WEEK 174-----Fine Brew or Hand Made?

So what is the "official" Chinese term for craft beer?

This is a question some newbies would ask---it was a much more simpler world of beer before one encountered the world of craft beer when BEER would either be "that yellow bubbly cold drink" or "that brownish dark drink"--no confusing beer styles, beer names. beer terms needed.

有人问，craft beer中文名词以哪个为准，是精酿啤酒还是手工啤酒？在craft beer近些年较大范围被人们认识/知道/听说之前，啤酒世界是很简单的，大众认知中的啤酒基本就只有或黄澄澄或黑中带棕的大厂啤酒（MACRO BEER)，那些听起来有点像是外星人中文的各种不同类型风格啤酒名词根本不存在于大众视线之中。拉格，艾尔，世涛，赛松，波特，兰比克，印度艾尔都是craft beer不同类型啤酒“外星人”中文名词，问题是真正接触craft beer之前会有多少人知道什么是什么?

From China to Hong Kong to Taiwan, as well some parts of South East Asia where Mandarin is widely spoken & written---the commonly used Chinese terms for "craft beer" is 精酿啤酒（Jing Niang Pijiu--literally meaning Fine Brew) or 手工啤酒(Shou Gong Pijiu---meaning Hand Made) *Note the word Pijiu is by itself meaning beer.

If we break up the word Jing Niang(精酿)--the first word can be meaning "Fine" or "Refined" or "Essence" while the 2nd word Niang means "brewing" "making". As for Shou Gong(手工）--its fairly straight forward as the two words combined to mean Hand Made where Shou means hands--and Gong means work---while the intention is clear to showcase how small scale/hand crafted craft beer can be--but technology advancement has also meaning some work at the craft breweries can be done by machines rather than all by hands--for examples the bottling of beers. 

在中国香港台湾或一些使用中文的东南亚地区，craft beer并没有所谓的正式中文名词，这些年来大家习惯了用《精酿啤酒》，较小程度上也有用《手工啤酒》 一词的，两个名词虽不是 “官方正式名词”，但在中文世界流传通用着，算是啤迷们或默认或有共识或普遍接受的用词。精酿啤酒这名词，从字面意思上或许可理解为<精心酿造的啤酒>，*<精益求精的啤酒>，而手工啤酒一词就更直白的想表达出craft beer一手一脚小型酿造的精神面貌，两者在一定程度上都有表达出英文craft的意味，但也没能完全把craft beer的形神全貌释出。

These two Chinese terms for craft beer is not by any means the "official" versions--and perhaps does not fully reflect what the term "craft beer" represents---nonetheless these two are widely used or accepted in the Chinese speaking communities as referring to craft beer.

Regardless if it's JingNiang or ShouGong---the single most important thing about craft beer is to brew something tasty/delicious where brewers would aim to get things right by dedicating heart and soul--time and energy--using high quality ingredients--not afraid to invest time when necessary-- and most importantly never cutting any short corners out of cost/profit concern---all done in the pure spirits of craft beer while chasing after deliciousness.

比如说手工一词，随着工艺科技的进步，一些酿坊工作已可以使用更有效率的机器来替代人工，举个例子，很久以前可能会以人力将酿好啤酒一瓶瓶手装的方式已能交由机器处理，一定程度上，手工啤酒一词无论是实际操作或字面意义上来说其实并不太能完全展现所谓纯手工跟大型流水线生产大厂啤酒有什么美味上的鲜明区别。

无论是称呼为精酿或手工，craft beer的真正目标是只求酿出好喝美味的啤酒，过程中酿酒师心态基本是“只求酿好啤酒，用心用料时间工序一样都减不得“，换言之会有一种“不惜工本，一心求好”的态度，这是一种纯粹的求好心态，是不少自我要求严谨酿酒师会遵循的精神面貌/酿酒原则，这也是为什么craft beer会吸引啤迷愿意花钱花时间只想要更深入了解这个新兴起的另类啤酒文化。

Regardless if a beer is called JingNiang or ShouGong--and with assumption that a beer was brewed with utter most respect to steps needed---the truth is there would always be beers which:-

a) taste so delicious it blow your mind

b) really good but stop short of mind blowing

c) good but nothing outstanding

d) average---drinkable---but that's about it

e) bad beers--period

Speaking of bad beers--newbies do need to take note that while craft beer is by and large supposed to be at the very least "good beer"--the fact is that there are some who are either yet to fully comprehend the basics of beer brewing or those who only wanted to make some quick money by making use of "craft beer"--- these people would bring damage to the craft culture by selling really bad beers which might make some people who are drinking craft beer at very early stage to misunderstand that "ohh craft beer is nothing special--no better or in fact worse than my usual MACRO BEER"---this is one scenario all craft beer lovers really hate to see--when something so NOT craft-worthy is chasing away potential future craft drinkers....

