WEEK 134---Off Flavours---the unpleasant side of craft beer

Just like any other things in life---there's always differences in quality---same for craft beer in the sense that besides differences in brew quality--there's also this chance of beer gone bad either because of low brewing know how/ bad ingredients used/ or due to bad logistic/handling of good quality beer. 

啤酒是通过酿造而来，酿造过程可以比喻为类似烹饪/煲汤/煮糖水那样，需要讲究对原材料比如食材香料的认识，对不同材料组合能带来影响，还有酿造过程中温度火候调度等等细节的掌握。因为那样，除了原材料等外在因素，就像厨师那样，不同酿酒师的酿酒功力和想法/企图心基本可以决定一款酒会走向美味，平庸或者难喝。

就像所有通过人手去做的事情那样，结果总是会有上佳优良平庸低劣之分，酿酒也一样，就算是整体来说一定比大厂啤酒好喝许多倍的Craft Beer也无可避免会有好喝，一般般或难喝酿品。

When a beer gone bad---there's always signs indicating that mostly by ways of smell/taste and at times visible signs such as strange composite/ no carbonation( for particular style of beers) and so on so forth.

In short----when a beer gone bad---it's always associated with Off-flavours which comes in different taste/smell depending on styles of beers---there's already plenty of information/more in depth write up about this topic hence this newspaper column piece is just a very simple/brief one for newbies.

啤酒难喝的原因可以有很多，简单来说基本可分为两大类，其一是一开始就没酿好所以出现不良风味，其二是酿好後没有被照顾好所以不同程度的退化变差甚至坏掉了，两种情况下，啤酒都会出现不应该有的味道/口感，这些都是不良风味所导致。

啤酒的不良风味具体表现不一，有时候强烈的让人闻一下喝一口就知不妥，但也可能不那么强烈需要细心才能察觉，以下是一些比较常见情况：

To put it very simply---off flavours would occur when a beer is half baked, i.e. badly brewed   OR  some form of contamination happened either during brewing or bottling/canning/tapping from a bar beer pipeline   OR  due to bad logistic arrangements when transferring beer from point A to point BCD or rather the lack of care either during transferring or after that.....

some of the off-flavours mentioned in the articles includes:-

1)Rusty/Metallic

No body likes a beer smelling/tasting that way.

1）铁锈味

这是大家都能理解的不良风味，简单说就是啤酒中带有生锈味，像是喝从生锈水管或铁罐中的水，当然不会好闻好喝。至于为什么会出现铁锈味，具体原因可能是在酿酒阶段时水质有问题又或者桶有生锈问题，也可能是酒酿过程没问题但在装罐装瓶（坏掉瓶盖也可能导致锈味）时出现问题导致。

2)Light-struck

Common problems with bad handling when beer is exposed under direct sunlight/strong lightings

2）晒坏味

任何啤酒只要直接在阳光下暴晒或曝露在强烈紫外线下，基本就会毫无疑问完蛋了，酿酒师想要展现的原有风味都会消失殆尽，剩下的只是日照臭味，啤酒像经过烘烤麦水那样，就算冰冷也感觉像是刚从烘烤炉拿出来那样总有股“温热”异味，喝起来别扭，当然只能倒掉。

3)Oxidization

Kinda like exposing your slice up fruits in direct contact with air---you know it will not end up well--for beer those drink when fresh types of beer will end up bad with every passing days.

3）氧化味

时间会导致啤酒氧化，此外，酿造过程中问题，不适当收藏啤酒比如闷热环境（太过长久收藏需要新鲜喝啤酒情况更明显）等情况都会让啤酒出现氧化情况。如果要问什么是氧化，很简单，试试把香蕉苹果梨子切开让放一旁後就知道，氧化会让切开来的水果变黑，同理来说，氧化也会让啤酒失去应有鲜度（看啤酒类型而定/一些啤酒可收20年以上而且陈年可丰富啤酒风味），氧化会让一些类型啤酒比如IPA/PALE ALE/SAISON/FRUIT BEER等喝起来有过期麦芽苦味，类似湿纸板异味等不良风味。

4)Butterscotch (Diacetyl)

Butterscotch is not really a bad flavour is it? but for beer style which emphasis on clean/clearer taste/smell profile--then it's a bad sign---what's more if it smell/taste like butter way past it's prime.

