WEEK 151---Best Beer-Rare Beer-Beer that got away & Beer Hoarding

Craft community is in a way mini version of the society we live in, there are all sorts of characters/ behaviours all in the name of beer drinking---to some beer drinking is all about drinking so there's no need to be picky so long there is a beer in hand---while to some beer drinking is quite a serious matter relating to finding different flavours /deliciousness although at times rightly or wrongly, somehow the term "beer geeks" would be associated with a bunch of people who are focusing on trying to only drink the best beer/ rare or hyped beer---whichever side of the drinking preference you are at---below are some scenario about craft drinking:-

Craft Beer最大吸引力在于不同类型风味啤酒选择非常多，以新朋友比较先接触到的印度淡啤（IPA）为例来说就有非常非常多不同酿坊在酿造，无论是使用同样单一啤酒花或不同啤酒花组合的IPA选择可说多如牛毛，如何在众多相同款式啤酒中择优而喝是习题，放大到包含更多不同类型风味啤酒选择的craft beer世界，怎么选怎么喝更是新朋友和啤迷之间的恒常话题之一。

有那么多不管是同类型还是非常不同类型选择，也就免不了意味着会有比较，也衍生出以下话题：-

1) the BEST beer

Personally---there is NO such thing as best beer in the world.

though

to some there is such a thing as THE BEST beer in the world.

to some there are too many good ones to pick one definitively.

It is true that we have seen beer ratings website picking list of BEST in the world or Best in styles and so on---while some would argue that the list/chart is a reflection of the opinions of the majority and accept it as it is---to some it is still the opinions of a section of the drinkers---no one can say it definitively that A beer is the BEST in the world when compared to beer B or C of the same style let alone if we take into consideration the varieties of styles/taste profile available in the world of craft beer.

The other factor why a beer can't be definitively confirmed as THE BEST is due to the fact that personal taste ability/senses is different for us human being---there is not a set standard for drinker to say for examples scale out the sourness of a beer with machine precision---while A might think the same beer is of level 4 sourness B might think it's only 2.5 if for examples we can categorize sourness from level 1-5.

1）世上最好喝的啤酒

答案很直接，其实并没有。

”哪一款酒是最好的？ ” ，“我觉得这款是世上最好喝的酒！”

这是经常会在craft beer圈中看到听到的对话，哪一家酿坊的哪一款酒是当今世上最好喝一直是个常会有人或问或提起或坚持己见的事，觉得某一款酒是最佳的人有时候是以评酒网站排行榜作为依据，也有人是参考大众意见加上自己认知觉得，实际上无论是评酒网站或啤酒达人/网红的意见说到底都还只是个人意见，没有绝对权威性去判定哪一家酿坊的某款酒就一定是世上最佳。

一定程度上来说，各个不同啤酒类型是有一定的风格准则依据，但啤酒其实就像美食，就算有基本的风格准则，但美味层次是很难用硬性规定方式去准确判断的，就算比如说以酸度1到5为标准来算，同一款酒可能A喝到是酸度4，B喝到可能只有酸度2.5。至于评酒网站选出来的全球排行榜，某种角度来看是不错的动作但并不能让啤迷完全信服，当作参考是可以的，但不会是绝对权威指南。

2) Rare or Hyped Beer

This is obviously a term commonly associated with craft beer---there are those who are very FOMO about missing out on certain beers---while there are also some who don't give a fxxk about chasing after these highly in demand beers...

In a way---the rare/hyped factor of craft beer is similar to limited releases of some fashion items/sneakers and so on---theoretically a beer would become rare/hyped because it is in very limited supply and supposedly very high quality brew--though to certain extent it is fair to assume these are good beers---but how good it can be to warrant such hype/the sometimes over-the-top chasing by some people(which includes paying crazy reselling prices) is something questionable at times.

The fact is---rareness-hyped of a beer does not automatically meaning the beer will be so heavenly it's worth every effort chasing one or worse by paying silly prices just to satisfy one's curiousity.

