WEEK 151---Best Beer-Rare Beer-Beer that got away & Beer Hoarding

Craft community is in a way mini version of the society we live in, there are all sorts of characters/ behaviours all in the name of beer drinking---to some beer drinking is all about drinking so there's no need to be picky so long there is a beer in hand---while to some beer drinking is quite a serious matter relating to finding different flavours /deliciousness although at times rightly or wrongly, somehow the term "beer geeks" would be associated with a bunch of people who are focusing on trying to only drink the best beer/ rare or hyped beer---whichever side of the drinking preference you are at---below are some scenario about craft drinking:-

Craft Beer最大吸引力在于不同类型风味啤酒选择非常多，以新朋友比较先接触到的印度淡啤（IPA）为例来说就有非常非常多不同酿坊在酿造，无论是使用同样单一啤酒花或不同啤酒花组合的IPA选择可说多如牛毛，如何在众多相同款式啤酒中择优而喝是习题，放大到包含更多不同类型风味啤酒选择的craft beer世界，怎么选怎么喝更是新朋友和啤迷之间的恒常话题之一。

有那么多不管是同类型还是非常不同类型选择，也就免不了意味着会有比较，也衍生出以下话题：-

1) the BEST beer

Personally---there is NO such thing as best beer in the world.

though

to some there is such a thing as THE BEST beer in the world.

to some there are too many good ones to pick one definitively.

It is true that we have seen beer ratings website picking list of BEST in the world or Best in styles and so on---while some would argue that the list/chart is a reflection of the opinions of the majority and accept it as it is---to some it is still the opinions of a section of the drinkers---no one can say it definitively that A beer is the BEST in the world when compared to beer B or C of the same style let alone if we take into consideration the varieties of styles/taste profile available in the world of craft beer.

The other factor why a beer can't be definitively confirmed as THE BEST is due to the fact that personal taste ability/senses is different for us human being---there is not a set standard for drinker to say for examples scale out the sourness of a beer with machine precision---while A might think the same beer is of level 4 sourness B might think it's only 2.5 if for examples we can categorize sourness from level 1-5.

1）世上最好喝的啤酒

答案很直接，其实并没有。

”哪一款酒是最好的？ ” ，“我觉得这款是世上最好喝的酒！”

这是经常会在craft beer圈中看到听到的对话，哪一家酿坊的哪一款酒是当今世上最好喝一直是个常会有人或问或提起或坚持己见的事，觉得某一款酒是最佳的人有时候是以评酒网站排行榜作为依据，也有人是参考大众意见加上自己认知觉得，实际上无论是评酒网站或啤酒达人/网红的意见说到底都还只是个人意见，没有绝对权威性去判定哪一家酿坊的某款酒就一定是世上最佳。

一定程度上来说，各个不同啤酒类型是有一定的风格准则依据，但啤酒其实就像美食，就算有基本的风格准则，但美味层次是很难用硬性规定方式去准确判断的，就算比如说以酸度1到5为标准来算，同一款酒可能A喝到是酸度4，B喝到可能只有酸度2.5。至于评酒网站选出来的全球排行榜，某种角度来看是不错的动作但并不能让啤迷完全信服，当作参考是可以的，但不会是绝对权威指南。

2) Rare or Hyped Beer

This is obviously a term commonly associated with craft beer---there are those who are very FOMO about missing out on certain beers---while there are also some who don't give a fxxk about chasing after these highly in demand beers...

In a way---the rare/hyped factor of craft beer is similar to limited releases of some fashion items/sneakers and so on---theoretically a beer would become rare/hyped because it is in very limited supply and supposedly very high quality brew--though to certain extent it is fair to assume these are good beers---but how good it can be to warrant such hype/the sometimes over-the-top chasing by some people(which includes paying crazy reselling prices) is something questionable at times.

The fact is---rareness-hyped of a beer does not automatically meaning the beer will be so heavenly it's worth every effort chasing one or worse by paying silly prices just to satisfy one's curiousity.

2）稀有难寻度不代表好喝度

稀有难寻啤酒（hyped / rare beer)一直是craft beer社区的话题，有人对追寻稀有酒趋之若鹜，有人觉得只是羊群心理不屑一顾，也有人质疑是不是真的稀有难寻就一定好喝到不得了？因为一些酒非常限量酿造限量发售，或需要会员制才能买入，甚至需要抽签筛选才有机会买到等等现象意味着有钱不一定能以首发价格买到心目中好酒，因为那样某种程度上提高了期望值，觉得稀有等同好喝保证。事情是不是那样，以实际例子来说，不少稀有酿品的确是好酒，但很明显的稀有程度并不等同于美味程度，特别是如果你是通过转卖市场以高过原价乘以倍数高价买到的话，付出高价满足味蕾好奇心（土豪炫耀心理的话就不值得一提）是不被鼓励但可以理解的事，问题是有时候付出那么多是不是那么美味是不是值得每一分钱，只能说如人饮水冷暖自知。

3) there will always be beer which Got Away

This is a fact even the most FOMO drinkers would have to face.

