WEEK 180---factors hindering the spread of craft beer drinking culture

craft beer is niche---meaning it's not commonly available to masses like MACRO BEER does---both in terms of production capacity or accessibility--in a way----add in the fact that quite some craft brewers do not want to go big or increase production---it's understandable to geeks that craft beer will be small and niche---though at the same time geeks do like to see newbies get introduce to the entirely different world of beer drinking---it's easier said than done no thanks to some hindering factors:-

craft beer一直以来是小众的，一定意义上其实也不想成为像大厂啤酒那样无处不在垂手可得的商品，对啤迷来说，能看到更多新朋友接触了解喜欢上craft beer是乐事，但如何让多些人知道认识craft beer并改变对啤酒的错误刻板印象不是件轻易的事，以下是一些障碍：-

1) Ingrained idea/ Stereotype about BEER/Beer/beer

casually did a sort of opinion poll on both Hong Kong and Taiwan craft beer group earlier---basically listing a few hindering factors--and the most commonly agreed one is this---the very general idea /perception of  BEER is just some cheap yellow fizzy alcoholic beverages---there is nothing to explore---the idea of beer can be so delicious it needs at times serious tasting sessions is something most people don't know and likely don't understand when first told.

The harder part of introducing craft beer to people is that most people already have fixed idea/perception/expectancy of how a beer should taste or look like long before he or she has had the first craft beer--it's only natural that he or she might run away after first taste of craft beer if that taste profile is something so new/so strange/so "haven and earth moving" that their palate are so shaken up they decided they want to run away.....

1）刻板印象，先入为主

早前有随意做个意见反馈，在香港和台湾精酿团体社交媒体上问大家推广craft beer遇到的障碍，提出的几个阻力点中，被多人认同的一点就是消费者对啤酒的刻板认知，在绝对大多数人心目中啤酒就只是廉价酒精冷饮，没什么美味层次可言，这个刻板印象很大程度上让很多人对啤酒有了太过片面的错误认知，觉得啤酒就只是那样，就算craft beer也不过只是啤酒，有什么特别？这样的刻板印象确实让craft beer推广遇上很大阻力，因为很多人在接触了解之前就已经下定论。情况有点像对喝惯即溶咖啡的消费者说精品手工手冲咖啡多么不同那样，要让观念上已先入为主的人们改变看法接受啤酒的全新美味世界绝不是件易事。

2) No easy access/ Low visibility

BEER has always been easily available---it's almost everywhere--super market,  convenience stores, coffee shop, restaurants, gas stations---you name it. However we all know it's not so with craft beer---you need to move your ass to specific bars/bottle shop/taprooms to get your craft beer fix---it's not easily available--it's not everywhere---meaning it has very low visibility/availability to the general public---hence lowering the chances of someone randomly picking a bottle and somehow started to explore more.....

2）不是随处可得，能见度低

大家认知中啤酒是随处能买很容易找到的酒精冷饮，无论超市咖啡店便利店啤酒都能找到的商品。但craft beer并不是那么随处可买到的啤酒，亚洲来说基本都需要去专卖吧瓶子店才找得到，虽然啤迷都理解这是craft beer小量酿造供应量有限的特色，但对大众消费者而言，这特色一定程度上妨碍了更多人能遇到进而探索啤酒另一个全新世界的机会，既不是能随处看到买到，一般消费者也就无从知道啤酒世界原来并只是有大厂啤酒而已，什么是美味的craft beer至少要让人看到喝过才有机会认识一下。

3) ohh the Price---isn't BEER something cheap?