2）稀有难寻度不代表好喝度

稀有难寻啤酒（hyped / rare beer)一直是craft beer社区的话题，有人对追寻稀有酒趋之若鹜，有人觉得只是羊群心理不屑一顾，也有人质疑是不是真的稀有难寻就一定好喝到不得了？因为一些酒非常限量酿造限量发售，或需要会员制才能买入，甚至需要抽签筛选才有机会买到等等现象意味着有钱不一定能以首发价格买到心目中好酒，因为那样某种程度上提高了期望值，觉得稀有等同好喝保证。事情是不是那样，以实际例子来说，不少稀有酿品的确是好酒，但很明显的稀有程度并不等同于美味程度，特别是如果你是通过转卖市场以高过原价乘以倍数高价买到的话，付出高价满足味蕾好奇心（土豪炫耀心理的话就不值得一提）是不被鼓励但可以理解的事，问题是有时候付出那么多是不是那么美味是不是值得每一分钱，只能说如人饮水冷暖自知。

3) there will always be beer which Got Away

This is a fact even the most FOMO drinkers would have to face.

The fun part about drinking craft beer is the varieties of styles/ taste profile/ choices we get as drinkers/geeks---the fact that the whole craft community is made up of tens of thousands of different breweries which are all over the world would always mean that unless you live nearby a certain brewery or has got supply of that particular brewery's beers---there is a high chance that you won't be able to get a taste of their beers even though we live in a world with webshop/ international deliveries services due limited supply and so on....

No matter if you are experienced geeks or newly into craft drinking--the one thing we all need to learn is that there will always be beers that we  won't get to taste--no matter how much we wish to ......

3）总会有喝不到的酒

这是不少啤迷都经历过都知道也不得不接受的事。

一般人观念中啤酒是随时随地想喝就喝得到的酒精冷饮，但放在craft beer世界绝对不适用，在这个不同风味类型啤酒选择多如繁星的啤酒世界里，很多时候都可能会发生喝不到自己很想喝的酒那样让人感觉不爽的事，但这就是这个另类啤酒世界的游戏规则，因为不同酿坊分布世界各地，因为比如说很多欧美啤酒不要说出口到亚洲，很多时候就连同一个国家的不同州/不同区都没有正式发行所以很难买或根本买不到，这种情况下，啤迷有时候或者说很多时候知道有某某酿坊出了某某款好酒但就是没办法买到，只能隔着电脑或手机屏幕看图或读着有喝过啤迷的形容词凭空想象。。。

4) Beer Collecting/Hoarding

Almost every decent beer geeks would have some sort of personal collection of beers(as well some mead too)---it is quite common to notice geeks living in US/ EUROPE who have access to many breweries releases at original prices would easily have collection of few hundreds bottles---having said that it is also not uncommon to know that some geeks living in Asia are collecting in big numbers too.

As to why geeks collects beers---some because certain beers do need time to make it even tastier---while some bottles are so precious that people don't want to easily pop it----whichever the reasons might be--the one thing which would always be welcome by fellow geeks would be sharing out some bottles sometimes/ at at appropriate time instead of just keeping them as part of statistic.

4）收起来的酒最珍贵？

啤迷之间有时会听到有人半认真半开玩笑的说“不用去什么酒吧，去谁谁谁的家喝就好，他的精彩藏酒那么多。”

是的，很多啤迷都有私人藏酒，一般来说，因为比较接近众多酿坊，欧美啤迷藏酒数量有几百到上千瓶不是什么稀罕事，当然在亚洲也有不少啤迷拥有数量可观藏酒。

啤迷会收酒这件事算是自然动作，有些酒的确需要收几年後喝才更显现美味层次，而有些酒则因为稀有难寻啤迷舍不得轻易开来喝，就那样，有些啤迷的藏酒会越收越多。

不过，不同人有不同看法，其中一个观点是，收起来不喝不分享的酒只是统计数字，要是同一款酒收好多支的话，无形中意味着减低了其他人一嚐美味的机会，独乐乐虽没什么不对，适当时候众乐乐会是更受啤迷欢迎的分享方式。

WEEK 150----The Basic-Easy-Entry Q&A to Craft Beer for Non-Geeks

因为跟几位非啤迷朋友聊天--想到写一下非正式懒人包--希望对新朋友或不喝/还未喝CRAFT的有点帮助。

After conversations with some non-craft drinking friends---decided perhaps an easy entry level Q & A in layman terms would hopefully be helpful for new people who are about to or newly getting into the big wide world of craft beer, here we go:-

1) What is beer?

beer is essentially an alcoholic drink made from malts + yeast + hops + water(but NOT limited to only these 4) via fermentation process which includes but limited to steps such as boiling--cooling--cellaring/barrel aging(and so on).

1）啤酒是什么？

啤酒是使用麦芽，酵母，啤酒花和水经过熬煮，冷却，陈放等等酿造步骤酿成的酒精饮料。

2) So all beers are the same then?

