WEEK 153---Know what you are Drinking

Someone very new to craft beer asked " how do new people get familiarize with craft selections easily and rather quickly? "

It is understandable where the question is coming from having seen many a times new people walking into a craft beer bar/ bottle shop and seemingly overwhelmed/ confused/ too excited upon seeing various brands/styles of beers available for selection....

有新朋友说，craft beer那么多不同类型风格啤酒选择，有时候让人看了头昏眼花不知道什么是什么，有没有什么最简单直接的入门方法？

对新朋友来说，开始接触craft beer是有可能感到混淆的，喝酒最重要的是自己喝过品嚐过才能理解酒的味道层次，但新朋友的确有时候搞不清自己喝到什么或只是雾里看花一知半解的不能领略一支酒是好是坏，也谈不上欣赏不同层次变化带来美味。

喝craft beer当然不是件有多么高深难懂的事，只要新朋友有心，可以相当快掌握品饮欣赏分辨酒的好坏基本要诀，虽然过程难免需要一定时间味蕾训练，不变的第一个要诀其实很简单，就是每次喝之前或正在喝时都尽量了解自己喝着的是什么。

The answer to that is simple---newbies just need to do one thing first---know what you are ordering/drinking each time a beer new to you appear---knowing what you are drinking is the single most important thing every new drinkers to craft beer should do---it's the first step to getting to know more about beer styles/flavours profile/nuances and so on.

To people who are are new to the world of craft beer---knowing that drinking craft beer is more of a process to finding deliciousness in a beer form( just like eating good food) is important---the focus is never about downing lots of pints---the focus is about finding different flavours and what makes a beer taste delicious.

是的，新朋友需要做的第一件事就是了解自己在喝什么，craft beer就像美食，嚐的是味道，就像食物有咸酸苦辣甜等等非常多不同味道表现，啤酒也一样有不同味道呈现，了解自己在喝着什么类型风味啤酒是客观评估一支作品水准高低的关键。

一般人绝大多时候在点菜时已经知道要吃的是什么类型味道食物，比如说麻辣火锅香辣，清炖鸡汤鲜美，炸鸡外脆内嫩之类，什么菜色什么概念心里有底。可是来到craft beer世界不同类型啤酒该有什么味道呈现很多新朋友并不清楚，甚至一点概念都没有，换个角度来说，很多时候其实在“盲饮”。 

在酒的世界中，“盲饮”或英文BLIND TASTING是不少人认可的品酒方式，无论喝的是烈酒，葡萄酒或啤酒，盲饮可以让酒名称资料被遮蔽情况下避免喝酒人做出根据酿坊名气/风评或以往作品印象先入为主的评价。啤酒盲饮测试中，喝的人事先只知道酒的类型风格但不知道酿坊品牌资料，通过自己味蕾感受或品酒经验做评断，这种情况下，对craft beer众多不同类型风格啤酒没有基本认识很难做出客观公正评断。

Hence--knowing what you are drinking is really the first step to getting to know more things about why a beer is tasting delicious or otherwise---it's kinda like when eating a Sichuan Hot Pot we expect to experience spiciness/numbness---or when eating steak it should be meaty/beefy/juicy---in another word---most people would have known the expected flavours profile long before eating what he/she ordered.  However--the same cannot be said when it comes to craft beer drinking---many a times some newbies are simply "blind-drinking" not knowing what he/she is having even if they know the name of a beer style.

"Blind Tasting' is commonly accepted as a way to judge alcoholic drinks including craft beer---it's about concealing the brand name/ brewery name/materials used( e.g. hops/malt/yeast used) and such so as to give each and every beer being judged a fair chance of getting judge objectively---not letting the judges being influenced by bigger names/past reputation----but "blind-drinking" by newbies would almost always mean drinking blindly--not giving attentions to the taste profile/nuances of a beer---or don't even care if a beer is in good condition for consumption---some newbies would just drink for the sake of drinking as long as it's "craft-beer' with alcohol----that's definitely NOT what" blind-tasting" is about.

