Tuesday, October 29, 2019

WEEK 156---The Unspoken Rules of Bottle Share

This is supposed to be the next article but sequences don't really matter here so will just let this one jump ahead of the previous one first....
craft beer世界中,品酒(tasting)和瓶子分享会(bottle share)是不少啤迷推崇和选择的喝酒方式,把两者结合就是品酒分享会,无论是字面意思或实质上来说都跟一般人观念中喝酒方式有所区别,很大程度上来说,喝少嚐多是品酒和一般喝酒方式最大不同。
品酒分享会最基本概念就是几个人聚在一起分享自己带来的瓶子,在分担酒量分担酒精情况下探寻啤酒的味道层次。对新朋友来说,虽然品酒分享会并没有什么明文规定准则,但实际上还是有一些潜规则要注意的:-
To many a geeks---bottle share/ tasting session is something which comes naturally once you been drinking for a while and somehow manage to find a few like minded beer friends who like to share/ drink less taste more---however for some newbies---how a bottle share would go about might be a new thing, here's a few points to note:-
1) Settled on theme of the session
It is because of the availability of so many different beer styles/ choices that the idea of bottle sharing is a fun one---and it's exactly why one needs to firm up theme of the session before hand--for examples would the session be a Vertical tasting (where it's all the same style of beer from 1 particular brewery but with different years/barrel aging) or will it be a Mix Styles tasting where everyone bring different styles of beer from different breweries.
While Vertical and Mix Styles tasting are two vastly different format of tasting---the objective is the same---that is to seek out different flavours/nuances/deliciousness/uniqueness a beer could possibly bring.
1)先确定品酒会主题
craft beer的不同类型风味非常多,因为选择多所以才可以有品酒分享会,不过,正也是那样所以分享之前需要先确定分享会主轴是强调同一酿坊单一风味酒款但不同年份的直线品酒会(vertical tasting),又或者是以不同类型风味啤酒为主的混合品酒会(mix styles tasting),这是两个截然不同的概念,但基点是一样的,都以品嚐啤酒美味层次变化为中心思想和目标。
2) "Equal level bottles"
A bottle sharing session is about tasting and it's also about sharing---which could very well meaning the unspoken rule of "equal level brew"--meaning if it is stated that everyone should only bring their A game bottles to a share---no one should bring anything less---bring a B level brew is not a nice gesture.
2) 瓶子级别的对等
品酒分享会讲究的是当然是分享,因为那样,啤迷之间有个不明文规定的守则,就是带来分享的瓶子必须是对等级别的,意思是如果分享会主题是大家必须带A级别的酒,那就不能带B级别的应付过去。
或许有人会问,那么多不同新旧酿坊那么多不同类型风格啤酒,怎样去鉴别什么是ABC级之类的?这的确是个问题,因为就算有评酒网站为不同啤酒打分数或有排行榜,谁也不能绝对权威的说什么酒是ABC,所以品酒分享会所说的级别对等啤酒很大程度上只能是啤迷之间的共识,某种程度上也算是一种只能意会不能言传,懂的人就会懂的潜规则
as for HOW TO DETERMINE which is A and which is BCDEF level is obviously a very subjective matter--because it is very hard to say in absolute terms what is equal to what--although there are several beer ratings site/apps or even the "top chart/pop chart" equivalent of beer to tell you which beer is ranked at which position in the world----the truth is--no one can tell anyone in absolutely conclusive terms which beer is better than the other---so the "equal level brew" during a bottle share is basically the understanding among those who participate---so long it's acceptable by all then there's no issue.
3) The level of palate appreciation
This may sound a little odd( or even arrogant to some) but there is such a thing as "equality/like-mindedness" during a bottle share session---besides the "equality of bottles brought"---there is also the small matter of "equality/like-mindedness" among those who participate.(imagine 4 people sharing and one only like barley wine--one don't/can't drink lambic/sour---and another only like IPA)