BEER is supposedly cheap alcoholic drinks--nothing more---that's been the perception to most--so it's not surprising to see some newbies gawk at some craft beer prices( nope not referring to grey market or secondary prices).

why craft beer prices are seemingly higher than those MACRO ones? though prices is quite a relative matter--but for the sake of comparison---we all know what is an economic of scale---compare the production capacity of craft and MACRO the answer is obvious.

then of course there are the small matters of the quality/choices of malt/wheat/barley, hops, yeast craft brewers would go for, as well how much fruits/food items/spices/adjuncts some craft brewers might throw into a beer---not to mention the time needed to either barrel aged or condition a beer before it's available for sale---at times due to really small production capacity---there might be only 100-200 bottles for sale---and nope--it's not the Big Corporation style of manufactured marketing to create scarcity--it's just that craft brewers can be really small like a 1 to 2 people team initially or mostly.

3）这价格，啤酒不是很便宜的吗

对好些第一次接触craft beer的人来说，价格乍看之下会让人觉得，不就是啤酒怎么需要付比平时熟悉大厂啤酒价格更高价位？

大众认知中，啤酒是便宜酒精冷饮，但人们忽略的一点是去认清为什么有的“啤酒”会价格高？大厂啤酒会比较“便宜”的因素不少，简单经济原理来说，产量巨大成本低的商品自然能便宜卖。

craft beer可说是小型酿造代名词，特点是不同酿坊很多，但绝对大多数都少量酿造（少到可能一批次某款酒只有100-200支可卖），加上很多酿酒师对啤酒美味层次的追求，除了选用优质麦芽酵母啤酒花和水之外，添加优质食材水果香料草本提味再加上桶陈过程等时间工序都意味着高成本，craft beer价格会比大厂啤酒高是可预见的，但如果算上好喝啤酒所能带来美味层次味蕾享受的话，懂的人都会觉得花钱买便宜但难喝啤酒才是《买贵了》。

4) some sort of knowledge needed--craft beer don't really sell by itself

This surely can be argued---some might not agree but it's fine.

BEER has always been available at most places--it's easy to pick up a few bottles/boxes---most people do that--no explanation/ guidance needed--but if one were to put up shop--filled it up with craft beer bottles--leave it to consumers to make up his/her own mind and expect the shop to show glowing sales figure every month---it's most likely would fail than succeed---for the simple reason that craft beer with it's variety of styles---and most importantly being something totally alien to general drinkers do need someone with knowledge to give basic guidance---people generally won't spend money on something he or she not sure what it is---curiosity buying does happen but that alone won't be enough....

The unique fun part of craft drinking is the varieties of styles available--but for first timers it could also be confusing or even intimidating---this is where a good advice/some form of guidance needed---a craft beer bar/shop staff/owner who don't know much about what is what can be very off putting.

4）需要一定基础认识，不是放着就能自动卖

这是可以有争议的观点，一直以来啤酒是摆在超市便利店或咖啡店冰柜就能自动卖出的商品，可是同样情况放在craft beer销售并不通用，一定程度上这是需要有懂得什么是不同类型风格酒款的人去介绍讲解带入门的啤酒生意，将一堆啤酒摆在柜子上冰柜内等喝酒人自己发掘是过于消极方式，craft beer有趣在不同类型风味啤酒选择很多，对新朋友来说，第一次走进专卖吧瓶子店看到众多不同酿坊不同风味啤酒名称及专有名词很可能会眼花缭乱不知道什么是什么，这时当然最好能有懂的人简单介绍讲解一下，如果店家店员对craft beer没基本认识一问三不知那会让新人更困惑或就此走人。

5) the lack of a commonly accepted basic guidelines/guidebook

Personally speaking--craft drinking is a process of palate training to discover what different styles of beers could bring to one's palate enjoyment---that beer drinking is no longer those ignorance days of MACRO gulping---craft beer is something worth exploring further for enjoyment of various taste and flavours---it's never about chasing alcohol or getting shit faced.

However---the spread of craft beer drinking culture does have it's obstacles--and the lack of commonly accepted basic guidelines or guidebook is one---say for examples if i were to tell someone new that you DO NOT ADD ICE when drinking craft beer--which is unspoken rules--but who am i to tell someone he or she cannot ADD ICE even though it's a basic no no? 