NOPE---far from it---even if only using the 4 main ingredients mentioned above and nothing else added---beer A can be VERY different from beer B or beer C---for examples the ABV(alcohol by volume) of each beer can be very different---and of course the deliciousness of beer A beer B can be so vastly different as to heaven and earth.

In fact---in the world of beer there is such a divide as to MACRO BEER and craft beer. Also there are many different beer styles which is why craft beer can be so much more exciting.

2）所以啤酒都是一样的？

啤酒主要使用上述4个主要原料酿成，但并不意味着所有啤酒都一样，比如酒精度就可以很不一样，比如美味程度可以差天差地，啤酒世界也有大厂啤酒和craft beer之分，更有不同类别风格（beer styles）之分。

3) what is MACRO BEER?

in simple words---MACRO BEER are essentially some very famous household brands of alcoholic drinks mass produced and controlled by a few International Giants---Basically there's NO nuances or delicate taste profile to speak of---it's basically available everywhere at places like super market, convenience store, coffee shop, gas stations and so on ---you don't have to worry about not being able to get hold of a dozen anytime.

3）什么是大厂啤酒?

最简单说法，由几个国际大公司控制，每年非常巨大量生产的好些“家喻户晓”品牌单调口味啤酒，没什么美味层次可言，基本从不怕断货，无论超市便利店咖啡店餐厅夜店，可以说随处可买到，要多少有多少。

4) what is craft beer

in contrast---the craft scene is made up of tens of thousands of small scale/nano breweries located in different parts of the world---the primary focus is about deliciousness of a beer---due to the small scale production nature, as well as difficulties created by geographical /logistic issues---it's very common for you to NOT being able to buy a certain beer anytime you love to.

In Asia generally speaking---one usually would need to visit a craft beer bar or bottle shop to get what's available since craft beer is still not commonly available in most general shopping places.

4）什么是craft beer?

浅白说，由成千上万家不同小型微型酿坊小量生产，注重不同味道层次表现的啤酒。因为量少，因为地理位置差异和供应链规模所限，很多时候有钱未必买得到酒，亚洲来说，很多时候要去专卖吧或瓶子店才喝得到。

5) what is different beer styles?

It's kinda like when listening to music there are different genre of music such as hip hop/ rap/ reggae/ jazz/ rock/ ballad and so on---in the world of craft beer there are also many different styles of beers displaying different taste profile/nuances a beer can bring---for examples Pilsner,  Pale Ale, IPA, Saison, Porter, Stouts, Table Beer, Weisse Beer, Gose, Berliner Weisse and so on......

5）什么是不同类型风味之分？

举例说，就像流行音乐可以有嘻哈饶舌雷鬼爵士摇滚慢摇情歌之类不同曲风，啤酒也会以不同风味面貌出现，比如说plisner，pale ale，ipa，saison，porter，stouts，table beer，weisse beer，gose，berliner weisse等等等。

6) Why so many different styles？

Just like when eating food there are different flavours of sweet/ sour/ spicy / salty and so on---craft beer is essentially about tasting different falvours in a beer---in fact a well made beer is indeed delicious food in a beer form.

6）为什么要分那么多不同类型风味？

就像吃东西会有酸甜苦辣鲜香等等不同味道选择，啤酒其实绝对可以像美食那样有不同味道风貌表现，说白了，酿得好的啤酒就是不同味道液体美食。

7) Can i buy craft beer anywhere like convenience store?

In Asia---the answer is no---MACRO BEER is still the dominating forces at these places ---also due to the unique nature of craft beer being small volume production and in fact best to have a fairly knowledgeable person stationed in store to help out newbies--craft beer is understandably not commonly available in places like super market or convenience store.

7）所有啤酒超市便利店买得到吗？

亚洲来说，能在超市便利店买到的啤酒绝对大多数都只能是单调无趣大厂啤酒，craft beer由于产量少及不同类型风格繁多特性，以及店里最好有具备一定啤酒知识专人介绍酒关系，没能大量出现在超市便利店是可以理解现象。

8) Can i drink straight from a bottle？

If you notice how different Belgium beers would suggest using different glassware for different beer---it shows that how important a glass can be to beer drinking---there might be some who think that all these are part of the marketing gimmicks or simply being fussy--the fact is that glasses do help in "expanding/ preserving/ awaking" beer flavours in one way or another----Most importantly---the need for a glass is essentially about appreciation of beer flavours---pour it down to a beer glass would help you to first enjoy the nose of a beer( smell the aroma) before sipping to slowly enjoy a beer while it warms up---NEVER gulp down like you would do to a tasteless MACRO.

