This is a back dated piece written earlier--mainly sparked by someone else's article talking in great length how the emergence of NEIPA has affected *to the brink of ruining* traditional IPA--which obviously is not the case but an interesting point to note.
不久前国外有人写了一篇长文，主轴是说近年流行的类果汁NEIPA让印象中传统IPA出现“崩坏”迹象，这话听起来有耸动意味但也是个有趣的观察
从将啤酒花功能挥洒到淋漓尽致的美国到亚洲，从市场接受度到年销量来硕，IPA (India Pale Ale)毫无疑问是craft beer众多不同类型风味中的耀眼明星，虽然是以苦涩回甘酒味表现亮点为人知，也虽然可能最初时候会因为让人感觉太苦而吓跑一些新人，但IPA的确是很多新朋友开始接触craft beer启蒙期少不了的一个主要啤酒类型，除了因为可以轻易强烈显现和淡无味大厂啤酒巨大分别，也因为这是无论欧美或亚洲市场上绝对大多数大大小小专卖吧/瓶子店必备酒款。
There is no doubt that for the past decade or so to now, majority of craft beer bar from the US to here in Asia---IPA is the most commonly available beer styles on sight---every newbies starting his/her journey into the world of craft beer would almost inevitably drank a few IPAs whatever sub-styles it might be. This is one powerful example of beer style which would immediately get any newbies attention with it's hops attack, one which can wake anyone up from their MACRO BEER slumber.
Indeed, the showcasing of the power of distinctive hops flavours is what made IPA what has been/it is all these while---regardless of sub styles of either American West Coast or East Coast, or the European version of English Ipa or Belgian Ipa ---it's all about showing the flavours of different hops/ combination of hops used be it in a robust manner or a more subtle manner.
的确，IPA最先让大家想到的就是啤酒花苦涩回甘鲜香表现，这是一直以来被公认的风味特质，虽然传统IPA中就已存在不同分类，比如强调啤酒花苦味攻击的美国东岸风格（east coast ipa)，秉持苦味中带较均衡口感的美国西岸风格(west coast ipa)，又或是结合比利时酵母风味特质和啤酒花甘味的belgian ipa以及啤酒花甘苦感觉比较斯文的英伦风格english ipa等等不同分支但基本来说是大同小异，并不会像类果汁NEIPA(new england ipa)那样一下子很大程度的改变大家对IPA风格既有感观。
NEIPA近几年的风行确实让IPA类型啤酒出现了大变化，无论是类果汁的口感风味或浑浊浓郁的酒体颜色都跟传统认知中的IPA很不一样，对这个新冒出的变奏版IPA有人很爱当然也有觉得口感太甜腻很不像IPA应有风味所以不喜欢的。
That has always been the case---until the very much fruit juice like NEIPA came along not too long ago---yes the emergence of NEIPA did brought about changes---while hops is still very much in used-- it is presented in ways which are very unlike traditional IPAs--the taste flavour is skewed towards fruity/juicy---the color/appearance is much more intense/cloudy/hazy---some love it to bits--some simply can't or don't want to drink a pint of it because it can be too sweet/juicy/cloying.....
无论喜欢与否，NEIPA的流行确实丰富了原本就不同类型风味繁多的craft beer啤酒海，也让IPA的关键词多了新旧关注点，比如说：-
Amidst the love or hate---the emergence of NEIPA did brought about changes to what IPAs used to be--and like it or not--we now have a few new keywords when talking about IPAs:-
1) Juicy
due to the craze for DDH(double dry hop) technique for NEIPA to be more.....NEIPA-ish ---fruity juiciness seems to be the one unmissable aspects of a NEIPA---there is no doubt that the juicy part of NEIPA is the main attraction which made it very different from traditional IPAs---but it is also a knife which cuts itself at times when overdone.
1）Juicy
对IPA来说，这是个新词，字面上意思指的是啤酒中能感受果汁感浓郁度，这并不是说NEIPA中加了果汁，而是通过Dry Hopping或后期投放手法让啤酒可以尽量吸取特定啤酒花鲜香果味而成，也是让NEIPA风味表现类果汁的关键。
2) Cloudy
NEIPA is also at times referred to as Hazy Ipa/Cloudy Ipa due to it's appearance---it is part of the game and purposely done in such a manner through use of specific yeast/oats/wheat rather than due to poor brewing process---it is also part of the reasons why NEIPA is looking and tasting very much like fruit juices with hops rather than a 'proper IPA" as some called it.