“不惜工本，一心求好”的craft beer文化精神是一种态度，但未必每位酿酒师都会对自己能酿出什么水平的啤酒有着同样高度的严谨自我要求，虽然craft beer精神文化的最原始元素是以酿出好喝可口或趣味美味兼备的好啤酒为追求目标，但现实中总会有一些想浑水摸鱼或学艺不精或一心只想打着精酿手工旗号偷工减料卖平庸或劣质啤酒的人，这当然是啤迷们所不耻不乐见的，但更多时候是需要新人朋友们多留意以避免让这类会对craft beer文化面貌带来损害的劣啤让不知道所以然的喝酒人以为所谓精酿或手工啤酒“原来”不过只是听起来厉害但喝起来让人反感的难喝啤酒。

其实，无论是叫做精酿还是手工，啤酒讲究的是酿造品质以及啤酒能带来的美味好喝程度，一个很现实的情况是，就像手指有长短那样，就算是认真酿造的craft beer也是有水平高低之分的，抛开长途运输或品管不良等外导致啤酒品质下跌的外在人为因数不说，单只是酿酒师想法/功力/用料/时间工序等酿酒元素就会出现让人惊艳好喝啤酒，很不错啤酒，中规中矩啤酒，非常平庸啤酒以及难喝劣酒之分。

刚接触craft beer的新朋友们一定要知道，啤酒不是一旦贴上精酿或手工标签就代表肯定是佳酿，无论是大名鼎鼎酿坊还是寂寂无名的新酿坊作品，说到底，啤酒的美味层次才是决定关键，任何标签代号都是虚的，啤酒只能是喝进嘴里好好细味品嚐之后才能见真章。（当然，在亚洲如果喝的是进口的欧美纽澳或亚洲其他城市酿坊作品的话，首要条件必须是运输保存因素都保持良好情况下为准）

In a way--every time when a beer is tasted--it is a way for the drinkers to understand the thoughts/ability of the brewers---it is also a test to the palate/appreciation ability of the drinkers---it's kinda like a two way communication process through beers.  So it does not matter if your first few beers were called JingNiang or ShouGong--the more important thing is about understanding what went through your palate---that's how newbies can slowly step up the search for more varieties of deliciousness in a brew. 

对新朋友们来说，无论第一次喝的是称作精酿啤酒还是手工啤酒其实都不重要，逐步了解自己喝到了什么水平的啤酒才是探索craft beer美味路上的重点功课，一定程度上，每次喝一款不同风味酿品的时候，啤酒所呈现出来的味道层次就是对酿酒师思路/功力的了解/验证，同时也为是对喝酒人自身味蕾鉴赏力/眼界/接收能力的一种考验和提升，这跟单纯只为酒精而喝是不可同日而语的区别。至于说craft beer中文名词如果不叫精酿或手工的话应该叫什么可能是个有趣或没什么实质意义的讨论，答案是正是负就留待有兴趣的啤迷们去研究研究。

As for the "debate" of should it be called JingNiang or ShouGong--it could be an interesting one or it might be a totally meaningless topic--let's leave it to the craft community to see if anyone pick this up.

WEEK 173---craft beer can go Bad(but avoidable)

Many newbies are quite confused( or rather clueless) when it comes to question of which beer is good for aging, which beer is not good to keep beyond certain period of time despite the fact that storage info mostly can be found on bottle/can labels.

有人问说，啤酒到底是耐存放的还是易坏不耐的，答案其实不一，在craft beer世界里，有的类型啤酒属于不耐存放时间长了会变味型，但也有不少是可以存放至少几年到十多二十年以上，或者说需要一定时间陈放之后才更好喝类型。

抛开上述情况，基本来说，啤酒的确有可能会变坏，这或许是好些只习惯从超市买酒消费者并不知道的事。

以下是可能导致啤酒变坏的情况：-

It is worth noting though--that regardless of beer styles--craft beer can go BAD due to some reasons--some before it even reaches your local bar/bottle shop--and some after.....

Here's a few scenario when beer goes bad:-

Infection/感染

Beer brewing is kinda like cooking--you need a clean kitchen as well avoid any situation which might taint the ingredients before cooking--during cooking--even after cooking.

