Tuesday, August 4, 2020

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 agingdouble 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.

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