The fun part about drinking craft beer is the varieties of styles/ taste profile/ choices we get as drinkers/geeks---the fact that the whole craft community is made up of tens of thousands of different breweries which are all over the world would always mean that unless you live nearby a certain brewery or has got supply of that particular brewery's beers---there is a high chance that you won't be able to get a taste of their beers even though we live in a world with webshop/ international deliveries services due limited supply and so on....

No matter if you are experienced geeks or newly into craft drinking--the one thing we all need to learn is that there will always be beers that we  won't get to taste--no matter how much we wish to ......

3）总会有喝不到的酒

这是不少啤迷都经历过都知道也不得不接受的事。

一般人观念中啤酒是随时随地想喝就喝得到的酒精冷饮，但放在craft beer世界绝对不适用，在这个不同风味类型啤酒选择多如繁星的啤酒世界里，很多时候都可能会发生喝不到自己很想喝的酒那样让人感觉不爽的事，但这就是这个另类啤酒世界的游戏规则，因为不同酿坊分布世界各地，因为比如说很多欧美啤酒不要说出口到亚洲，很多时候就连同一个国家的不同州/不同区都没有正式发行所以很难买或根本买不到，这种情况下，啤迷有时候或者说很多时候知道有某某酿坊出了某某款好酒但就是没办法买到，只能隔着电脑或手机屏幕看图或读着有喝过啤迷的形容词凭空想象。。。

4) Beer Collecting/Hoarding

Almost every decent beer geeks would have some sort of personal collection of beers(as well some mead too)---it is quite common to notice geeks living in US/ EUROPE who have access to many breweries releases at original prices would easily have collection of few hundreds bottles---having said that it is also not uncommon to know that some geeks living in Asia are collecting in big numbers too.

As to why geeks collects beers---some because certain beers do need time to make it even tastier---while some bottles are so precious that people don't want to easily pop it----whichever the reasons might be--the one thing which would always be welcome by fellow geeks would be sharing out some bottles sometimes/ at at appropriate time instead of just keeping them as part of statistic.

4）收起来的酒最珍贵？

啤迷之间有时会听到有人半认真半开玩笑的说“不用去什么酒吧，去谁谁谁的家喝就好，他的精彩藏酒那么多。”

是的，很多啤迷都有私人藏酒，一般来说，因为比较接近众多酿坊，欧美啤迷藏酒数量有几百到上千瓶不是什么稀罕事，当然在亚洲也有不少啤迷拥有数量可观藏酒。

啤迷会收酒这件事算是自然动作，有些酒的确需要收几年後喝才更显现美味层次，而有些酒则因为稀有难寻啤迷舍不得轻易开来喝，就那样，有些啤迷的藏酒会越收越多。

不过，不同人有不同看法，其中一个观点是，收起来不喝不分享的酒只是统计数字，要是同一款酒收好多支的话，无形中意味着减低了其他人一嚐美味的机会，独乐乐虽没什么不对，适当时候众乐乐会是更受啤迷欢迎的分享方式。

WEEK 150----The Basic-Easy-Entry Q&A to Craft Beer for Non-Geeks

因为跟几位非啤迷朋友聊天--想到写一下非正式懒人包--希望对新朋友或不喝/还未喝CRAFT的有点帮助。

After conversations with some non-craft drinking friends---decided perhaps an easy entry level Q & A in layman terms would hopefully be helpful for new people who are about to or newly getting into the big wide world of craft beer, here we go:-

1) What is beer?

beer is essentially an alcoholic drink made from malts + yeast + hops + water(but NOT limited to only these 4) via fermentation process which includes but limited to steps such as boiling--cooling--cellaring/barrel aging(and so on).

1）啤酒是什么？

啤酒是使用麦芽，酵母，啤酒花和水经过熬煮，冷却，陈放等等酿造步骤酿成的酒精饮料。

2) So all beers are the same then?

NOPE---far from it---even if only using the 4 main ingredients mentioned above and nothing else added---beer A can be VERY different from beer B or beer C---for examples the ABV(alcohol by volume) of each beer can be very different---and of course the deliciousness of beer A beer B can be so vastly different as to heaven and earth.

In fact---in the world of beer there is such a divide as to MACRO BEER and craft beer. Also there are many different beer styles which is why craft beer can be so much more exciting.

2）所以啤酒都是一样的？

啤酒主要使用上述4个主要原料酿成，但并不意味着所有啤酒都一样，比如酒精度就可以很不一样，比如美味程度可以差天差地，啤酒世界也有大厂啤酒和craft beer之分，更有不同类别风格（beer styles）之分。

3) what is MACRO BEER?

in simple words---MACRO BEER are essentially some very famous household brands of alcoholic drinks mass produced and controlled by a few International Giants---Basically there's NO nuances or delicate taste profile to speak of---it's basically available everywhere at places like super market, convenience store, coffee shop, gas stations and so on ---you don't have to worry about not being able to get hold of a dozen anytime.