8）开瓶後直接拿着喝不行吗?

如果有注意到比利时啤酒很多不同酿坊/牌子的啤酒都有搭配自家杯子就知道比利时喝啤酒多么讲究用杯子这回事，或许有人会觉得这只是一种市场营销手法又或是装模作样而已，其实喝啤酒用杯子确实可以一定程度上起到辅助啤酒更好发挥风味层次表现作用。还有就是，喝啤酒应该用被子先嗅味道再小口喝细味品嚐，不是咕噜咕噜一口气灌进肚。

9) A glass meaning an Ice-Cold one?

Nope---generally speaking you don't need an iced-cold glass when drinking craft beer---a room temperature glass is good enough to help the beer slowly warms up from chilled condition to better demonstrate it's full potential of nuances/layers still hidden when cold.

Do take note that unless you are reminded by the brewery to " drink from can" like The Alchemist did with some of their famous ipas--a glass is still the best companion of a beer before drinking.

9）喝啤酒一定要用冷却杯？

不是的，要看喝的是什么类型风味，基本来说喝craft beer并不需要用冷杯子，室温杯子可以更好的让已经冷藏的酒体逐渐回温展现应有的味道层次。

此外。也有少数特定啤酒并不需要杯子，酿酒师鼓励拿着罐子直接喝，因为那样可以展现跟倒入杯子很不同的风味。

10) what is "beer needs to warm up" all about?

It is "common knowledge" that beer needed to be drank cold---but that's the wrong impression cultivated through years of MACRO BEER marketing ploy---the truth is ---beer is a little bit like wine--if people talk about wine needing some time to "wake up"/ "breath" then it is the same for beers  though most beers DON'T need a decanter---give a beer roughly 10-30 minutes time in a glass after pouring-while slowly sipping/drinking---you will get to taste/feel the differences brought upon by  temperatures changes---some in a very delicate way--some in quite obvious way....

10）啤酒需要回温是什么概念？

不同类型风味啤酒有不同味道风貌表现，虽然啤酒需要冷藏，也一贯被认为一定要冷的时候才好喝，实际上啤酒需要一些时间回温以让啤酒中蕴含的所有味道层次可以“苏醒”後让喝酒人可以更好的品嚐享受到酿酒师像带来的风味。虽说不同类型啤酒需要的回温时间一些差异，除非酒标贴纸上有说明一定要让酒回温多久，一般来说，回温时间没有硬性规定，开喝後一边慢慢小口喝一边感受酒体回温是不少啤迷会做的事，一般来说入杯後十分钟到半小时之间可以感受不同温度带来变化。

WEEK 146---Seeking own beers--the backlogged page 1 of 2

This is as the title suggested---1 of 2 backlogged articles from the few written about some memorable beers( as well mead) seek from US/Europe either while travelling or via friend's help.....

写啤酒蜜酒外求记，这几年包括出游或朋友带来本地喝过的好酒，其中有不少大名鼎鼎被众多啤迷追捧酿坊作品，也有些或许不是那么被热切关注但美味的酒，回顾中发现还有不少遗珠，值得一提的好酒还真不少：-

1) Cloud Water Small IPL Citra

it's certainly not easy to find fresh hops focus beers here in KL since it would take months for importers to get in their beers before putting on sale---hence a beer like this one from the famous( or some called it hyped) Manchester hazy brewery is always welcome--thanks to John who resides in KL but travel back to UK quite frequently--there's been quite some nice UK beers having been had since 2 years or so ago. This one as the beer name suggested---is a light one with nice hops aroma lingering....

英国“云水”酿坊以近年大行其道的类果汁印度淡啤（NEIPA）为啤迷所知，不过这款只有2.9巴仙酒精度作品是拉格浅啤类型（India Pale Lager），介乎清爽易喝浅啤和比较富口感带啤酒花甘香淡啤（Pale Ale）之间，对不想喝“淡无味”拉格浅啤也不想喝较强烈啤酒花甘苦印度淡啤的朋友来说是中间选择，是绝对适合才踏入craft beer世界新朋友喝的一款。

2) Other Half All Citra Everything

though also of the Citra hops creation--this one obviously is an IPA with a fuller/rounder hops influence packed full of tropical fruits flavours---there's a reason to why hazy/NEIPA is being loved by many though personally it's really not my favourite style--but this one just showed how it can be well made and enjoyable.

