WEEK 160----NOT "must drink before you die"--- IPA

This is not about the cliche type of "xxx must drink/ xxx must visit or xxx must eat BEFORE YOU DIE" kind of "guide"-- but rather a play on those type of titles---it started when a newbie friend asked "with so many different breweries---as well so many different beer styles---what would be some of your preferred ones / recommended ones?"

This is in fact not an easy question to answer simply because more often than not a newbie's choice of beer will always be subjected or limited by what's available in the market--i.e. the city/town he or she is currently residing---but in this piece i have decided to throw that concern out of the window since if someone want a beer badly enough---he or she will somehow find a way to seek out.

有新朋友问， 说craft beer世界那么多不同啤酒类别风格，那么多不同酿坊品牌，有哪些是个人比较推荐的？

这是不太容易回答的问题，主要因为一般来说新朋友的选择会绝大程度上受所住地方市场供应限制，不过，既然问的是个人推荐，那就把亚洲市场是不是有酿坊直接供应这件事抛开不管，反正有心的话总有办法可想看怎么去找酒。

那么多不同类型风格啤酒，就从新朋友一般都会接触到的印度淡啤（IPA)说起，而说到IPA就一定免不了要提美国酿坊，虽说从欧洲到亚洲或澳洲纽西兰都有不同酿坊在酿造不同品牌的印度淡啤又或是近年大行其道的类果汁印度淡陴（NEIPA），但美国有好多以酿造突出啤酒花风味类型啤酒的高手酿酒师是事实，更何况在很大程度上大量投放尽情发挥啤酒花鲜香的美国酿法是早期让IPA在市场发扬光大的主要推动因素。

Let's start with the most commonly accepted/available/consumed style of beer---IPA( as well NEIPA since it is the in-thing)

US Breweries:-

Russian River

there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that when talking about American IPA---Pliny the Elder immediately comes to mind--this is personally a "palate changing" ipa for me---especially when having this few years back during a period where i was really in a state of feeling sick and tired of those over hoppy( + already not fresh) type of American ipas---with the balance and tasty Pliny--the perception of ipa is only about hop attacks totally changed---this is one hell of a balance ipa if you have yet to try one.

*of course there's also Blind Pig---and the soon to be bottled for the very first time Pliny the Younger.

Russian River

在全球成千上万家不同酿坊品牌印度淡陴中，美国加州这家酿坊的Pliny The Elder可以说是就算最挑剔的啤迷也不能不承认的均衡美味型经典款，在早期众多美国酿坊都大多倾向于推出强调啤酒花苦涩或甘涩攻击力印度淡陴时，这家的IPA是以呈现啤酒花鲜香甘美的均衡性为主轴，是让人耳目一新几时都想喝的佳酿。当然除了这款之外还有Blind Pig以及每年限量发售只能在当地特定专卖吧喝到的Pliny The Younger。

The Alchemist

While Pliny is tasting all smooth and easy---if hop attacks is what you think an ipa should be---then heady topper is a fine examples from this brewery---you get the hop attacks--but in a way which has a nice balance between hops bitterness and malt flavours---comparatively this is the heavy version of Pliny with a bigger punch of hops attack--but in a nice way---way more nicer than the average in your face type of American hoppy ipas.....

* of course there's a lighter-easier version with Focal Banger too.

The Alchemist  

在早期一众强调啤酒花苦涩甘香的美国印度淡陴中，这家的Heady Topper是这类比较强调啤酒花攻击IPA的经典款，虽然有着强烈的啤酒花甘涩口感但也很明显的比其他一般作品更均衡，虽然味蕾会被啤酒花甘涩味”攻击”但一点也不是那种只有苦涩的单调无趣，相反的是会让人在甘涩味中感受到啤酒花鲜香结合麦芽酵母的美味。此外，这家的另一款比较温顺美味的Focal Banger也是非常高水平作品。

Tree House

NEIPA is the in-thing---almost 8 or 9 out of 10 breweries would somehow have their own version of NEIPA---among the many top names famous for their NEIPA--Tree House of course is one famous name---of course there are some other famous ones out there( think Monkish/ Trillium/ Other Half/ and many more)--the reason why i have picked out Tree House is simply because i have  drank many more of their brews than other famous ones (considering the fact that it's hard to obtain fresh ones from these breweries this part of the world).