这个词在全球疫情肆虐的现在听起来有点刺耳，虽然啤酒的感染问题跟肺炎疫情一点关系都没有，但基本道理是一样的，意思是原本应该“健康”的啤酒因为某些原因被感染，也因此变坏了。

啤酒会被感染的情况大致有几个，包括从酿造期间，到装瓶装罐，甚至是已装桶完毕送到酒吧上啤酒泵时都有可能出现感染问题。

先说酿造期间感染，啤酒是通过一定工序去酿造的，在craft beer世界里，除了麦芽，酵母，啤酒花和水四大基本原材料之外，不少啤酒也会随着酿酒师想呈现的风味而加入各式各样蔬果香料食材浸泡提味，有不少啤酒会经历在其他酒类旧桶中陈放熟成至少一次有时两次的时间工序（barrel aging或double barrel aging），在酿造期间经历的每一道工序都存在出现人为疏忽的可能性，当然这种可能性的高或低很多时候取决于酿坊/酿酒师们对酿造环境卫生还有自我要求有多严谨，一般来说，酿坊会在酿造期间出现感染问题的例子并不多见。

至于装瓶或装罐期间发生的感染问题，基本或是由于瓶子或罐子的事前消毒不完善又或是输送酒的导线或瓶子罐子盖子封口部分出了问题，同样的，如果酒吧不定期保养清理啤酒泵管线的话，一旦通过肮脏被感染管线输出再到喝酒人杯子的话，就有可能会出现类似过期变味奶油或其他不好的气息和味道，这种情况下原本没事应该很好喝的啤酒都变味了。

And of course beer will need to be packed for delivery--that's a process where contamination might happen due to dirty/infected machines/lines.  Lastly, beer might be spoiled if bar owners/staffs do not take good care of a brewer's works seriously.

In a nutshell, beer can get infected at the brewery during brewing process--or while bottling/canning OR a perfectly fine beer could get infected in a bar due to dirty draft line/s.

Light Struck光害 & Oxidization氧化

Two differing scenarios but both can cause beer to deteriorate vastly---Light Struck happens due to direct exposure under sunlight or very strong fluorescent lighting---this will caused a photo-oxidization reaction with hops and lead to beer becoming undesirably "SKUNKY".

两个不同情况，光害说的是啤酒因为被阳光紫外线或强烈光线直接暴晒照射让酒体起变化然后变坏并发出异味。虽然有研究显示深色瓶子装的啤酒比透明或青色瓶子有着更好的防光功能，而罐装啤酒也有很好的挡光作用，但最好的阻止光害方式仍然是时时注意不要让啤酒被任何强光直接照射。

就像人会老去那样，啤酒氧化是无可避免的自然定律，但如果出现储存不良状况或把本来应该趁新鲜快快喝掉啤酒类型长时间收着造成伤害的话，啤酒氧化状况会加快加剧，一旦氧化啤酒就会老化变味，造成原有应该呈现的风味特质消失殆尽。要注意的是，不是所有craft beer都需要趁新鲜喝的，有不少类型啤酒是适合收藏让酒体风味更成熟复杂圆润的，这些类型啤酒有的因为在瓶子内再度发酵所以不怕时间带来的氧化问题。

Oxidization in a beer is kinda of like human being getting old--it's law of the nature--something unavoidable---hence it's always important to take good care of beers when transporting from point A to point B(more so if international transporting) to avoid aggravating the oxidization process--what oxidization does to a beer--in particular those hops flavours forward beers such as IPA is that it will kill off the supposedly "freshness" of hops and beer in general hence making the beer less or much less delicious than it should have been.

One thing to note though---not all beers need to be consumed fresh--some beer styles would actually be a waste to drink too young/fresh---do take notice that time and proper storage would do wonders to some beers.

On storage & enjoying beer/收酒和享用好酒关键词

Regardless if a beer is one which is best to be enjoyed when fresher (think IPAs/ dry hopped pale ale/NEIPAs/ stouts or porter with lighter adjunct such as coffee beans or tea leaves)  or say something which is best consumed after several years of aging( think Lambic or BA stouts/barley wine and such..)---it is good to treat all types of beer as "perishable goods"which needs proper care especially when storing beers at home--while some geeks would buy proper cellar fridge/s---not all would do the same---the next best way is probably store the beers at a cooler/darker corner of the house---avoid direct sunlight or strong indoor lighting as well damp environment.

啤酒，无论是已经装瓶或罐装或酒吧桶装版本，不管是必须新鲜喝的酒花鲜香类型又或者是可以收藏陈放期待更丰富层次风味的类型，基本都是需要被呵护的“易坏品”。或许对一般饮客来说，要花一笔钱买专门收藏啤酒用的温控雪柜的做法并不实际，所以如果家里有一些需要收藏至少三两年类型啤酒的话，比较容易的方式是把酒收在没有任何亮光直接照射到的橱物柜底下或一些啤迷戏称的“床底下”，重点是黑暗通风不会由于周边潮湿造成容易发霉的环境中就可以。 

最後，无论是在家里还是酒吧享用好喝啤酒，请用干净合适的杯子让酒体有适当的空间散发应有的香味气息，另一个重点是，请给一定的时间让啤酒“苏醒”，不要一口气就干完，那样是喝不出好啤酒应有多层次风味的。

Lastly--when enjoying your beer---always use a properly cleaned/washed glass---it's only fair to treat your beer with the container it deserved since beer do need time and space to breath in order to expand it's full flavours---don't gulp fast as that will not allow one to fully appreciate what's in the brew.