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".
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...
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?
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.
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
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。
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:-
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。
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。
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.
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。
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