Tree House

美国酿坊中较早期以类果汁印度淡陴（NEIPA）打响名号的不少，除了这家，同期当然还有其他盛名赫赫的好几家，比如说Trillium，Monkish，Other Half 等等，选择这家并不是因为觉得他们是最好的（因为好几家不同酿坊作品都会有各自精彩或有时候不那么精彩之处），主要是因为个人之前喝得稍微多不同款式作品的就是来自这家，所以就挑了这家，以好几年前NEIPA还没有现如今那么泛滥情况来说，这家的好几款不同作品都各有亮点，数NEIPA高手酿坊的话少不了这家。

BRITISH Breweries 

The Kernel

During a time when NEIPA is the trend---and the fact that this is quite an "old-school" brewery which keep brewing the same beers over the years---some might not think highly of The Kernel for being a modest brewery which don't do crazy/trendy brews( so to speak)--but for me personally it is the unassuming way of this brewery which keep some of their brew clean and simple which actually showcased their strength of doing what's fundamentally nice---and yes--they do have some nice IPAs though perhaps some drinkers might think it is a tad lighter than what he/she are used to.

The Kernel 

这是非常朴实无华的一家英伦酿坊，从农村风格啤酒到"淡如水"的低度易喝的Table Beer都有高水准作品，其中当然也少不了很不错的印度淡陴作品。或许一些对喝惯强调啤酒花攻击力道的美国IPA饮客来说The Kernel的IPA作品会喝起来感觉淡了些甚至觉得平平无奇，但适中均衡才是这家酿造的印度淡啤特色，强烈苦味攻击并不是这家的风格。

Cloud Water

there are mixed opinions about this brewery from Manchester---some think very highly of them---some not so highly or thought their magic been waning with new found fame---whatever your opinion might be---to me this is one British brewery which is synonymous with NEIPA ---like it or not Cloud Water is famous for  their cloudy/juicy/fruity ipas---and having had the chance to sample quite a many fresh cans from this brewery---they are good with what they do--that's quite certain.

Cloud Water

近年能把类果汁印度淡陴（NEIPA）玩得好的新晋英伦酿坊并不少，不过要说最先引起国际啤迷注意然后至今仍然继续有高水准作品出现的英国酿坊则不能不提这家来自曼彻斯特的新贵。虽然严格来说这家的一些类果汁印度淡啤酿品也有过腻过甜或过度投放啤酒花造成刹口感觉问题，不过整体来说如果能喝到保鲜良好装罐三个月鲜美期内的作品，好些作品还是具有一定程度高水平。

Of Course---the world of IPA/NEIPA is not only about the 5 mentioned above---be it the old-er school of American IPA where the likes of Hillfarmstead, Bell's, Toppling Goliath, Maine Beer.Co or say the British new wave of breweries such as Northen Monk, Verdant, Deya, Neon Raptor, Wylam----there are many awesome/ outstanding ones out there---you just need to seek them out if you have yet to find a really good one......

以上提到酿坊的确各有出众之处，但必须说的是，值得尝味的印度淡啤作品当然远远不只这5家，能把IPA或NEIPA酿得精彩的美国或英国酿坊还有相当多，其中包括比如早期就已盛名在外的美国Hillfarnstead, Bell’s, Toppling Goliath, Maine Beer Co.等等， 又或是比如 Northen Monk, Verdant,  Deya, Neon Raptor, Wylam等等近年冒起英国新锐酿坊都有各自精彩之作。

浩瀚啤海中，这5家虽然对个人是具有重要指标意义的酿坊，但也只是沧海一粟做为参考，跟一些网上爱用的“一生必试”/“死前必吃/喝”之类的“绝对权威推荐”没关系。

WEEK 159---Some Impact Breweries/Brands from yesteryear

Again this is a back dated post as I jumped ahead with the Tokyo trip post earlier---but i guess no one really cares about sequences here.

“craft beer不同酿坊品牌那么多，有哪些是早期对个人较有影响，至今仍值得推的？"

这问题，如果问十个啤迷，大概可能会有几十个不同答案，会那样是很自然的，因为craft beer最大特点就是选择很多，除了不同风味类型选择多，不同酿坊品牌选择更是多不胜数。

全世界成千上万不同酿坊中要选出对个人比较有影响，值得推崇的几个品牌其实并不容易，虽然不同酿坊有作品水准高低之分，也有品牌是不是被热捧现象情况，但任何一位啤迷心目中值得推的很可能超过十个以上，也可能不同阶段会有不一样选择，就算只是选几个早期比较有影响的品牌出来有难度，也难免会有遗珠。

If i were to asked which might be some breweries/ brands that has impacted in a significant way during your early days and still remain relevant today---obviously a very subjective topic---the answers is likely to show some differences even among close drinking buddies.

This is a post about which are the few early days names still relevant personally---it is expected that some of the names mentioned here might get you nodding or shaking your head----that's totally understandable since craft beer is about varieties of choices. In fact if we were to conduct a survey or poll--say asking 10 geeks to pick out 10 names each---it is likely that out of 10 geeks--there could be 100 or close to 100 different names mentioned.