3)味蕾鉴赏力和共识
这样说或许有点奇怪,但品酒分享会在某种程度上的确存在是不是对等的问题,除了上面说的大家带来的酒必须对等之外,参与品酒会啤迷之间对酒的鉴赏力也是一个重要的事,打个比喻的话,有时候品酒分享会就像是朋友之间打羽毛球那样,尽管不是比赛但如果对打双方的水准相差太大,无论是水准高还是水准比较低的都会觉得无趣,分享会虽然只是品酒嚐味,但也是聊天交换意见的场合,如果有人在喝酒时必须一边解释什么是什么然后听的人还一知半解或完全不明白这酒有什么美味的话,那绝对会很扫兴,因为品酒会并不是新人教学班,所以品酒分享会潜规则之一是,不管是新旧朋友,能聚在一起分享品酒的,基本会是具备一定鉴赏力和共识的啤迷们。
In a way---a bottle sharing session can be like a tennis/badminton game---it's NOT  a competition---just a game to sweat it out--but if the two players are of big gap in standards--the game is obviously a lot less fun than it could have been if it were to be played between two same/closer in level players.
Having said that---Of course a bottle sharing session can be a mix of experience geeks and newbies for whatever purposes( educational/ just casual drinking session/bonding and so on...) where the above mentioned unspoken rules does not apply---but if it's meant to be a "equal level share" only kinda session---then it's quite naturally/automatically understood. 
4) Don't waste beer/Not for sake of showing off
The primary objective of a bottle share is to find out how tasty a brew can be---hence the focus is never about how much one can drink or how many bottles can be opened during a session---taste is always the focus--not volume.
It is perfectly ok to pour down beer which do not meet expectations or just not tasting good---in a bottle sharing session its not a waste to "drain pour" unwanted beer---it is a way of saving body energy for the next one which hopefully is a much better one.
4)不浪费但也不勉强
品酒分享会追求的是品嚐啤酒带来美味层次变化,也就是说志不在量,可以喝多少瓶不是重点,最重要是能喝到以什么面貌层次出现的美味,因为那样,在品酒会中如果有人因为觉得不对味或不符合期望值而把杯中酒倒掉洗杯等下一款的话,听起来虽然好像是浪费了酒,但其实很正常,因为品酒会注重的是高质素酿品,如果喝到水准不高的或甚至保存不良的啤酒,与其勉强喝不如倒掉节省身体解酒机能等下一杯。
不浪费酒是品酒分享会应该做到的基本,这可以体现在事先选酒或临场决定,意思是分享会可以事先依照参与人数规划当天需要的不同类型风味起伏,不要因为条件许可所以无节制的开酒,品酒会和所谓千杯不醉没关系,既然目标是品嚐美味,那就最好恰如其份的喝,人的酒精抗力是有限的,味蕾鉴赏力也会受酒精影响逐渐变得迟钝,所以最好的品酒分享会并不是看起来为炫耀而开一堆盛名瓶子又或是有不少剩酒的画面,而是参与者都能很好均衡的分享品嚐不浪费好酒那种。
What constitute to wasting beer is the act of opening bottles when it's obvious from the start that it's way too much to drink for the number of people participating---of course how many bottles is deemed the perfect number for a share is very subjective--since people have different alcohol tolerance level/ as well as bigger/smaller collection of beers---but if the objective a of bottle share is to taste how good a brew can be/find out deliciousness--then drinking beyond one's alcohol tolerance is obviously wasting beer since you palate would have been well and truly FXXK beyond recognition.
As for the more extreme act of showing off by opening a bunch of rare/super hyped bottles just "because i can"---it might bring some envious glance on the social media--but it could also very well be mocked by many as dick wiggling.....
或许会有人会觉得不过是喝啤酒有需要那么讲究吗?的确对很多人来说喝啤酒是件普通到不能再普通的事,不过,对好些啤迷来说,分享会意义是超越喝啤酒三个字能代表的,就像喜爱美食分享美食那样,品酒分享会就是啤迷探寻交流分享藏在啤酒中不同层次美味的一种方式。
While it is true that majority of the public don't know what craft beer is --let alone what a bottle share session could mean to some beer geeks---the fact is that at times a sharing session is way beyond what the word " beer-drinking" could represent---a bottle share session is the way of the geeks to finding deliciousness/ nuances in a beer--much like a foodie would do.

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