对新朋友来说，什么资料都不看的“日常盲饮”跟正确意义上的盲饮还是有很大不同的，因为什么都不知道情况下尝试craft beer或许是有趣的体会但也可能是会吓跑一些人的体会，有句话说快跑之前先学会怎么好好走，先了解自己喝的是什么才是培养味蕾鉴赏力的正确起步。

那要怎样才知道自己喝的是什么酒？很简单，喝之前或喝着时候看酒标资料就会有相当清楚资讯，有的酒标会有酿酒师说明酒会带来怎样的味道层次享受，要是碰到比较注重酒标设计感所以省略说明的可以上网查找资料了解这款酒是什么，最佳赏味期，用了什么类型麦芽酵母啤酒花，有没有加入什么其他食材比如水果蔬菜咖啡豆茶叶香料等等提味，又或是有没有混合其他不同风味啤酒或不同年份啤酒，是不是经过不同酒类旧酒桶浸泡熟成多久之类的资讯都有助于喝酒人进一步了解酒所该有的味道层次表现是什么，如果是入口啤酒也可以了解是不是运送过程或店家有照顾好酒的品质。

So what do newbies look for to know what he/she is drinking? The most convenient first step is look at label information--at times the info on bottle label/printed on can will be so detail one would know not only the hops/yeast/malts used---bottling/canning date--best before date and so on---but also tasting note from the brewer/s telling drinkers what flavours profile to expect when sipping/when warmer and when finishing....

If you have ordered a glass from the taps with only brewery name/ beer name---or have a bottle/can with very little info except with those two pieces of info---just go on a web search---99% of the time you will be able to find detail or at least basic info about the beer you just ordered...

画个角度看，因为不了解啤酒类型风味特质，只是一直凭着自己喝酒偏见去解读一款酒是不对的，也是很大可能贻笑大方的，经典例子是几年前一位只懂喝大厂啤酒的外国人去了比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒绝对大师级酿坊Cantillon後，在自己完全不懂喝到的是什么类型啤酒情况下，非常关切的在社交媒体上留下了让全世界所有天然发酵酸啤爱好者爆笑的留言 ”如果你爱啤酒，请离这家远远的”！！

另一个例子是一位喝酒人对某一款啤酒写喝後感受，其中一句是”没有什么啤酒花苦涩味道”。咋看之下或许会以为点评的是以啤酒花特色风味（包括苦涩）表现为主轴的啤酒，不过，被点评的那款啤酒特色重点完全不在于啤酒花苦涩味，在这款啤酒寻找啤酒花苦涩味打个比喻就像吃着红番茄芝士披萨然后说怎么不麻不辣的？

"Why do one has to know more about what he;she is drinking? " the answer to that is simple---because you do not want to post on your social media telling the world that the Hawaiian Pizza you had was NOT BEEFY or SPICY or  CREAMY enough---or saying the Vanilla Ice Cream you had does not smell CHOCOLATY---in another word---one should at least know what he/she is/was drinking before judging---above was a guy who went to Brasserie Cantillon and was totally clueless about Lambic but still posted this rather "famous" comment " AVOID this place if you LOVE BEER!"( he thought "it's not beer---it's vinegar!!"

了解自己喝的酒是什么是很简单的动作，也是重要的一步，通过这一步，新朋友可以逐步认识不同类型风格啤酒该有的味道层次表现，也是往后提升自己味蕾鉴赏力必须的基本功课之一。

That being quite a famous/ extreme examples of why knowing what you are drinking is very important apart----for newbies who are interested/keen to improve one's palate appreciation ability as well learn more about what to expect from various beer styles--this is the simple  yet essential first step---only by knowing what we are drinking then one can go on to explore more going forward--much like how we all learn to walk before running..... 