2）Cloudy
这是关于酒体外观颜色的新词，一般IPA都是比较单一透明的金黄或浅黄色，而NEIPA的酒体颜色则大多数倾向浑浊浓郁看起来像芒果黄梨番石榴等果汁，喝起来的口感也比较厚实带热带水果风味。
3) Hop Burn
Some say this is a new term strictly associated with NEIPA mainly due to over jealous DDH technique---some say it could also happen with 'old-school' IPAs---basically hop burn is about the somewhat sharpish( unpleasant to some or most) sensation when sipping---a feeling which can be liken to eating too much freshly cut pineapples at once. Though generally hop burn is seen as a brewing flaw but there are people who take it as part of what drinking NEIPA would caused.
3）Hop Burn
字面意思是啤酒花带来灼热感，具体感觉有点类似瞬间烧喉感觉，如果用吃水果比喻的话，有点类似凤梨吃太多那种刹口感，基本并不是舒服的口感，有人讨厌有人能接受，讨厌的觉得破坏了整体适饮度，虽说也基本被视为酿造缺陷不过也有人觉得反而可以消解NEIPA的甜腻感。
4) Bitterness
This of course is NOT new keywords pertaining to IPA but a very important one---to many IPA bitterness is what made IPA what it is--which is why there is such a thing as IBU(International Bittering Units).
While some would think that IPA is all about bitterness--the bitter it is the greater the beer can be---there are of course people who think otherwise and like it more mellow or balance with suitable bitterness in their IPAs--there is no right or wrong--just individual's preference for how bitter his/her IPA should be---and that's the beauty of craft beer with varieties of choices even within a sub style of beer---though the emergence of NEIPA has somewhat challenged the "IPA is all about bitterness" perception---it is still a fun twist basing on IPA.
4）Bitterness
IPA是以啤酒花苦涩回甘酒味为特质，苦涩度是重要一环，所以会有IBU这回事。IPA的苦涩和hop burn是很不一样的感受，这里着重的是一款IPA的苦涩味有多高或多低，跟灼热感没关系，有趣的是一款IPA的好喝度对不同人来说可以是用苦涩度来评断，一些人觉得一定要很苦的才算好喝IPA，也有人觉得啤酒花苦涩只是衬托，好喝IPA一定是均衡结合啤酒花和麦芽酵母的酿品，重口或均衡或轻度都体现了IPA这个啤酒类型能提供的广泛选择。
5) Freshest Flavour Before(FFB)
Freshness is of utmost importance to how an IPA would taste---regardless if it's a traditional one or the juicy newer one---the flavour profile/performance/deliciousness of a same IPA can be very different when drank fresher( say within 1 or 2 weeks after bottling/canned) or when drank after 3 months or longer.
While most breweries still would only show either best before date or bottling/canned date---the use of FFB is very commendable---this is basically the period(around 3 months) where the brewer/s would like their beer to be consumed since it would best represent how they wanted the flavours to be.
Next time if you encounter a bottle/can with no FFB dates---just check the bottling/canned date and work out a 3 month period.
5）Freshesh Flavour Before(FFB)
无论是喝传统传统或类果汁类型风味IPA都好，最最最关键始终是新鲜度，只有喝上新鲜IPA才能真正领会什么是啤酒花甘涩鲜香美味，FFB的出现很明确的树立了新鲜度标杆，这是和best before很不同的概念，简单说FFB指的是最美味品嚐时间，而best before只是说明可饮用期限。一般来说，FFB大力鼓励装瓶/装罐後3个月时间内享用，而best before则可以至少适用1年左右，两者之间对美味程度要求当然是完全不同概念。
目前在瓶子罐子列明FFB的酿坊并不是那么多，如果要知道新鲜度可以查看装瓶装罐日期，算一下日子就知道了。
No comments:
Post a Comment