4) 过期奶油味

啤酒发酵过程中会产生属于可控制问题，但超标就不行，比如说在强调清爽味道为基调的啤酒中出现这种味道，那就是酿造途中出了问题没处理好就把酒拿出来卖。

The fun part about off-flavours is that it's not always a straight forward issue---though the golden rules is that no unsuitable flavours should ever appear in a particular style of beer---say for examples a German Weisse beer would be expected to be malty/sweet/refreshing and smelling clove/banana---any other thing such as funky smell or say tasting sour would be signs of beer gone bad, and the same can be said about IPA/Pale Ale where any signs of Funky smell/Sour taste would be deemed bad signs----but if those two were to be missing from a Lambic then something is deemed very wrong coz funk and sour is a big part of any decent Lambic.

以上只是一些较常见例子，啤酒中会出现的不良风味至少有十多种不同风味表现，那到底不良风味是什么？简单说就是不应该在某类型啤酒中出现的风味，由于Craft Beer不同类型风格酒款繁多，不良风味并不是单指一两样比如说像食物馊掉那样明显的不良气息/味道而已，在不同类别风味Craft Beer中，除了几个通用的（比如晒坏比如铁锈），什么是具体不良风味其实会有不同表现，简单来说，啤酒会出现不良风味有时是因为酿造过程对温度控制不到家，就像烹饪煲汤讲究适当时候用大火中火小火/高温低温那样，一旦酿酒师没掌握好就会出现问题，此外，酵母麦芽等原材料的质素（比如酵母是不是健康，比如麦芽是不是已老旧）也可能导致不良风味出现。

比较有趣的是，在不同类别风味众多的Craft Beer世界中，有时被认为是不良的某种风味到了某个特定款式啤酒中却变成是可以接受甚至是特色，比如说一旦IPA或PALE ALE出现“酸臭味”那会是非常不良风味啤酒变坏证据，但要是换成天然发酵果酸啤酒（LAMBIC）的话，带有类似“酸臭”风味却是这类型啤酒美味特色之一！

不良风味这件事，听起来虽有点复杂意味，但简单原则是不对的风味不能出现，比如清爽带甜的德国麦芽啤酒不可能出现酸涩，大家可通过累积品饮经验慢慢了解什么是什么，有心想弄清楚的也可以上网查找BJCP啤酒裁判课程多了解。

For any of you newbies who wishes to understand more about the topic there are more info to be googled, for examples BJCP site and many more......

WEEK 133---Craft Beer---Make it NICE Make it BAD

Drinking craft beer can be something really nice and tasty( most of the times)-though at times it can be a little annoying/frustrating due to poor quality/taste of what's in the glass(es)---so what makes a beer good? and what makes a beer bad?

喝啤酒可以是件简单愉快的事，特别是如果选喝不同类别风格口味繁多Craft Beer的话，更可以是让味蕾幸福享受的事。

是什麽可以让一般人观念中平平无奇觉得只是难喝酒精冷饮的啤酒变美味？说来也没什么稀奇，最基本不外是水+麦芽+啤酒花+酵母。这之外，还有些方法能让啤酒变更有趣美味，比如说

Essentially--beer is brewed with 4 main basic things namely water+malt+yeast+hops( not necessarily in that sequence)---and then of course there's other ways and means of trying to make a beer taste even better---here's a very layman terms way of looking at what makes a beer taste nice:-

1) Brew it Basic

By using different combinations of water-malt-yeast-hops---a brewer can make varieties of very nice/delicious beers already--it all depends on how a beer is brewed--what style/taste profile the brewer/s wanted the end product to be---even with just those 4 basic ingredients---there's already very many different styles of beers can be created---so long it's brewed right(or to perfection for some) those 4 ingredients can be turned into something smelling/ tasting really beautiful.

In fact there's a lot in common within the brewing and culinary scene where there are brewers/chefs who would always strive for brew/food beyond satisfactory level---Not just happy to sell a few beers/few tables more but seeking to explore ways of making a brew/dishes(be it a basic version or "elevated version") more interesting/more tasty/more complex/more balance.......