WEEK 152----Of course Beer-Fest are NOT THE SAME

What will be the first image that pop-up when mentioning the word "beer festivals" ?

To majority drinkers/consumers---the word beer-fest is almost synonymous to scene where BIG BEER MUG is flowing with beers while chewing on sausages at the same time. It is fairly common for the public to ONLY associate beer fest with Oktoberfest or some form of one price drink till you full sort of beer buffet promotional "fest".

提起啤酒节三个字会让人即时联想到什么关键词？

对很多人来说，或许最先想到的会是一边吃香肠一边大杯喝酒的德国啤酒节，又或许是能以一个价钱喝到饱喝到倒那种自助餐式“啤酒节”。某种程度上来说，在一般消费者眼中很多时候跟啤酒节联系在一起的字眼大概离不开“酒鬼”，“狂欢”，“醉酒”等负面印象。

事实当然不是那样的，至少在啤酒世界另一端，特别是以分享craft beer文化为出发点的啤酒节就有宣扬品饮/品嚐/慢喝细味不同类型啤酒美味层次的作用，参与的酿酒师/啤迷之间互动都是围绕探讨啤酒不同风味展现，拼命喝饱喝倒完全不适用。

While beer fest is generally perceived as some form of party/drink till you drop boozing activities by some---of course NOT ALL beer fest are the same--of course NOT. At least, in the world of craft beer---there are many beer festivals that focus on exploring deliciousness of a beer--sharing of craft culture as well as knowledge---yes, beer fest can be such rather than an excuse to drop face down.

While it's evidently clear that some of the best craft beer festivals are being held in US-Europe---there are fortunately some craft people who are working on getting the standards of Asia craft beer festivals up to mark---we have already seen efforts being made in cities like Tokyo/Shanghai/Beijing/Hong Kong just to name a few...

虽说craft beer界每年最重点最精彩的啤酒节都在欧美地区举办，不过亚洲还是有一些不错的选择，基本来说，亚洲的”精酿啤酒节”会以三种面貌出现：-

In Asia--generally speaking beer fest can be divided into 3 categories:-

1) MIX of MACRO BEER & craft beer
Obviously the best selling beers which has long been dominating the market are the few household Macro Beer brands from international MACRO giants---these are what the general public know as BEER( and sadly how a beer should taste)--with such high public acceptance and brand recognition----it is no wonder sometime we see a MIX beer fest where MACRO BEER are being served in the same event/venue as craft beer---the thinking behind is simple---since these are beers where majority public already recognized---it's much easier to promote the event with very low risks---there's always a choice of trying something strange(craft beer) or just go back to drinking something very familiar(MACRO).
This type of MIX beer fest do not appeal to beer geeks though some would argue that it's a good opportunity to let some who would to get started with craft drinking--but hey--if selling loads of beers is the aim--then who cares if the beers are tasty or otherwise?

1）大厂啤酒和craft beer一起卖

亚洲啤酒市场占有率当然是由几家国际大公司旗下的几个大厂啤酒品牌以绝对优势领先，这意味着无论是市场营销和围堵销售点所需财力人力都在大厂啤酒那边，craft beer的力量是有限的，因为这样，就有了混合型啤酒节的出现，对主办方来说，既然消费者最熟悉大厂啤酒，那大厂啤酒和craft beer一起提供的“啤酒节”自然是最保险的做法。

这类型啤酒节对啤迷来说缺乏吸引力，不过有人觉得啤酒就是要同欢共乐，不必分什么大厂或精酿，反正只是啤酒，喜欢喝哪一种各适其所就好，也有人觉得这是可以让一些只喝大厂啤酒饮客认识什么是craft beer的机会，因为很多啤迷都是从一开始什么都不知道只会猛灌大厂啤酒到有机会接触craft beer并对品饮啤酒概念有了认识後才知道啤酒其实不是只用来干杯YamSeng的。