啤酒名称也有Citra啤酒花名称，来自纽约酿坊的这款作品把啤酒花用得猛，是酿造尾段投放大量啤酒花增强提味效应的印度淡啤（IPA），入口满满热带水果芳香，啤酒花甘苦均衡分布，得以在本地喝到这款算挺新鲜美国类果汁印度淡啤佼佼者酿坊作品是乐事。

3) The Bruery Smoking Wood( Bourbon Barrel)

At times it would feel like whatever Asia market could get out of The Bruery is just the scrap of what some would consider as the "lesser ones" when compared to what the US geeks could get--which is not wrong since The Bruery has a tiered membership program which ensure members first--- but getting this one out of a bottle shop in Tokyo does not feel inferior at all---it was certainly one of the best The Bruery bottles i have bought in Asia---it's obviously a heavy beer ( with alcohol!) with woody smokiness as well some sweet influence out of bourbon barrel yet balance out nicely.

较早期在东京瓶子店惊喜发现的美国酿坊“大酒”，酿造高酒精较复杂层次黑啤是这家酿坊的拿手好戏，这款“烟熏木”通过使用不同木材烘烤展现烟熏麦芽能为啤酒带来的变化，啤酒酿成後再放入使用过波本酒木桶熟成，是口感圆润带烟熏影响焦糖香草美味黑啤。

4) Emelise White Label Barley Wine 2014( Bourbon Barrel)

Barley wine somehow has this image of being some kind of sweet malty big boozy beer---one which at times is not really that drinkable---certainly not sessionable---having said that--there are certainly some very well made ones which can be very nice slow sippers---This one is certainly of the nicer ones out there--if you somehow still think barley wine is shit---try this.

来自荷兰酿坊主要以黑啤和大麦酒为啤迷认识，是重口味啤酒酿造高手。对大麦酒这个类型，因为高酒精，也一般比较偏甜，每次瓶子分享会都不是首选，不过酿得好的大麦酒作品偶尔出现倒是会带来不错惊喜，这款就喝起来对味。

5) Old Chimney's Good King Henry(special reserve 2011)

Apparently this one has long been considered as some sort of a mystified rare beer from the old British brewery---sort of an "under-the-radar rare beer" ---had this in KL during a bottle share with a UK geek friend---for those who are used to the big black stouts from the US brewers--this one felt like an in-between of old ale & stouts--not in your face type---felt more like a rather "reserve" in nature stouts.

听起来有点古老大英帝国的旧式黑啤作品，这款黑啤属于少量酿造难寻作品，更早期时连续多年评酒网站上被誉为英国最佳啤酒，不过有点搞笑的是很多英国人没有喝过甚至听说过。对喝惯大咧咧美式黑啤的来说，这款旧式英国黑啤会显得比较含蓄，虽然有黑啤常见咖啡香草奶糖等元素也有橡木桶陈放效应，喝起来就是感觉不太一样。

6)Sahtipaja Passionista

A very refreshing yet distinctively light fruity Berliner beer from the brewery making their names with mead such as "mead me"--a very pleasant one to either gulping down or go small sips---certainly perfect match for south east asia's rather hot and humid weather.

以高水准蜜酒（Mead）为人知的瑞典酿坊作品，一款以百香果入味的德式鲜酸啤酒，易喝清新果香中带酸，也具备一定层次变化，不只是单调一路酸，在本地天气情况下更是美味爽口。

7) Three Floyd's Chevalier Bertrand Du Gueslin

A blueberry sour from the Chicago brewery obviously more famous for their Dark Lords or Zombie Dust/Alpha King---found this beauty in Bangkok of all places some years ago---a pleasant surprise which was delicious.

美国黑魔王酿坊蓝莓酸啤酒作品，有点意外惊喜的在曼谷找到，以厉害黑啤和美式淡啤为啤迷追捧的酿坊酿出的美式酸啤酒具备相当高可喝性，梅果香酸层次了然也具备一定程度均衡度，蓝莓酸啤来说水准之作。

8) De Garde Lee Kriek

a bottle shared here in KL---brought by a geek friend whose sur-name is obviously Lee :)      A rather nice one with sour cherries and oak barrel influences---meaning no in your face single tone sour attack considering it's an American sour......

另一款风格不同的美式酸啤，经过橡木桶把酸啤加入酸甜不同樱桃浸泡熟成，酒的风味表现有明显木桶熟成影响，口感酸甜兼具带点发酵香气，喝起来舒适没有美式酸啤单调酸问题。