3）什么是大厂啤酒?

最简单说法，由几个国际大公司控制，每年非常巨大量生产的好些“家喻户晓”品牌单调口味啤酒，没什么美味层次可言，基本从不怕断货，无论超市便利店咖啡店餐厅夜店，可以说随处可买到，要多少有多少。

4) what is craft beer

in contrast---the craft scene is made up of tens of thousands of small scale/nano breweries located in different parts of the world---the primary focus is about deliciousness of a beer---due to the small scale production nature, as well as difficulties created by geographical /logistic issues---it's very common for you to NOT being able to buy a certain beer anytime you love to.

In Asia generally speaking---one usually would need to visit a craft beer bar or bottle shop to get what's available since craft beer is still not commonly available in most general shopping places.

4）什么是craft beer?

浅白说，由成千上万家不同小型微型酿坊小量生产，注重不同味道层次表现的啤酒。因为量少，因为地理位置差异和供应链规模所限，很多时候有钱未必买得到酒，亚洲来说，很多时候要去专卖吧或瓶子店才喝得到。

5) what is different beer styles?

It's kinda like when listening to music there are different genre of music such as hip hop/ rap/ reggae/ jazz/ rock/ ballad and so on---in the world of craft beer there are also many different styles of beers displaying different taste profile/nuances a beer can bring---for examples Pilsner,  Pale Ale, IPA, Saison, Porter, Stouts, Table Beer, Weisse Beer, Gose, Berliner Weisse and so on......

5）什么是不同类型风味之分？

举例说，就像流行音乐可以有嘻哈饶舌雷鬼爵士摇滚慢摇情歌之类不同曲风，啤酒也会以不同风味面貌出现，比如说plisner，pale ale，ipa，saison，porter，stouts，table beer，weisse beer，gose，berliner weisse等等等。

6) Why so many different styles？

Just like when eating food there are different flavours of sweet/ sour/ spicy / salty and so on---craft beer is essentially about tasting different falvours in a beer---in fact a well made beer is indeed delicious food in a beer form.

6）为什么要分那么多不同类型风味？

就像吃东西会有酸甜苦辣鲜香等等不同味道选择，啤酒其实绝对可以像美食那样有不同味道风貌表现，说白了，酿得好的啤酒就是不同味道液体美食。

7) Can i buy craft beer anywhere like convenience store?

In Asia---the answer is no---MACRO BEER is still the dominating forces at these places ---also due to the unique nature of craft beer being small volume production and in fact best to have a fairly knowledgeable person stationed in store to help out newbies--craft beer is understandably not commonly available in places like super market or convenience store.

7）所有啤酒超市便利店买得到吗？

亚洲来说，能在超市便利店买到的啤酒绝对大多数都只能是单调无趣大厂啤酒，craft beer由于产量少及不同类型风格繁多特性，以及店里最好有具备一定啤酒知识专人介绍酒关系，没能大量出现在超市便利店是可以理解现象。

8) Can i drink straight from a bottle？

If you notice how different Belgium beers would suggest using different glassware for different beer---it shows that how important a glass can be to beer drinking---there might be some who think that all these are part of the marketing gimmicks or simply being fussy--the fact is that glasses do help in "expanding/ preserving/ awaking" beer flavours in one way or another----Most importantly---the need for a glass is essentially about appreciation of beer flavours---pour it down to a beer glass would help you to first enjoy the nose of a beer( smell the aroma) before sipping to slowly enjoy a beer while it warms up---NEVER gulp down like you would do to a tasteless MACRO.

8）开瓶後直接拿着喝不行吗?

如果有注意到比利时啤酒很多不同酿坊/牌子的啤酒都有搭配自家杯子就知道比利时喝啤酒多么讲究用杯子这回事，或许有人会觉得这只是一种市场营销手法又或是装模作样而已，其实喝啤酒用杯子确实可以一定程度上起到辅助啤酒更好发挥风味层次表现作用。还有就是，喝啤酒应该用被子先嗅味道再小口喝细味品嚐，不是咕噜咕噜一口气灌进肚。

9) A glass meaning an Ice-Cold one?

Nope---generally speaking you don't need an iced-cold glass when drinking craft beer---a room temperature glass is good enough to help the beer slowly warms up from chilled condition to better demonstrate it's full potential of nuances/layers still hidden when cold.

Do take note that unless you are reminded by the brewery to " drink from can" like The Alchemist did with some of their famous ipas--a glass is still the best companion of a beer before drinking.

