was the nose of the brew--it was wonderful--but the beer did not taste as awesome as the nose--it did not bring about the usual Gueze feelings--tasted quite subtle--almost underwhelming for a big name bottle but still one to remember.
#side note
in the newspaper column--somehow i made the the mistake of referring this tribute to Gueze brew as Gose( yeah i know--what a careless fxxked up)
朋友从美国带来曼谷分享的酸中带咸德式风格啤酒，就算在美国本土也属于盛名难寻瓶子，是风格比较“轻量级”的酸啤酒，喝时不能用比利时LAMBIC标准去期待，这支酒最吸引的是一开始的酒香，韵味很足，不过酒体层次比较简单，属于闻香比口感出色酿品。
更正
原文有误导性---这其实是美国酿坊向比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒类型中的GUEZE致意之作--虽然酒体口感喝起来不像-但也不能说成是德式啤酒风格--因为GUEZE和GOSE之间还是很不同的。
Mikkeller--- Sontan Cherry
Truth be told--there was no expectations whatsoever with this one during a share in KL--but it kinda wow everyone sipping it--it's really well made--full of cherries goodness yet not overpowering--for a little while you could even mistaken it as a wine-beer.
本地瓶子分享会上喝到的樱桃酒，是丹麦米记和一家葡萄酒酿坊合作的浓郁水果酒，可以想象成把鲜榨果肉果汁丢在容器中发酵再过滤而成的鲜美果酒，入口细致香醇，充满樱桃鲜甜酸，是让人想再喝的美味酿品。
Thanks to John for bringing this one back from Bangkok and shared with the guys here--speedway stout is no doubt one of the benchmark stouts out there--this Thai tribute version uses some Thai ingredients--and it was really to the point--the brew though still essentially a speedway stout--but it showcase the Thai ingredients in a nice way--it's likely not the most complex or best variants of speedway stouts out there--but if you like Thai food--this one will remind you of some Thai flavours.
朋友从曼谷米吧带回来分享的瓶子，Speedway stout 是这家美国加州酿坊代表作，原版之外有非常多变奏版，这是使用几种具有泰国特色食材加入酿造，除了保持黑啤应有醇香，也体现了泰国食材带来的特色。
Yorocco-- BA Saison(Unlended version)
The consensus among some of us geeks is that Japanese brew is mostly very drinkable but somehow too polite/mellow--seems lacking some edges that would make one to sit up and notice.
Well--what a surprise this brew turn out to be--shared this in Tokyo with a newly acquainted geek from the states--after 2 sips--both of us were like "damn--this beer is something"--it's not a in your face kind of beer--on the contrary--it's basically still is a subtle brew--but i guess the magic with wine oak barrel aging did the trick-- it was full of oak goodness--almost felt like sipping a fine white wine beer--easy drinking on another level --full of nuances.
综合啤迷朋友们的意见，大家一直以来对日本啤酒印象是易喝相当不错仅此而已，不会觉得有意外惊喜酿品。这支原味桶陈农场风格低度啤酒让人改观，充满葡萄酒木桶香味，像是喝着有层次，静态的白葡萄啤酒，美味。
Superstition mead pairing dinner at Upstairs Mikkeller Bangkok
the founders/owners of Supersition Meadery---Jeff and Jen and their 2 sons were in Bangkok early last year during a family trip to Asia--the pairing dinner was the only event held--with the awesome White Series plus 7 other variants of their mead/cider --it was something i could not miss---Chef Dan tweak a little on the menu to better suit the mead/cider theme--it was an amazing pairing/dining experience especially what Chef Dan did with the desserts to pair with Peanut Butter Jelly Crime--as well as the finale 4 variants of White Series.
配合SUPERSTITION酿坊创始人JEFF和JEN还有孩子们在泰国度假，去年初曼谷米吧楼上餐厅举行了亚洲唯一一场美食配搭蜜酒晚宴。对不太了解这家餐厅的，这是亚洲唯一坚持美食配搭啤酒或蜜酒的米其林一星餐厅，这里没有葡萄酒供应，包括甜点在内的10道美食只配搭啤酒或蜜酒。当晚菜单是主厨DAN BARK根据11款不同类型蜜酒调整而设，特别是配合PEANUT
BUTTER JELLY CRIME和压轴4款WHITE SERIES的甜点设计更是突出，是新颖有趣的美味用餐经验
SIDE NOTE:-
Black Tuesday is always welcome
obviously we don't get any supply of this monster brew in Asia--not by any means--the only way is to seek your own way--thanks to Toga who secured this beauty from the states and shared this in KL
黑色星期二不是很好意头的一天，不过装在瓶子里的话几时都欢迎，这是在亚洲找不到供应的黑色佳酿，要喝只能自己想办法或通过美国朋友帮忙。去年在KL喝到这支的多谢啤迷朋友有TOGA把私货拿出来分享。
first ever Saison Dupont fresh on tap in KL
Manu is a friend who imports some nice Belgium beers to KL--this one though was the very first time we have seen it on tap--thanks to this guy--we had the pleasure of not only drinking it fresh on tap but also during a private invite to his home bar...:)
在本地友人MANU的私家酒吧喝到的，这是KL第一次有上了啤酒泵的SAISON DUPONT， 在KL搞酒类进口很不容易，多的他们的持续坚持。
Lambic( and nice sours) here is heaven sent
getting any Lambic this part of the world is hard--with very little official distributions in ASIA for lambic ( as well very little to none distro for some American sours)--so anything above average that pops up this part of the world is welcome with open arms really--here's some shared ones last year.
在亚洲要喝到一些特定酿坊的比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒或美国酿坊酸啤酒不是那么容易的事，因为正式供应量和选择都很有限，在KL的话就更不用说，所以每次能喝到无论是自己还是朋友外求得来的瓶子都值得珍惜。
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