Tuesday, July 24, 2018

WEEK 135---Actual or Cyber---there is such a thing as Craft Community

"There's is no such thing as the craft beer community"---this is the title of an article by a famous British blogger/author dismissing the "noises" by geeks( in particular those from the UK craft beer forum) in response to the sale of Beavertown shares to Heineken as quote"multiple nonsenses".

This is of course both sensational"click-bait" approach title as well a shallow/laughable one in the eyes of many beer geeks---be it in actual or cyber---to many beer geeks around different cities/corners of the globe---there is certainly such a thing as craft beer community/ craft culture and it's alive and kicking.
说喝craft beer可以是一件有点讲究有点特色文化的事很有可能被人笑,咋听之下好像是在扮高深又或者只是找个自以为有型的理由来美化简单不过的喝啤酒行为,
不错,尽管喝craft跟喝一般大厂啤酒在“为什么要喝啤酒”这个最根本基点上可以有天渊之别(比如说有人经常大厂啤酒随意喝只为解渴或者进食时当酒精冷饮,至于只为感受酒精上头感觉而喝的那就没什么好说了) (又比如有的人平时绝少喝酒又或者不会随便只要是啤酒就可以,喝craft时为的是不同风味啤酒蕴含的美味),可是,再怎么看,要说喝craft是比较有特色文化这件事还能只是懂的人才会懂。
对许多啤迷来说,喝craft这件事很多时候并不只是纯粹的喝酒社交行为,因为对不同类别啤酒美味层次的认同/追求,因为全球成几千千上万万家不同craft酿坊的独立运作存在(特别是个别啤迷心目中的好些大师级酿坊),加上绝大多数啤迷都认同的美味分享/传播精神,自然而然的就有了所谓的craft社区。
For the uninitiated---perhaps it's funny/laughable even to hear that the simple act of beer drinking can go as far as talking craft culture/ craft community---the truth is---for many geeks, drinking beer at times is no longer a simple act of socializing---it's more about spreading the message of beer can have many different choices--that beer drinking can be likened to an act of exploration of deliciousness--that it is no longer about quick gulp but rather about savouring the different nuances of what a good brew could bring to the palate enjoyment....

While all of those mentioned above might sound a little complicated or even pretentious to some---in it's most simplest form--craft beer drinking is nothing complicated---perhaps the single biggest difference when compared to casual Macro BEER drinking is that beer geeks are very particular about the quality of the beer they drink---same way as foodie would for deliciousness in what they eat.
或许有人会问什么是craft beer社区/文化?是不是像摄影爱好协会或世界武术协会那样有规有章,甚至是有会员制的群体?
说起craft社区这个概念跟我们一般了解的生活社区有点不一样,这里指的是,啤迷们并不一定是生活在一个地区/城市或者是生活中已经认识的朋友,更多时候这个社区是由互不认识的啤迷们组成,能把那么多陌生人连起来的主因很简单,因为大家喜爱有着数不清有趣美味的选择,分享美味/细味品尝都是craft文化共识。

其实,craft 社区有点像是介于实体和虚无之间的结合,说实体是比如说有些酿坊有会员制,而且还可能是分不同阶段可以买到不同限量版酿品的会员制。说虚无是因为这个社区内的啤迷来自五湖四海,互不相识,或只是网络啤友,不过这些现实生活中并不相干的陌生人都会做一件事,那就是自发自动的推广/分享/维护craft文化,当然有时候这些陌生人会在某个城市的啤酒庆典碰面共饮或只是短暂交换几句,对啤迷来说这些时光都是让人愉快的,也是这个社区文化的体现。

And it is exactly that common beliefs/objective of seeking for deliciousness in a beer which naturally connected the thousands upon thousands of beer geeks and craft breweries--be it in actual locality based communities or somewhat floating cyber style existence---in many ways---beer geeks are generally a bunch of drinkers who believe in high quality of a beer(or mead or hard cider)--who believe in sharing/spreading the craft culture of drink better brew--and many beer geeks are the staunch supporters of the independence of craft breweries.
说起来,跟社会认知的社区概念一样,craft社区这个无边界的“团体”的活动还不少:
In different corners of the globe--there are activities/groups/forums/ bars/taprooms/bottle shops--be it in actual form or cyber spaces--which connects the craft community:-
Beer Fest
If you love craft beer festivals--there's a lot of such activities to attend to year in year out though some of the best ones are mainly in Europe/US---take for examples MBCC in Copenhagen--this is one event where many awesome breweries from the States/Europe plus some outside of US/Europe come together for 2 days of absolute craft beer feast---geeks would flew in from far and wide(Asia---Brazil) just for that week---the annual pilgrimage is certainly a showcase of what geeks and craft breweries can achieve as a community( of course there's many more such beer fest from Asia to Europe to US).
啤酒庆典
大家习惯称为啤酒节的这个活动跟一般商业啤酒节最大的不同点就是,参与的酿坊都只会是独立自主的craft酿坊,意思是,在这样的啤酒节你不会看到比如老虎狮子等大厂啤酒参与。然后,你会发现,以鼓励喝少嚐多为出发点的啤酒节很多时候都有特制玻璃小杯子(而不是即用即丢塑料大杯子),来出席的啤迷们可以是来自不同城市也互不认识,但是大家的目标基本是一致的,都因为美味啤酒聚在一起。
BJCP & Cicerone
If a more formal qualification/examination body is what a social community needs then you have it right there---you can go through the necessary steps to be a beer judge by taking exams from BJCP or you can go on to be a certified beer server under the Cicerone program.

啤酒认证考试
craft的世界也有类似球类运动或武术协会那样有专业认证课程,比如说啤酒认证裁判(BJCP) 或认证伺酒师(Cicerone) 这两种比较专业级别的资格课程给任何有兴趣深入了解的啤迷,

Craft Beer Groups/Forums
It is true many beer geeks never met/yet to meet face to face or sit down and share a few beers----but some of them are beer buddies already in cyber space via various chat group/focus group/forums--in a way, it's the same as any other social/interest groups/bodies---you might not have met in person everyone in the community but you bound to know some from the cyber space chat group. where common beliefs/topics can be shared.
网络群组
有时候,要说这个社区是有点虚无的也没错,很多啤迷其实在现实生活中没有关联也不认识,不过,在网络世界中,通过不同的craft群组/论坛,啤迷们有可以共聚的平台,有不少啤迷也因为那样从虚拟成为生活中见过面分享过几杯酒聊过天的朋友,这样说事情并不只是在同城啤迷之间发生,更可能是世界不同城市之间。
It's true beer drinking can mean different things to many people---to the beer geeks who believe in the craft culture and craft community--it is about drinking high quality brew---it is about sharing some brew  as well as spreading the info/ encouraging non-craft drinkers to give craft beer a try and so on----and at times to stand together to voice up against any encroaching MACRO giants who buy up craft breweries or anyone who try to ridicule the craft community by dismissing/proclaiming "there's no such thing as craft community".
*There's no such thing as craft beer community *,这是英国某知名部落客不久前批评啤迷表明唾弃卖给大厂啤酒公司craft酿坊写的一篇博文标题,这标题看在不少超级啤迷眼里,除了哗众取宠以偏概全之余也让人发笑,不管实体存在还是虚无相连,对很多啤迷来说,craft社区的存在是毋庸置疑的,而且还五湖四海互通互联。
The thing about craft community is that---be it actual or cyber( or you might want to call it fiction)---there is such a thing as craft beer community on this planet called earth and it's very much in existence to most if not all of us beer geeks/brewers.

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