9）喝啤酒一定要用冷却杯？

不是的，要看喝的是什么类型风味，基本来说喝craft beer并不需要用冷杯子，室温杯子可以更好的让已经冷藏的酒体逐渐回温展现应有的味道层次。

此外。也有少数特定啤酒并不需要杯子，酿酒师鼓励拿着罐子直接喝，因为那样可以展现跟倒入杯子很不同的风味。

10) what is "beer needs to warm up" all about?

It is "common knowledge" that beer needed to be drank cold---but that's the wrong impression cultivated through years of MACRO BEER marketing ploy---the truth is ---beer is a little bit like wine--if people talk about wine needing some time to "wake up"/ "breath" then it is the same for beers  though most beers DON'T need a decanter---give a beer roughly 10-30 minutes time in a glass after pouring-while slowly sipping/drinking---you will get to taste/feel the differences brought upon by  temperatures changes---some in a very delicate way--some in quite obvious way....

10）啤酒需要回温是什么概念？

不同类型风味啤酒有不同味道风貌表现，虽然啤酒需要冷藏，也一贯被认为一定要冷的时候才好喝，实际上啤酒需要一些时间回温以让啤酒中蕴含的所有味道层次可以“苏醒”後让喝酒人可以更好的品嚐享受到酿酒师像带来的风味。虽说不同类型啤酒需要的回温时间一些差异，除非酒标贴纸上有说明一定要让酒回温多久，一般来说，回温时间没有硬性规定，开喝後一边慢慢小口喝一边感受酒体回温是不少啤迷会做的事，一般来说入杯後十分钟到半小时之间可以感受不同温度带来变化。

WEEK 146---Seeking own beers--the backlogged page 1 of 2

This is as the title suggested---1 of 2 backlogged articles from the few written about some memorable beers( as well mead) seek from US/Europe either while travelling or via friend's help.....

写啤酒蜜酒外求记，这几年包括出游或朋友带来本地喝过的好酒，其中有不少大名鼎鼎被众多啤迷追捧酿坊作品，也有些或许不是那么被热切关注但美味的酒，回顾中发现还有不少遗珠，值得一提的好酒还真不少：-

1) Cloud Water Small IPL Citra

it's certainly not easy to find fresh hops focus beers here in KL since it would take months for importers to get in their beers before putting on sale---hence a beer like this one from the famous( or some called it hyped) Manchester hazy brewery is always welcome--thanks to John who resides in KL but travel back to UK quite frequently--there's been quite some nice UK beers having been had since 2 years or so ago. This one as the beer name suggested---is a light one with nice hops aroma lingering....

英国“云水”酿坊以近年大行其道的类果汁印度淡啤（NEIPA）为啤迷所知，不过这款只有2.9巴仙酒精度作品是拉格浅啤类型（India Pale Lager），介乎清爽易喝浅啤和比较富口感带啤酒花甘香淡啤（Pale Ale）之间，对不想喝“淡无味”拉格浅啤也不想喝较强烈啤酒花甘苦印度淡啤的朋友来说是中间选择，是绝对适合才踏入craft beer世界新朋友喝的一款。

2) Other Half All Citra Everything

though also of the Citra hops creation--this one obviously is an IPA with a fuller/rounder hops influence packed full of tropical fruits flavours---there's a reason to why hazy/NEIPA is being loved by many though personally it's really not my favourite style--but this one just showed how it can be well made and enjoyable.

啤酒名称也有Citra啤酒花名称，来自纽约酿坊的这款作品把啤酒花用得猛，是酿造尾段投放大量啤酒花增强提味效应的印度淡啤（IPA），入口满满热带水果芳香，啤酒花甘苦均衡分布，得以在本地喝到这款算挺新鲜美国类果汁印度淡啤佼佼者酿坊作品是乐事。

3) The Bruery Smoking Wood( Bourbon Barrel)

At times it would feel like whatever Asia market could get out of The Bruery is just the scrap of what some would consider as the "lesser ones" when compared to what the US geeks could get--which is not wrong since The Bruery has a tiered membership program which ensure members first--- but getting this one out of a bottle shop in Tokyo does not feel inferior at all---it was certainly one of the best The Bruery bottles i have bought in Asia---it's obviously a heavy beer ( with alcohol!) with woody smokiness as well some sweet influence out of bourbon barrel yet balance out nicely.

较早期在东京瓶子店惊喜发现的美国酿坊“大酒”，酿造高酒精较复杂层次黑啤是这家酿坊的拿手好戏，这款“烟熏木”通过使用不同木材烘烤展现烟熏麦芽能为啤酒带来的变化，啤酒酿成後再放入使用过波本酒木桶熟成，是口感圆润带烟熏影响焦糖香草美味黑啤。

4) Emelise White Label Barley Wine 2014( Bourbon Barrel)

Barley wine somehow has this image of being some kind of sweet malty big boozy beer---one which at times is not really that drinkable---certainly not sessionable---having said that--there are certainly some very well made ones which can be very nice slow sippers---This one is certainly of the nicer ones out there--if you somehow still think barley wine is shit---try this.

