WEEK 227--The Cognition of Beer

 

What is beer?

seemingly a silly question which needs no explanations whatsoever--yet this is a question with an answer far exceeding most consumers idea of what beer really is or can be.

啤酒是什么，这是个似乎完全不需要问或思考的问题，但与此同时又是个涵盖内容超乎大多数人认知中“啤酒”两个字纯字面意思的酒精饮料。

在啤酒世界中，是有不同认知存在的，意思是不同人对啤酒的认知或既有印象可以是天差地别截然不同的。

In the world of beer--there are very different cognition/perception/understanding of what beer is from different people--the most commonly found idea is that "beer is just beer--basically just the same--not much differences to talk about"--that idea has long been rooted in the minds of most consumers who been given that stereotypical idea by MACRO BEER's "taste profile" & beer must be drank ICE-COLD. Most of these consumers never knew there's another beer world out there called craft beer & that beer do need to get warm & "wake up" for better enjoyment of flavours.

在啤酒世界中，最常见的大众认知就是“啤酒都是一样”或“大同小异”，没什么所谓迥异有趣风味可言，但这只是非常刻板，很大程度上可以说是被误导的认知，因为绝大多数消费者并不知道啤酒世界其实有两个截然不同的区域，其一是大众认知中的大厂啤酒（Macro Beer)而另一个则是以酿造各种不同类型风格啤酒为啤迷喜爱的craft beer（中港台惯称精酿啤酒）。

In it's most basic & simple form--beer are made with 4 natural ingredients, i.e. Malts-Water-Yeast-Hops--but if we were to push further--even with ONLY these 4--the taste profile or beer styles can be very very different--for examples a brewer can make a Lager or a Pilsner--or an IPA--or Stouts--or Sour--all by utilising those 4 ingredients alone. It's kind of like here in Asia where RICE can be turned into various form of food items--not just being steamed rice.

最基本层面来说，啤酒是使用水，麦芽，酵母，啤酒花四种酿造而成的酒精饮料，是啤酒最基本风貌。不过，再深一步说的话，单只是使用这四种酿造原料做出来的啤酒风味表现可以千差万别，就像同一种白米可能被变成各种不同食物或辅料那样，啤酒也可以在使用相同酿造原材料情况下变出不同类型风格并具有迥异风味表现的作品。

 

It is very understandable that beer drinking is a form of socializing activities--and the choice of beer( be it MACRO or craft) is very subjective & no right or wrong. If we were to talk about the ease of finding a place with beer then undoubtedly MACRO BEER places will always prevail since there are so many bars/restaurants or convenience stores/supermarket selling those.

The not so commonly known fact is that--in the other side of the beer world--beer can be much more than just socializing tools--craft beer can be something which needs appreciation of taste much like coffee or tea lovers do--in the world of craft beer--"YUM SENG"(loud cheers & toast before gulping down in 1 quick throat movement) is not wrong but obviously not condone by geeks as a well made beer need some minutes to warm up--open up it's full flavours & best apreciated by slow sips.

对不少人来说，啤酒是社交生活一部份，至于喝的是大厂啤酒还是craft beer完全因人而异也没有对错之别，毕竟市场上无论是酒吧餐厅咖啡店还是超市便利店都是大厂啤酒最随处可看到也最容易买到，所以一般大众认知中的啤酒其实就是大厂啤酒中最常见的浅金黄色拉格(Lager)类型啤酒以及被称为黑啤的Stout。

不过，在做为社交酒精饮料之余，啤酒在另一个世界中也可以是类似咖啡迷品味不同风味咖啡豆或喜欢喝茶人欣赏不同茶类风味那样，可以是需要被细味慢啜的液体美味，换句话说有别于一般人印象中喝啤酒就只是拿起杯子咕噜咕噜喝下去，而是像享受美食多层次风味表现那样以品酒方式慢尝细品啤酒的风貌。

To drink MACRO or craft--that's always a choice for consumers--here in Asia generally speaking the cognition of beer within the public is one which is stereotypical hence the choices are mostly non-existing as most consumers would choose ease of buying or likely never heard of the word craft beer. On that score, craft beer operators & beer geeks alike still got much work to do...

喝大厂啤酒或craft beer是选择题，但在大众认知普遍不足或有误区情况下，亚洲城市来说这个选择题其实有时候并不存在，因为一般大众消费习惯上都会选择能随处买到的便利而不会特意花时间去寻找craft beer专卖吧/瓶子店，实际上怎么让更多人知道啤酒世界中其实还有另一个更多风味迥异的美味液体宇宙存在是所有craft beer业者及啤迷们需要面对的习题。

 

The lack of cognition about what beer can be--or rather not knowing there's another much more interesting & flavourful craft beer world out there amongst  majority consumers is part of the reasons why craft beer culture is limited to small group of craft drinkers in this part of the world.And then of course there are other factors in play--for examples here in Malaysia--alcoholic beverages will be taxed rather heavily & under  "sin tax"(A sin tax is a tax on goods and services deemed harmful to society) category. From legal point of view--there is NO local craft beer breweries licences--NO home brew allowed--hand carried beer luggage IF stopped by customs at airport might get confiscated or need to pay fine/taxes. With MACRO BEER given licenses to set up plants & brew locally--and basically all over the market here in Malaysia--it's quite understandable why beer cognition here is mostly if not only about MACRO BEER.

The situation down south in Singapore as well up north in Thailand is rather different--in Singapore local breweries/ brewpubs are allowed--beer geeks seeking to sent in beer mails from overseas can do so by the laws with clear indications on what to do and how much taxes to pay. Up north in Thailand--even though laws pertaining to local small/craft brewing is unfriendly but the scenario is a little different than Malaysia where the local brewers do find their own ways of going around--with seemingly more varied & at times quite exciting small batch imports there--Thailand's craft beer scene is rather active.

It is no doubt that craft beer market in places like Japan/Korea/China/Hong Kong/Taiwan are helped by the existence of local breweries--with even more varied imports available to choose from--these are the forefront of craft beer scene in Asia.

大众对啤酒的普遍认知不足或自带误区一定程度上是craft beer文化没能更加普及化的其中一个因素，当然亚洲不同城市也有各自不同客观条件和政策等因素影响，以大马市场来说，在政策对酒类饮料不友善（重税/不能自酿/不准设立本地小型酿坊/邮寄或自行带酒回国可能会被罚款或没收等等）情况下，大多数大众对啤酒认知只停留在大厂啤酒阶段是无奈但能理解的事。无论是对比南边的新加坡还是北边的曼谷，虽然也当然都是被大厂啤酒包围市场的城市，但新加坡是允许在地酿坊或酿吧（brewpub) 的，自行海外找酒邮寄进来也有明文规定条例可循。曼谷虽然也面对一定程度不友善政策限制但“下有对策”所以当地自酿品牌加上多年来好些很不错的进口啤酒选择带动起来的craft beer文化相对活跃，至于中港台日韩等地都有在地酿坊，加上更多选择的欧美酿坊进口酿坊作品，可说是亚洲craft beer文化认知程度相对较高的区域。

As for choosing to drink craft or MACRO--much like A only like to drink instant coffe/dip bag coffee while B choose to drink pour over speciality coffee--it's very much a matter of personal taste preference & to a certain extent the cognition of beer(or the lack of it)--that's all--no wrong no right.

某种程度来说，选择喝大厂啤酒或craft beer是个人口味决定，就像有人只喜欢喝三合一包装咖啡，有人则不介意贵价些选择喝以特定方式烘培而成特定咖啡豆冲泡的咖啡，其实也无关其他，大致上只是口味倾向和个人认知的体现。