2) craft beer fest by importers/local breweries
In ASIA---when there are supplies of imported craft beers--that means there are at least a few guys who are working on getting beers from overseas regardless if that's out of love or smelling a business opportunity---a city do need importers to stir up the craft beer scene with delicious choices---and many a times we do see importers gang up to organize big or small scale craft beer festivals as a way to get more public participation/ to promote craft or some form of promotional activities to reward existing craft drinkers.
At Asia cities where local breweries are permitted(in Malaysia there is NO license permitted for any small breweries---even home brew is ILLEGAL)---sometimes we see beer fest with mix of imported beers and local brew---or even special colla-brew between imported brewery and local brewery for the fest which can be a nice touch/talking point especially if the brew quality is up there.

2）进口/在地酿坊个别或一起推动

有craft beer喝的亚洲城市意味着至少有几个进口商在努力把自身所在地没有的一些优秀欧美纽澳等海外品牌带入市场，平时除了在酒吧瓶子店可以买到喝到，一些进口商也会联手办或大或小的啤酒节活动，一来希望可以让更多人参与，二来也可以当做或促销或回馈的市场营销活动。

有在地酿坊的城市比如东京香港台湾北京上海新加坡等等，有时候不同酿坊之间会合作办个活动，一次过让大家可以在一个场地喝到不同品牌酿品，当然有时候也会参与进口商啤酒节，形成进口和在地啤酒一起喝的活动，偶尔也会有外国酿坊和在地酿坊为了啤酒节合酿的限量特别款出现刺激话题和买气。

3) the Heavy-Weight level beer fest
It is indeed very hard to convince everyone which beer fest can be deemed as heavy-weight while others don't---it's kinda all in the eyes of the beer-glass-holders.
Personally speaking---the key to deciding if a beer fest is of certain weight is to look at one and only one thing--the list of participating breweries---whether there are breweries appearing for the first time in ASIA---as well as how "rare"/"hyped" the breweries are according to geeks opinions/ social media/ beer ratings sites/apps----of course these are very subjective and totally not conclusive/decisive enough to call but i'll leave it as that.

In ASIA---in all honestly there are really very little heavy-weight beer fest---of course there are efforts being made in cities like Tokyo- Beijing- Shanghai- Seoul as well as Hong Kong--personally if i were to pick one--then undoubtedly it will have to be MBCT (the mini version of MBCC) which will be held indoor this coming September at Shibuya Tokyo---though it's not comparable in terms of depth/width of the Copenhagen original version---the level of some participating breweries be it making a debut in Asia or coming back for a second year running is by far the best line ups Asia has seen (yet).

On another note---for LAMBIC lovers who love Cantillon--it is lovely that Asia has been allocated some beers during the annual Zwanze Day celebration though it has always been confined to 3 bars in Japan--with a surprise inclusion of Shanghai since last year--though Zwanze Day is not a "beer fest"scale wise---its nice to know that if you are in Tokyo- Nagoya-Nara or Shanghai this Sept--you will be able to sip on 2019 Zwanze Day brew along with whatever else available on that day.

3）重量级啤酒节

怎么去判断一个啤酒节的份量轻重是见仁见智的事，不同喝酒人会有不同诠释，个人意见，最主要就是看参与酿坊名单，换个说法，就是一些人口中的稀有度（或嘲讽式的“虚荣度”），意思是说，出现在啤酒节活动中的酿坊品牌在啤迷/评酒网站或手机程式中的口碑/风评，是不是第一次在亚洲出现，又或是在亚洲有进口但特别带来从没出现过酒款等因素决定。

在亚洲，这样份量的啤酒节不多，近年的确有人在北京上海香港尝试举办，个人来说，去年第一次在新宿公园主办然后今年九月中改在涉谷一个室内场地举行的哥本哈根啤酒庆典（MBCC)缩小版东京啤酒庆典（MBCT），以参与酿坊名单“稀有度”来说，虽然跟丹麦原版啤酒周活动的厚度宽度深度没得比，但毫无疑问仍是亚洲最有份量的啤酒节。