来自荷兰酿坊主要以黑啤和大麦酒为啤迷认识，是重口味啤酒酿造高手。对大麦酒这个类型，因为高酒精，也一般比较偏甜，每次瓶子分享会都不是首选，不过酿得好的大麦酒作品偶尔出现倒是会带来不错惊喜，这款就喝起来对味。

5) Old Chimney's Good King Henry(special reserve 2011)

Apparently this one has long been considered as some sort of a mystified rare beer from the old British brewery---sort of an "under-the-radar rare beer" ---had this in KL during a bottle share with a UK geek friend---for those who are used to the big black stouts from the US brewers--this one felt like an in-between of old ale & stouts--not in your face type---felt more like a rather "reserve" in nature stouts.

听起来有点古老大英帝国的旧式黑啤作品，这款黑啤属于少量酿造难寻作品，更早期时连续多年评酒网站上被誉为英国最佳啤酒，不过有点搞笑的是很多英国人没有喝过甚至听说过。对喝惯大咧咧美式黑啤的来说，这款旧式英国黑啤会显得比较含蓄，虽然有黑啤常见咖啡香草奶糖等元素也有橡木桶陈放效应，喝起来就是感觉不太一样。

6)Sahtipaja Passionista

A very refreshing yet distinctively light fruity Berliner beer from the brewery making their names with mead such as "mead me"--a very pleasant one to either gulping down or go small sips---certainly perfect match for south east asia's rather hot and humid weather.

以高水准蜜酒（Mead）为人知的瑞典酿坊作品，一款以百香果入味的德式鲜酸啤酒，易喝清新果香中带酸，也具备一定层次变化，不只是单调一路酸，在本地天气情况下更是美味爽口。

7) Three Floyd's Chevalier Bertrand Du Gueslin

A blueberry sour from the Chicago brewery obviously more famous for their Dark Lords or Zombie Dust/Alpha King---found this beauty in Bangkok of all places some years ago---a pleasant surprise which was delicious.

美国黑魔王酿坊蓝莓酸啤酒作品，有点意外惊喜的在曼谷找到，以厉害黑啤和美式淡啤为啤迷追捧的酿坊酿出的美式酸啤酒具备相当高可喝性，梅果香酸层次了然也具备一定程度均衡度，蓝莓酸啤来说水准之作。

8) De Garde Lee Kriek

a bottle shared here in KL---brought by a geek friend whose sur-name is obviously Lee :)      A rather nice one with sour cherries and oak barrel influences---meaning no in your face single tone sour attack considering it's an American sour......

另一款风格不同的美式酸啤，经过橡木桶把酸啤加入酸甜不同樱桃浸泡熟成，酒的风味表现有明显木桶熟成影响，口感酸甜兼具带点发酵香气，喝起来舒适没有美式酸啤单调酸问题。

WEEK 149----Q & A with a non-geek friend

"so you mean you flew all the way from your country to here because of beer?"--an airport immigration officer asked me once.

你飞来这里的目的就是因为啤酒？”这是真实对话，问话的是机场移民厅官员。

啤迷会为啤酒出行到其他亚洲或欧美城市，又或向欧美求购亚洲找不到啤酒的举动看在一般人眼中觉得不可思议，有非啤迷朋友问，“为什么你们会为啤酒做这做那？”。以下是非啤迷的一些问题：-

This is what i told my non-geek friend during a not too distance conversation---he was obviously quite "confused" as well as "intrigued" by the fact that beer geeks at times do things out of the norm just to get beers---here's some part of what was spoken"-

Q1) What is beer to beer geeks?

" Different people might have his/her version of what beer is all about--for me personally beer is a form of deliciousness---kinda like delicious food---with a wide varieties of taste profile/nuamces to be explored---though beer is alcoholic drink but it's more of gourmet food in liquid/beer form when really well made."

1）啤酒对啤迷来说是什么？

不同啤迷有不同看法，个人来说，酿得精彩的啤酒就跟美食一样，是不同美味的化身，虽是酒精饮料，跟一般人认知最大不同在于，啤迷追求的是化身为啤酒的美味层次。

Q2) Geeks finding own beers from US/Europe? is that necessary?

" It's not really that surprising or out of the norm---in a way it's kinda like an avid scenery photographer would go around places in the name of photography---or say a foodie would travel for food---the reason why some beer geeks living in Asia would willingly pay some good money on mailing cost to get beer mail in is quite simple---to taste/to drink some beers he/she really wanted to try--also many a times those bottle/s would be shared with fellow geeks/friends."