虽然我们活在一个弹指间可以买酒，千里之外也可以送到的时代，但是在一定程度上，对啤迷个人有影响力的酿坊品牌还是会受到所住地方市场上能买到喝到酿坊品牌选择的影响，这现象在亚洲更是明显，毕竟不是每个啤迷都会每次劳心伤财的从欧美或亚洲其他城市自行找渴望的酒喝。

以个人早期喝craft经历来说，品牌选择的确受到本地市场当时能接触到品牌影响，以此为据，以下是一些个人至今仍觉得值得推的酿坊品牌：-

While individual preferences will play a part---the result also will be very different from area to area/ cities to cities since what's available in the market will have a big say---unless you only drink own beer mail.

Here's some of breweries which have impacted and still relevant to me:-

The Belgium influence

The first bar( more of a restaurant than bar) i was visiting frequently during the early days was a place serving nice Belgian food with own imported Belgian beers---De La Senne/was a constant here--with occasional Rochefort + Struise making waves with my early days palate.

Of course many years after---Lambic has a big big place among my most preferred Belgian beer styles---but those 3 early impact names would still have a place---don't mind drinking any of those 3 again. 

比利时帮

最早期在吉隆坡出现的比利时啤酒中，Struise，Rochefort，De La Senne可以说是启蒙时期喝得比较多的比利时啤酒，3个不同酿坊品牌各有不同风格深浅不一的作品，既有合适新朋友探索的易喝型，也有需要一定程度理解力鉴赏力的复杂类型，

一定程度上，相对于天然发酵果酸啤酒（LAMBIC）可能比较需要时间适应，上述四家啤酒类型（无论是 stouts，trappist，double，triple，golden ale，belgian wit或belgian ipa）算比较容易接受类型，也是新朋友跨门槛适用的几个酿坊品牌。

The Scandinavian influence

Many years ago--when the first proper dedicated craft beer bar was born here in craft desert KL---it was the names like Mikkeller, To Ol( with then still independent Nogne, plus some Amager) that was most exciting to look forward to.

While the influences of those two are lesser on the preference nowadays---it is no denying Mikkeller still remain one of the most important names though the years til now---in particular what they have done with the awesome CBC or now MBCC---a craft beer festivals which will be eyes/mind/palate opener to any newbies. Also their way of having many interesting/awesome guests beers at their bars(notably during Copenhagen beer week--as well usually seen at Bangkok/ Tokyo and so on) is way more interesting than some bars which only focus on own house brew or a few regularly seen imported brew. 

北欧帮

北欧酿坊品牌大约六年前就在本地专卖吧出现，其中以Mikeller和To Ol(那时候也还有Nogne和Amager)最让人期待，多样化的酿品和抢眼的酒标设计都让人印象深刻。

除了高水准酿品，Mikkeller至今已办了好些年的哥本哈根啤酒庆典(MBCC)也是让人推崇的主因之一，套句做生意人说的“哪有把厉害对手都引来跟自家啤酒竞争的道理？"，可是Mikkeller品牌的过人之处就是跟很多不同酿坊品牌合作，除了每年都办的当今世上最好craft beet“啤酒节”（之一）外，自家酒吧更是常会有别家酿坊作品出现，并没有那种关起门来只是硬销自家啤酒那种生意手法。

The US influence

It is hard to pick since there was hardly any really outstanding names in the local market( i know some might disagree--but it's about individual preferences anyway)---personally i would point to Three Floyds( during tap takeover in Bangkok as well bottles from a bar in Tokyo), The Lost Abbey & Hair of The Dog( though friend's sharing as well when travelling mainly to Tokyo)---as well Modern Times & Priarie( via small batch import from Singapore or when travelling to Spore/Bangkok/Tokyo)

美国派

美国的厉害酿坊，被追捧品牌真的很多，要取舍有难度，个人来说，要以较早期在曼谷东京等地喝的Three Flyods, The Lost Abbey，Hair of The Dog 为主，还有就是通过新加坡进来本地昙花一现过的Modern Times和Prairie等美国酿坊。这几个品牌都有高水准作品，也各有所长，从易喝性高的pale ale到ipa到stouts到barley wine到old ale到saison到sour都有水准之作。

某种程度来说，会被啤迷无私推崇的酿坊品牌一定有水准之作，这也意味着酿坊品牌可以是作品水准高低指南针，不过，享有盛名并不意味着就一定永远厉害，有时候酿坊作品水准会随着不同因素而波动，比如卖给其他投资者（包括大厂）後下跌，有时因为主要酿酒师不玩了或跳槽或自立门户，有时因为变更酿酒方式等等不一而足，简而言之，确保一个盛名酿坊作品是不是一直保持高水平的方法还是需要每隔一段时间再喝喝看才能知道。

浩瀚啤酒海中，不同酿坊品牌代表着选择，虽然会有盛名酿坊和默默无闻之分，但重点还是不能一味“以貌取人”，酿品水准高低，不能只是靠品牌名声断定，酒始终必须喝过尝味过才能了解个中滋味。