It is true that even craft beer drinking is all about personal preferences---what you like in a taste profile would decide your choice of beer---which is part of the fun of craft drinking--having a somewhat standardized or even rigid newbies guidelines/guidebook may sound like very "un-craft"---which probably partly explained why there's none so far---everyone and anyone who became a geek all started from zero---either by exploring the world of craft beer by himself/herself or somehow guided by someone initially/constantly on his/her craft journey.  Not sure if we would see a standardized guidebook emerging anytime soon--but with or without one--it's important that newbies do get the correct idea about what drinking craft is about from the start--that it's basically about exploring deliciousness/taste in a beer than anything else/

5）缺乏简易通用的新人入门指南

个人来说，喝craft beer其实是训练提升个人味蕾鉴赏力的过程，意思是如何让自己舌头嗅觉认知从原来只知道大厂啤酒“单一无味”中逐渐提升到通过不同类型风格认识分辨更多能通过啤酒酿造呈现的不同美味怪味趣味风味，从此扭转啤酒只是单一无趣完全没有任何美味层次可言酒精饮料的刻板印象。

如何让更多人接触了解认识喜欢上craft beer是第一步，亚洲不同城市有不少热爱的啤迷们通过各自方式在专卖吧瓶子店啤酒节庆活动还有社交媒体上或多或少尝试推广，这过程是需要的，但同时也是各司各法，没有“同一教材”或“统一方式”，大家都各凭自身经历/经验/心得/看法/认知去分享，这是可以理解的事，喝啤酒和吃东西一样，有个人口味选择/认知现象的存在，因为没有所谓权威的公认的入门指南或标准，新朋友从开始接craft beer触初期到喝了几年後的口味变化/味蕾鉴赏力提升与否有时会跟喝酒路上遇到什么样的酒友或“启蒙人”有着一定影响，当然会有能自己摸索自我提升的新朋友，但缺乏“同一教材”“统一方式”在一定程度上还是让一些新朋友因为不知道从何下手无所适而成为只偶尔喝下的“好奇尝鲜”喝酒人，或因为第一二次喝到不对味或味蕾太受震撼被吓跑，从此消失在craft beer美味探寻路上。

WEEK 179---Which Craft Drinker are you?

Flavour preferences is always very personal they say---no difference when it comes to craft beer drinking---here's some observations on a  few different types of craft drinkers---feel free to identify which is more your type :)

CRAFT BEER世界宽阔无际，不同类型风格啤酒选择很多的同时也有好些不同类型的喝酒人秉着个人口味取向游走在浩瀚啤海中各自各精彩，以下是一些旁观者视角，欢迎对号入座。

1) Don't care about varieties of styles---will keep drinking the same 1 or 2 style/s over and over again

Varieties/ Choices is the key word for craft beer lovers---it's because of the different flavours available which makes drinking craft beer so much more interesting---for examples while generally Stouts is something always associated with flavours such as roasted malt/ coffee/ dark chocolate/toffee and such---but of course Stouts can have wider flavour profile than those---a Stouts can be sourish when soaked with sour cherries and so on...

That said---all the different beer styles-varieties do not mean much to some---there are some who are happy to keep drinking the same 1/2/3 styles he or she prefer---to a certain extent he.she do not want to venture out for beer styles not familiar with or beer styles he/she think would not be compatible to his/her flavour preferences.