此外，对喜欢比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒的人来说，绝对大师级酿坊Cantillon每年发表特醸的Zwanze Day活动也是备受全球酸啤迷关注的重量级活动，可喜的是亚洲有分到一杯羹，从此前每年只能在日本入口商选定的三家日本酒吧进行，去年相对意外的上海有一家酒吧获得比利时酿坊首肯参与，所以从去年开始亚洲版Zwanze Day变成4家酒吧参与其盛，今年九月尾活动已公布酒吧分别位于日本东京，名古屋，奈良，以及中国上海。

WEEK 147---Seeking own beers--the backlogged page 2 of 2

所住城市找不到自己想喝啤酒/蜜酒这件事对啤迷来说是个避无可避的问题，这其中分别可能是有人比较积极想办法找酒，有人就比较随性的找到碰到好的就喝没有就完全不喝。

自己找酒这件事无论是金钱效益还是时间精力角度来说，看在不是啤迷眼里是件让人摸不着头脑的事，不就是啤酒吗？这件事还只是啤迷间能理解的比较透彻，说到底，啤迷追求的不是酒精饮料，而是化身为啤酒（或蜜酒）的美妙味道。

以下是外求得来啤酒/蜜酒中另一些遗珠：-

The final part of backlogged pages ---here's some memorable ones from the "seeking own beers" series:-

1)Grassroots Brother Soigne

The "alter-ego" of that world famous remote brewery in Vermont when it comes to collab-brew---this time a collaboration brew with the former brewer of Canada's famed Dieu Du Ciel---a saison with lemon-roselle & blood orange in the mix---tasty, well balance.

位于美国Vermont偏远农场酿坊Hillfarmstead的盛名在啤迷圈中无人不晓，Grassroots是他们的合酿作品分身品牌，这次合作对象是加拿大出名酿坊Dieu Du Ciel酿酒师，酿的是拿手的农场风格啤酒Saison，以柠檬洛神花血橙入酒，微酸甘爽中带酵香，整体非常均衡美味易喝。

2) Mikkeller X series(green wax)

At times Mikkeller is being labelled as a "gimmicky" craft brand with it's seemingly endless introduction of various styles new beers---this X series is a line of imperial stouts aged in different barrels---this particular one was aged in Bourbon barrel---it was like drinking a lovely liquid "lava chocolate cake".

丹麦名牌“酿坊”的作品风格类型繁多，也经常玩推陈出新市场营销游戏，这支桶陈黑啤是一系列不同桶陈黑啤中使用美国波本桶浸泡提味版本，酒体醇香厚实，喜欢较浓郁黑啤风味的会感觉对味，记得当时的口感记录写的是，如同喝着液体火山岩巧克力蛋糕般享受。

3) Bell's Two Hearted Ale

Before the craze for fruit-juice like NEIPA---there was mostly either west coast or east coast styles IPAs---with one full on with hops bitterness attack while the other more about mellow/balance---personally not a fan of in your face type of hops attack--this one though is considered "old-school" in the face of new twist in the world of IPAs---still very much a good examples of how a nice ipa can be tasty---as long you can get it fresh(i.e. preferably NOT more than 3 months from bottling date).

在类果汁NEIPA大行其道之前，IPA基本的选择不是美国西岸就是东岸风格，最简白分别是在啤酒花苦味特质呈现方面，一个比较猛烈一个比较温和。个人来说，对过于强调啤酒花苦味攻击的印度淡啤比较无感，比较倾向均衡啤酒花麦芽功能带出果味甘香的酿品，这款虽然现在来说已经是“旧式经典款”IPA，还是适合新朋友的一款

4) New Glarus Raspberry Tart

Undoubtedly one of the best when it comes to fruit beers---having tasted some of their brew using different fruits---this one as the name suggested----it's essentially about raspberry as well as tartness---fruity sweet-sourness is the theme---one which is suitable even for new drinkers who are having doubts about drinking anything sour.