1）基本酿造法

是的，啤酒最根本酿法是让麦芽，啤酒花和酵母在适量水里煮热冷却酿造成酒，因为麦芽啤酒花酵母都有非常多不同味道特质选择可以组合，加上不同水质作用，单只是使用这四个最基本酿酒原料就足以酿出很多不同类型风格不同味道啤酒，比如说麦芽可以有原味或类似茶叶或咖啡豆那样不同烘培程度的选择，比如啤酒花可以有比较倾向柑橘类或花香类或辛辣类等等口感选择，当然不同类型酵母也会对啤酒的最终味道层次形成带来重大影响。

虽然四大主要基本酿造原料就足以带来无数多不同类型味道的啤酒，在Craft Beer世界中，这只是美味的基础，酿酒师们对啤酒不同美味极致的好奇心跟美食界大厨们追求是一致的，都在想怎样可以把啤酒再提升味道层次或上达至另一个境界。

2) Adding real food items/spices

This is one common way of trying to make a beer smell/taste even more interesting/closer to the real food item/s or spices used---we are NOT talking about "fake flavours" here but using real items that goes from fruits to vegetables to things like oysters or even lobster--all in the beliefs that whatever added to the base beer would help to create a taste profile/nose that the brewer/s wanted or thought would be achievable or simply experimenting to see what's coming out of it---just like some chefs using things like saffron or truffle to create dishes--some brewers too would use seemingly expensive/hard to obtain food items to play around with their idea/s of an interesting brew---the end result might be a winner or  simply a waste of time and money which failed to achieve anything nicer--of course this is not to say that using expensive food items for beer enhancing is a formula for good/tasty brew---but just an examples of how extreme at times brewers would seek out ways/items to try use in an effort to create something many people still think as nothing more than just fizzy yellow piss....

2)增添/浸泡法 

在酿酒过程中，这是比较常见易懂的方式，把真正食材比如各种水果，比如咖啡茶叶，比如辣椒胡椒香草肉桂巧克力等等数不尽的各式食材选择性加入啤酒中酿造提味，根据酿酒师想要呈现的风格酿成带有或浓或淡原食材特色味道的啤酒。

3) Barrel aging emmmm

Not sure how many non-craft beer drinkers or people really new to craft beer have heard of it---or even thought of it before--that beer actually goes through the process of aging in a barrel---the rational is clear---pour beer into used barrels which contained whisky/bourbon/apple brandy/tequila and so on before---let the beer soak up some barrels characteristics as well as what's left of the previously filled liquid goodness and see how it impact/impart a beer to make it "thicker"/more complex/sweeter/smokier/oaky and so on---Of course the types of used barrel for beer is not limited to hard liquor but includes also wine barrels as well mead barrels too..

( *NOTE--just like brewing a base beer---barrel aging beer would have good ones and so so or even bad ones too---the process of barrel aging is NOT 100% guaranteed to always create better beer---sometimes a base beer would indeed taste better than a BA version)

3)桶陈熟成法 

另一个比较常见让啤酒变美味方式则是将啤酒倒入已使用过酒类木桶比如威士忌比如波本酒比如苹果烈酒比如红葡萄酒或白葡萄酒痛，通过吸收木桶自身特有气息还有桶内浸泡过酒类精华让啤酒变更美好/更不一样。（必须说的是，桶陈版啤酒不一定就打包单肯定会比基本版美味，一切还得看酒和桶配搭成果）

4) Let time be the enhancer

Some beer styles simply needs more time than others to achieve a tastier profile---it is very common to hear the word " too young" after sampling a beer---and it's exactly what the word meant--- a beer is too young hence lack of depth/layering/complexity it should be showing because it was not given the benefits of maturing for another one or two or few more years in the cellar.