1）只顾埋头喝喜欢的一两款  什么多样化不同类型风格与我无关

craft beer不同类型风格啤酒款式众多，就算同一类型风格啤酒也会因为不同酿坊酿酒师不同酿造方式/想法，比如说黑啤（stouts)可以通过使用不同麦芽酵母啤酒花组合或桶陈或添加物选择而出现或颠覆性或风味表现差异明显变化，例如在葡萄酒旧木桶加入樱桃浸泡熟成的黑啤很可能出现酸味导向，有别于黑啤以烘烤麦芽咖啡太妃糖巧克力风味表现为主的既有印象。

对一些喝酒人来说，虽然选择那么多，但一些喝惯自己喜欢类型风格啤酒的只会一直重复喝那一二三款，一定程度上并不愿意试自己不熟悉或想象中就已觉得自己不会喜欢/接受不来的啤酒类型。

2) There's awesome craft beer & awful ones--but so long it's beer i'm not choosy

It's a fact that even with the same recipe same beer style---there could be very big gap in the quality of brew by different breweries---it's like a plate of fried rice---it can taste so so heavenly or it could be so so bad---it is absolutely crucial for newbies to know that NOT all craft beer are  of equal standards/deliciousness--there will be awful ones as much there will be awesome ones....

Interestingly---the scenario of "will drink so long it's beer" does not limit to newbies--many who are fairly "senior" in craft beer drinking do that too since it's only after drinking can one make any judgement of good so so or bad---while some would just drink any beer when the mood is right--- it's only beer---no need to be so critical....")

2）啤酒是有优劣高低之分 但我不挑什么都喝

啤酒是有作品水准差异（而且可以差天差地）的，用最浅显例子来说，就像同样是炒饭，有人的好吃到不得了，有人的难吃到简直让人生气，酿酒也一样，刚开始接触craft beer最需要了解的第一重点就是，不是叫craft beer就代表一定好喝，因为绝对会有水准高低优劣之分。

有趣的是，什么都能喝这回事并不限于刚接触craft beer新朋友，好些资深啤迷也会那样，有人是抱着好不好喝一定要试过才知道的心态，有的则是觉得好不好喝不重要，气氛对了就可以，反正都是啤酒不必分的那么仔细。

3) Prefer nice beer but will at times drink some seemingly average/so so ones due to curiosity or the urge to earn some beer ratings/apps badges....

Curiosity is one major driving force why geeks go on tasting/drinking varieties of different beers---after all one will only know if a beer is to his/her liking or otherwise after tasting--no amount of reading other's review/tasting notes/ratings will satisfy one's urge to really know for sure how a beer actually taste.

Curiosity apart--sometimes people do drink certain quantity of beer due to the ratings/beer apps badges urge---it's kinda like play computer games---you do want to up level---and that's quite a fascinating angle to look at what drives someone to drink a certain seemingly not so great beers......

3）喜欢好喝啤酒 但有时会因为好奇或为了升级评酒勋章而喝些不怎样的

好奇心是驱使一些啤迷会多些去尝试或许喝之前就觉得可能不怎么样啤酒的动力，这是可以理解的，毕竟再怎么去看别人的酒评还是比不上自己喝过的感知那么真实。

放在喝啤酒这回事来说，这是个有趣现象，因为对评酒应有程序的投入，导致有时有点像喜欢玩电动的朋友那样会有想去到某个LEVEL取得什么勋章之类的动力而去多尝试不同的啤酒，过程中有时会因为这样的动力而去喝一些严格来说可能不太符合自我要求水平的平庸啤酒，当然这无关对错，只是个人选择，也是不同人喝craft beer驱动力的有趣体现。

4) Only wanted to drink awesome beer/really tasty beer whenever possible (after one;s palate appreciation ability reaches a certain "level")

Drinking craft beer is at times akin to some form of discovery journey for one's palate---once you have tasted a certain level of high quality brew---it's natuiral that one would want to seek for even better even tastier brew---in a way it's hard to categorically determine which level someone's palate appreciation ability is at ---drinking craft beer is not like Taekwando or playing Chess where there's category/levels----though what a person has drank so far can be the basis but it's still not decisive enough to tell which level one's palate appreciation ability is at.

Though there's no absolute way determine one's "palate level"---for newbies it's important to understand what might be some "benchmark beer" of a particular beer styles---tasting and understanding what is the benchmark breew would go a long way to helping newbies develop his/her palate appreciation level gradually....