2）一些亚洲啤迷自己从欧美外求找酒，听起来很夸张，有需要这样大费周折？

这并不夸张，其实跟迷上风景摄影发烧友到处去拍不同地方或喜欢美食的为了美味到处去是一样道理。啤迷会花时间付外国运费也要找到一些欧美酿坊作品的原因很简单，排开炫耀土豪心理或高价转手卖因素之外，动机就是因想喝但亚洲买不到，很多时候啤迷买了也不是自己独饮而是选择跟几个朋友一起分享品饮。

Q3) All these hassle just to get a few sips? why not buy a dozen of the same good beers and enjoy by yourself?

"Here's the scenario:-

1/ In the world of craft beer---it's not always the case of money can buy you whatever beers at any number of bottles you wanted---some newly released bottles are limited/very limited in supply---there's always a limit of how many bottles one can buy---some are only release via lottery system---so it's really hard to get one at times let alone a dozen.

*certainly not talking about/not recognizing some who don't mind throwing silly monies to buy from greedy re-sellers at XXX times of original release prices.

3）大费周章才买到就只喝上一点？为什么不干脆买上一打慢慢喝？

这事情要分开来看：-

第一，在craft beer世界里，很多时候不是有钱就一定买得到，不少酒是限量的，有的是一年一次特定日才卖，别说亚洲啤迷，就算在地欧美啤迷也很难买到一打。

第二，如果能买到一打自己慢慢喝固然很不错，不过好些啤迷只想小杯小口品饮，喝到了解味道层次就可以了，喝一打不是重点。

第三，对一些有玩啤酒评分/打卡习惯啤迷朋友来说，同一款欧美啤酒买一打是浪费资源的事，一箱寄来都是不同款啤酒才是正道。

2. If at all a particular beer can be bought for a dozen--that would be nice too--but to some geeks--having some sips to understand the taste profile/nuances would be good enough---drinking a dozen is not a priority. 

3. To some geeks who are quite seriously into beer ticking/untappd badges--having a big box of beer mail in from US/Europe with dozen same beers would be deemed a waste of resources---a box full of different beers is what needed.

Q4) Beer geeks must be quite rich then？

“Nope---it's not about individual wealth(though obviously it helps to have a deeper pocket)---the key is about what would be your area of focus/interest? Say if all things equal and have 500myr to spend---A might be buying new shoes/clothing---B might be spending on bags and so on---but for a geek--it's not surprising that all 500 would be spend on buying beers(or some mead too). To a geek--if he/she wanted certain bottles--and at a price deemed reasonable---it's a given he or she will buy without hesitation with that 500 available.

* 500 MYR is about USD 120/ EURO 105/ POUND 95 which is hardly enough for a decent box of beer mail......

4) 啤迷一定都是有钱人吧？

不是那样的。不同啤迷之间个人消费力当然不一样，但财力并不是先决条件，真正关键在于说如果大家同样有五百块闲钱可任意花，一般人可能会买鞋子衣服之类的，但啤迷会把钱都只花在买啤酒。亚洲啤迷向欧美找酒的确需要付昂贵运费，就算买的是一瓶5美元的啤酒，运费会让每瓶单价上升，但对啤迷来说，只要是认知中合理价格范围内，会毫不犹豫出手。

Q5) What do geeks want? constantly discarding older tasted ones in chase of newer beers?

"This is one situation facing geeks---it is natural for geeks to want to taste a wide varieties of different styles of beers from different breweries---in that process of exploring-- it is quite inevitable that some beers from some breweries which tasted good during early years of craft drinking might no longer appeal or some could be tasting not so great now. However--it is a fact that some really good ones would always be welcome by geeks even though some might be labelled as "old school"/‘not in vogue"...

While at times drinking craft beer can be almost similar to the fashion world where some people keep looking out for the newer styles/ most hyped up beers or the in trend style/s of brew---there's also always a group who are happy to drink what they are happy with---end of the day---beer drinking is an act of personal preference---palate enhancement/exploring varieties of different styles apart---it is still about drinking what makes you happy.

5）啤迷要的是什么？一直喝不同酿坊不同款啤酒？喜新厌旧跟追新品没完没了？

某种程度上是有喜新厌旧情况出现，不过也不完全是那样的，对啤迷来说，多品嚐多尝试不同风味佳酿有助于提升啤迷味蕾鉴赏力，过程中会很少再喝入门阶段喝的酒，因为已经不再吸引，对于一些经典/佳酿，啤迷还是会有想再喝的，一定程度上，喜新不厌旧会比较适合。

的确，craft beer界有点类似时尚界，有当红不当红酿酒师作品/酿坊品牌以及稀有难寻啤酒这回事，不过，追不追当红或稀有难寻啤酒因人而异，是有一群不停追逐最新最当红酿坊作品的啤迷，也有不惜代价要找到稀有难寻啤酒的一群，但也有满足于只喝所住地方市场上找得到酒的啤迷，各自修行各适其所没所谓对或错。

Q6) Beer drinking and palate enhancement? what's that?