(* if you are new to craft beer and would like to know what are some beer styles good to keeping more years before consuming---the general idea is that beers which emphasis on freshness of hops or food items used would be good to drink fresh--while some styles like imperial stouts/lambic/barleywine and so on would be good to keep for a certain time period---for more info go google search--there are plenty of info on that)

4)等时间过去法

有时候，某些类型风格啤酒变美味方式除了以上三个方式，更需要的是耐心和等待，因为太过“年轻”会让一些啤酒缺乏应有层次味道，喝起来不够韵味，是一种浪费，所以有些啤酒需要超过两三年或更长时间酝酿後才面市是常态。值得注意的是，有些啤酒就算酝酿三年後才推出，对一些啤迷来说还是需要再收几年时间，让酒体更圆润平衡之后才会更美味。

If you are new to craft beer scene---one thing you need to know is that drinking craft beer is like going to a restaurant---there are really good ones but there's also some bad ones----while there are many brewers who would seek ways of enhancing/improving a beer's deliciousness---there are also some "brewers" who for some reasons not only brewing below average beers or even bad ones and selling openly---hence the chances of bumping into a bad beer is always there---also the scenario where  some bar/bottle shop owners selling already 'dead" beers due to either poor handling or keeping beers not meant for too long in storage.

BUT--sometimes a perfectly brewed/really tasty beer can taste bad as well under these scenario:-

有趣的是，在Craft Beer的世界，尽管有那么多好喝美味选择，但也是会有些学艺不精就出来卖酒的“酿酒师”，所以有时候难免会遇到难喝啤酒，此外，以下是为什么一些高水平好喝啤酒会变难喝：

1)Blessed by Direct Sunlight/Strong Lights

The biggest enemy of a beer is direct sunlight---a beer will DIE after a certain time period under direct sunlight whatever the beer style might be---it will just perished---if you want your beer to taste how it should be---very simple---avoid direct sunlight or direct strong light indoor.

1）阳光强光加持

阳光强光是啤酒的天敌，无论是罐装瓶装还是酒吧用啤酒桶，只要放在阳光强光下暴晒，就算是世界上最好喝的啤酒也会毫不例外的即刻坏掉变成世上最难喝的东西。

2) Contamination

A nicely brewed beer can go bad easily if there's contamination occurred during canning/bottling---unfortunately when that happened--because it's sealed---there's no way to find out until after opening---it is highly unlikely a brewery would still canned/bottled a beer they already know gone bad because that's idiotic way of killing off their own brand/future businesses. 

Of course--if you are drinking a beer from a bar---sometimes a perfectly good beer can taste bad too---only because the bar never really take good care of the pipelines which sent the beer out of a keg to your glass.

2) 受感染  

要让不是住在酿坊附近的人喝到自家啤酒方法就是把啤酒装瓶装罐运出去，不过有时候偶尔会发生一种情况叫感染，在装瓶装罐过程中发生卫生问题啤酒被感染变坏了。（虽然啤酒也可能在酿造过程中发生感染问题，但那是装瓶装罐前就能发现的，）所以如果是装瓶装罐好之后才发现啤酒感染，那只能是作业过程中发生。（要说会不会有任何酿坊把明知道已经变坏啤酒仍然装瓶装罐卖是不可能的事，因为那只能是直接自毁酿坊招牌的白痴做法）。此外，感染情况也可能发生在没有定时清理输酒管线的酒吧。

3)Your palate simply can't appreciate (yet)

It must be point out that--while beer drinking is a very personal choice/personal taste matter--there is such a thing as palate appreciation ability--in simple words--sometimes a really good beer is deemed bad by a drinker NOT because the beer turned bad--but only for one reason---that drinker did not know how to appreciate the taste profile of the beer---because he/she only drink a limited style/s of beer---because he /she don't understand the essences/nuances of that particular beer---because he/she prefers only certain choice/s of smell/taste( examples dislike smoky/ hates bitterness and so on).....All these factors could make a nice beer taste bad to a person.

In short---it will be a big waste giving a very delicious beer or mead to someone who do not understand it's characteristics or simply do not posses the required level of appreciation ability(yet).

3）个人味蕾问题

不得不说的是，对啤酒类型风格，应有味道呈现不了解，或是个人味蕾领略能力/鉴赏力还不够，加上个人对某种味道偏爱/厌恶/误会都可能让人觉得一些真正高水平啤酒不好喝甚至很难喝