4）越喝越挑，尽可能只想找高素质高评价的酒喝

放在美食来说，就是嘴巴很挑非美食宁愿不吃，啤迷来说很多时候是因为喝过一些很高水准作品後味蕾要求变高所以尽量不想喝平庸一般的作品。

其实怎样才算喝到“高手境界”是没有公式能定论的，craft beer世界浩瀚无边，从酿酒师到啤迷都是喝酒人，喝到什么阶段境界是个好像可以根据喝过什么佳酿判断但又难以就此定论的模糊界定所以不能像空手道或围棋那样说这位啤迷是什么段数。

不过，话说回来，喝craft beer是锻炼味蕾鉴赏力的过程，一些基本认知比如什么是特定类型风格啤酒的出色标杆作品（bench mark beer) 确实是提升鉴赏力所需基础，有了一定程度认知後可以进一步多探寻不同类型风格佳酿风味，多了解後才能分辨优劣。

5) Tasty beer is nice---but super hyped/limited/hard to find ones are more intriguing

There are beer which are highly regarded among geeks, there's also some beer which are so limited in supply it's already a rare beer even before it's release, and of course there are those which are being rave about it inevitably added so much hype to an otherwise nice/tasty beer which should never be asking for a certain crazy prices as greedy resellers makes it out to be....

Why some geeks/drinkers would go way out of the normal path or willing to pay certain high prices to attain a beer is probably due to the curiosity factor, or the strong urge to complete a list of "MUST TICK"beer, or it could be for vanity motives.....Whatever the driving factors might be---chasing after rare/hyped beer is an interesting scenario where geeks either go along or laugh it off or maybe just sigh......

5）好啤酒固然好 但稀有难寻高评价啤酒更让人心痒

啤迷群中会有那么一些人是特别执着于追寻高评价或稀有难寻作品，因为只有那样才能满足自身的好奇心，为自己的必喝酒单打个勾，或是填补一定程度上的虚荣心。

高评价或稀有难寻作品是craft beer特有现象（当然威士忌葡萄酒更是），有些酒款产量非常少需要会员制甚至抽签才有机会绝对限量买到，评酒程式/网站或啤迷间高评价会让原本难买的酒变得更稀有抢手，无论是出于想喝好酒的渴望或强烈好奇心又或是只是冲着稀有难寻名气而来，高评价稀有难寻啤酒永远是啤迷之间或会随之起舞或一笑置之或扼腕叹息的习题。

6) Had some really tasty ones--know that sometimes its about timing/fate so no longer FOMO

That FOMO thing is very real among some geeks---not wanting to miss out on certain beer is quite a common scenario---but the truth about craft beer is that---there WILL be some which somehow would pass you and me by---reasons could be many and timing or fate can be one of those.

Once you understand the scarcity game of craft beer---it is inevitable we would miss out on a particular beer listed as <must try/badly wanted to try> --whatever the reasons might be--if it's out of reach---if it's not fated to come into your glass---so be it. There's no need to have sleepless nights over a beer you somehow cannot get---no need to get FOMO every time there's a new release or online sale---you know if you have tried and not getting one then maybe you should look elsewhere......

6）喝过不少佳酿，了解有时喝酒也讲缘分所以更自在不再FOMO

FOMO是英文“害怕错过”的缩写，是好些啤迷会出现的症状，说的是对可能错过买到喝到某款啤酒感到焦虑，要是真错过了则会懊恼失望。

对不明白一些特定酒款对啤迷意义的人来说，这样的情绪表现或许是可笑夸张的，但就像会追寻求购限量球鞋手表包包人的心理状态那样，啤迷有时也会对一些特定酒款执着一心想喝到，但有好些craft beer特定酒款不是有钱就肯定能买到的，明白个中道理能坦然面对品酒路上总会有好些很想喝但很可能喝不到的酒时，或许就可以慢慢的理解有时喝酒需要讲缘分这回事，也可以更自在的不需要FOMO。