这家美国酿坊是使用水果酿酒的高手酿坊之一，好几款被啤迷称道的作品都离不开各类不同水果入酒，这支酒名称中有覆盆子，也有一个Tart字，显示啤酒风味中水果带来的酸中带微甜气息，两者相辅相成，是适合新朋友开拓味蕾的一款。

5) Homage Chat Flou

A pleasant surprise from the fairly new California brewery--from the nose to mouth feel it's almost like smelling and sipping over-ripe peaches---or in another word rotten/fermented peaches---sounds nasty? not at all---it was in a very nice way--full of goodness from the union of peaches with malt/yeast/hops & water.

加州酿坊用桃子酿造的美式酸啤酒，无论是酒的气味还是说入口味蕾感受都像是嗅到喝到发酵过熟桃果，听起来好像有点奇怪，但一点都不会让人不舒适，除非你不喜欢桃子味道，这是一支某种程度上不是那么均衡但气息味道表现都很出色的果酸啤酒。

6) B.Nektar The Mutant Zombie Killer 

This is a brew which came about through some mistakes during the blending process---though it was an accidental wrong blend--it turn out to be so delicious B.Nektar decided to launch it as a sort of "side-effect brew"---by the way, what could go wrong when apples cherries honey are soaked in a whisky barrel?

根据酿酒师说法，这支酒是在阴差阳错的情况下酿成，意外的发生是酿坊有人把两款不同的蜜酒错误的混合在一起，后来酿坊主人决定保留这些出错的混合酒，看看可以怎么样，后来证明虽然是在出错状况中完成，但完成的混合酒美味非常，完全没有高酒精影响有时候会带来的不悦酒精味，反之是危险的好喝，是苹果樱桃蜜糖和威士忌木桶的美妙“错误”结合。

7) Superstition Peanut Butter Jelly Crime

Drinking peanut butter in a mead? that's quite the idea that sparks this brew---instead of savoury taste associated with peanut butter jam---with mix of honey & blueberry juices this one bring about nutty aroma as well as sweetness and tartness once the initial peanut nose/aroma mellow down ---a nice one as dessert or stand alone drink whenever the mood strike for a small pour of mead.

花生酱是不少人早餐必备，可以在蜜糖酿造酒中喝到液体花生酱美味倒是件有点新奇的事，混合了蜜糖花生酱蓝莓果汁酸香的同时可以品嚐到这些不同食材带来的不同风味层次。与其说是混合，更像是融合，虽然蜜酒名称以花生酱为主导，一开始嗅到的香气和喝起来确实类似花生酱，但味道气息过了最初阶段就会有变化，可以品嚐到蓝莓和蜜糖融合带出的酸香甜美，是款可以当饭后甜点或其他时候单独品嚐的佳酿。

8) Cloud Water  DIPA V13

No doubt the stand out UK brewery thanks to wave of  new craze for NEIPA---V series is a sort of "fun brew" for their anniversary do which gotten so popular the brewery decided to play along and extended the series---this V13 is the last of the series---as a DIPA which could meaning more robust in terms o hops attack or alcohol mouth feel---this one has got no such problems--nicely done, very enjoyable DIPA

以印度淡啤为啤迷称道的英国酿坊并不多，这家来自曼彻斯特酿坊是其中佼佼者，v系列是这家的早期指标作品，原本是庆祝搬迁酿坊一周年而玩票式酿造，大受欢迎情况下连续酿了好几个版本，这款是v系列最终章，作为酒精度还有理论上啤酒花用的比较凶的双倍版本，整体呈现还是倾向酿坊一贯的比较果味香浓风格，非常符合酿坊近年来以NEIPA类果汁印度淡啤最为啤迷称道的风格形象。