"Perhaps the biggest different between a casual beer drinker and a geek is that---a beer is only a beer to a casual drinker---but to a geek--the whole focus is about what kind of taste profile/ deliciousness a beer could bring about---to better appreciate what are the nuances of a beer can bring---geeks would want to enhance his/her palate appreciation ability--one of the ways to achieving this is by tasting/drinking/sampling a wider range of different styles of brew from different breweries---including very importantly some Benchmark brews of each styles of beers---accumulating tasting experiences would slowly help a newbie to slowly understand what is a bad beer/ an average one/ a good one and an awesome one.....

6）喝啤酒跟味蕾鉴赏力提升有什么关系？

或许这样说，一般人喝啤酒概念跟享受美味层次这事完全联系不到一起，不过，对啤迷来说就是为了品嚐不同味道层次而喝，怎样更好的享受不同啤酒带来不同美味是重点，而能达至目标条件之一就是通过品嚐不同酿坊不同风格类型啤酒累积品饮经验，慢慢的自然能分辨什么是劣作什么是平庸什么是佳作。

Q7) come on--it's just beer drinking--why sound so complicated?

"haha---it's not complicated at all---imagine this--say a guy would only eat ramen from shop A and burger from shop B--that would mean he does not know how ramen would taste from shop XYZ  or how burger is differently made by shop EFG---let alone any other different food would taste since he only eat ramen shop A and burger shop B all his life.

Drinking craft beer is the same---if you keep drinking beer X and don't explore any other styles or beer X made by other breweries --you will never understand how taste profile can be so widely different in beer---and obviously missing out on the chances of  tasting a lot more other nice beers awaiting to be explored."

7）怎样才叫做有味蕾鉴赏力？听起来好像很麻烦。

如果说如果一个人一路来只是一直吃同一家云吞面或汉堡包的话就不会知道外面其他家的味道如何，也不会知道云吞面汉堡之外其他食物滋味。训练味蕾鉴赏力其实就是说不要只是一直重复喝A酿坊的XX啤酒，而是多喝不同酿坊不同类型风格作品，特别是指标性作品带来的感受，逐步累积味蕾记忆後慢慢会知道是怎么一回事。

WEEK 148---Travelling for beers

This post is supposed to be week 146 & 147 articles which were backlogged---but decided to jump ahead to today's column first--will post about those two on a later date.

说起旅行，大家第一时间想到的离不开旅游景点，美食，拍照打卡之类，对啤迷来说，上述惯性动作之外，最大重点自然是为了啤酒（或加上蜜酒）。

在craft beer世界里，欧洲和美国好多不同城市/小镇都有啤迷想去亲临探访的酿坊或酒吧，对不少长期在亚洲生活又没有任何公干理由顺便出游的啤迷来说，欧美啤酒之旅就是最理想出行目标。

出外旅行自然大家各适其所，相较之下，啤迷自然会做些跟一般旅游不同的事，最大不同当然是一般人想去很多旅游景点，但啤迷主要“景点”会是酿坊酒吧瓶子店。此外，啤迷也会：-

Travelling for beers(or to some extent--mead)is what makes a beer geek happy---while many travelling for leisure would focus mainly on things like sight-seeing, finding nice food, taking lots of selfies/ tourist spots pics---beer geeks essentially go travelling for one single most important reason---to seek for beers( or mead)---the biggest attraction for travelling geeks will always be breweries. taproom/ bars or bottle shop---never far from those.

For geeks living in Asia---travelling for beers to either Europe or US will always be a "dream trip"---be it travelling for a specific beer fest like MBCC or any others, or a "normal days" trip like some of my HK geeks friends just did visiting Copenhagen and Brussels---the focus will always be on what to drink/ what brew can be found or had---all other things associated with leisure travelling such as sight-seeing  and so on are secondary.

These are some of the focus points of geeks when travelling for beers abroad"-

1) Bringing own bottles when travelling

This might sound weird---why bring bottles to Europe or US when the whole purpose of travelling is to seek/enjoy awesome brews there? Is it not akin to bringing sands to a desert?

While it may sound like that--in truth quite some geeks do bring their own bottles when travelling---either to trade bottles in person with other geeks or to have either prearranged or impromptu bottles sharing session/s while abroad--these are things common to geeks though it kinda sound not normal to most people.

1）带着啤酒去旅行

这听起来好像有点奇怪，既然是为了啤酒大老远飞去欧洲或美国，从家里带着酒去有着那么多好酒选择的欧美不就等于是带着沙子去沙漠吗？

实际上，带着酒出行的啤迷还真不少，会那样做的理由很简单，不是为了跟外国啤迷交换酒就是因为安排了瓶子/罐子分享会大家一起喝喝聊聊，两者都是不少啤迷会做的事。其实craft圈子说小也可以相当小，很多啤迷之间都是相互认识或着有共同啤迷朋友或至少社交媒体上打过招呼，就算不是认识的，基于对craft文化的认知也可以很快交上朋友，啤酒这个共同语言的影响是显而易见的。

2) Bringing own bubble wrap when travelling

While most people would pack in extra clothing or say extra pair of shoes/sneakers when travelling---there is one thing some geeks would always pack in their luggage/back pack--bubble wrappers for bottles protection.

While travelling to drink at either beer fest/taproom/bars is always the main objective---bringing home some nice bottles are equally important to many geeks---the fact that bubble wrappers would not always be available for free or not available for purchase easily means the best solution is always to prepare your own--it would be nice to have some bubble wrappers + wrapping tapes ready in the back pack.

2）自备保护瓶子气泡膜

去到心目中欧美酿坊/酒吧探访固然是主要目标，不过啤迷也会想从酿坊或瓶子店带一些瓶装/罐装啤酒回家跟朋友分享或自己慢慢享用，这时候最需要的就是可以在运送过程中有效保护瓶子/罐子的包装气泡膜，因为不是每家店都会提供或售卖，所以最好随时行李/背包有自备气泡膜。

新朋友要注意的是，一般来说绝对大多数酒吧只能是内用并不卖外带的瓶子/罐子，所以酿坊或瓶子店是首选，但欧美酿坊也不是每一家都有外带瓶子卖，又或者是随时去随时可以买到心目中想要啤酒，很多酿坊都是限时或有固定时间卖不同类型酿品甚至有的啤酒只是一年特定发售日或需要会员制才买得到。

3) Finding fellow geeks to share bottles

People do make new friends when travelling---same goes for geeks--especially those travelling alone for beers---it is important to have someone to share beers since bottles can be in 750ml sizes only---for examples in Brussels where sour beer geeks travel from different corners of the world just to sit at the taproom of Brasserie Cantillon sipping lambics---the trouble is--if you travel solo--there's only so many of the 750ml bottles one can drink---hence it's very common to see strangers sitting together sharing bottles---it is a cost effective way & a good way to drink less taste more.

Of course--some geeks who travel alone would have prearranged with geeks living around or travelling to the destination on same dates either for bottle sharing session/s or bars hopping---the craft community is far and wide but at the same time it can be very small in that most geeks would either have common friends or at least being social media friends---the common language of craft beer is helpful.

3）寻找分享好酒人

对啤迷来说，如果一个人单独出行，怎么能在喝量少情况下品嚐到多款不同类型啤酒是关键考量。举例说，比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒是很多啤迷想去布鲁塞尔或周边地区的主因，一个人去的话会有个难题因为多数酸啤瓶子都是750毫升，一个人喝一瓶会过多，最好的方式当然是有几位啤迷一起分担，但是怎样找到可以分享的人？说来也不难，一些啤迷出发前就会先探询认识的当地啤迷朋友，如果没有认识的也可以在craft社交媒体询问，再不然就到当地酿坊/酒吧看是不是会碰到聊得来的陌生啤迷。实际上，几家啤迷必去的比利时酸啤酿坊/酒吧经常会看到陌生人围坐一起分享多款不同风味啤酒，一个人出行虽然有可能找不到合适饮酒伙伴的危机，但也不是不能解决的问题，很多啤迷朋友其实都是从陌生人演变而来的。

4) Sight-seeing not a must BUT eat well sleep tight is a must

The worse thing that could happen to a geek travelling thousands of miles is to fall sick---any sort of catching a cold/ having fever//sore throat/stomach upset and so on will be bad for tasting.

To geeks---while sight-seeing is at times needed--it's not the most important things on the to do list---rather than tourists spots--the most interesting sights for geeks will undoubtedly be the breweries/taproom/bars and bottle shops. To fully enjoy the brews--one need to ensure his or her body condition is at normal level---no unwanted health issues due to time differences or different food---Asians mostly need rice and hot soup/ noodles---these are the soul food to ensure revitalization---and of course good sleep is essential--boozing til dawn is not really needed---and drinking without food is a big no no anytime anywhere.....

4）景点不是重点但吃泡睡好绝对需要

既是出游，一些值得看的景点有时还是要去看下拍照之类的，不过啤迷最关心的行程莫过于几时去哪一家酿坊/酒吧，又或是跟哪几位啤迷约了瓶子分享会。当然，出门在外最不想遇到的事情就是身体不舒服，从亚洲到欧美地方除了要面对时差问题，也可能会有食物口味问题，飞那么远当然要好好品嚐心目中想喝或发掘一些意外惊喜，而先决条件就是要保持身体状况不出任何会影响味蕾或体力的问题，所以，对啤迷来说，一些景点可以少去甚至不去，但吃饱睡好一定要有，睡不好会影响酒精抗力，没吃好饭就喝酒就更加是大忌。