WEEK 237--casual chat with Neil--Tokyo craft beer over the years( Part2/2)

 

Second & final part of a recent chat with Neil- the man visting & writting about Tokyo craft beer places via Tokyo Beer Drinker blog( turned website) since 2012.

继续和Neil的聊天记：-

6) What are some of your observations on imported craft beer scene in Japan over the years?
To be honest, it’s not something I pay a lot of attention to. I am a big Belgian beer fan, but I don’t drink that much Belgian beer in Japan as somehow it jut doesn’t feel as much fun. Of course, sometimes it’s a nice luxury, particularly if my football team has just smashed a local rival and we have an Orval to celebrate. The import scene is dominated by US beer and there are some great places to drink imports in Japan but I don’t go to them so often. I think a lot of people get caught up in the mindset that because it’s imported it must mean it’s delicious. In the course of my time living here there have been plenty of British breweries that have been imported that I would never have drunk in the UK. I think given that there is a lot of competition for imports now, the care people take when importing has improved. Long gone are the days when one unnamed importer’s motto was ‘I want this beer to be the most expensive beer in Japan’ and didn’t bother about bringing it over in a refrigerated container. The only concern was selling it at a high price. Perhaps not a shock they don’t import anymore!

6）这些年来对日本进口啤酒市场状况有什么样的观察？

虽然个人是比利时啤酒的拥趸但坦白说并不关注日本进口啤酒，也很少在日本喝比利时啤酒。进口市场最多的是美国酿坊作品，有不少人觉得既然是进口啤酒那就一定很好喝，实际上这些年来不少进口的英国酿坊啤酒是我在英国期间不会找来喝的。

总的来说近年日本进口啤酒情况比起最初大有改善，至少不会再出现像以前有一家进口商是以卖“全日本最贵啤酒” 为唯一目标而连啤酒需要冷链进口最基本需求都不懂。

7) Is there any particular overseas breweries which you wish available in Japan?

I think the import market is pretty full already so not sure there would be any room for any new breweries. And as I mentioned above pricing is becoming an issue recently so even if I thought about what brewery’s beers I’d love to be able to drink more, it’s unlikely that I’d be able to afford them.

7）有期待什么外国酿坊作品能出现在日本市场的？

感觉现在市场上进口啤酒已呈饱和状态，价格也开始变成一个难题，就算有个人想喝的价格也可能让情况变得无以为继。

8) What might be the Japanese breweries which you would recommend to those new to the local scene?

I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. Shiga Kogen and Minoh are well established breweries with solid reputations who combine their standard beers with some interesting and more experimental beers. I think they are always pretty consistent. When it comes to less well known breweries, I drink a lot of TK Brewing and wish I could drink more 2nd Story beers. I’m sure I’m forgetting some important names here, but those are the ones that are jumping out to me right now.
There are a few breweries who people love who seem to pretty much just make hazy IPAs and sell them for ridiculous prices. I won’t mention their names as they don’t need any more publicity and I’m sure most people know who I’m talking about anyway. But needless to say, as far as I’m concerned, don’t believe the hype!

8）对不熟悉日本市场新朋友有推荐的在地酿坊吗？

主要看想要找什么类型风格作品，志贺高原（Shiga Kogen/长野）和箕面(Minoh/大阪）是作品水准很稳定的两家早期成立酿坊，常态款之外也有些实验性作品。此外，个人喝过不少TK Brewing（川崎）作品，也希望能喝到更多2nd Story（德岛）啤酒，这些都是即时想到的几家，感觉肯定还有遗漏的。

日本酿坊中有几家是似乎都只在做类果汁印度淡啤 (Hazy IPA) 的，很受市场追捧，不过个人感觉有过誉和价位过高之嫌。

9) Is craft beer something easy to approach or one do need some study/ research to get closer to?

I think it would be a sad thing if you needed to study before drinking a beer so I’d say just jump right in. After all, reading about beer is a bit like dancing to a sculpture in that you might not be appreciating it in the way it was intended. And also there’s no need to study because in most bars there’s always someone ready to tell you how much they know about beer whether you asked them or not.

9）craft beer是平易近人还是需要做些功课才能接近？

如果喝啤酒需要先做功课的话那会有点让人伤感，直接开喝就是了，只是阅读不能让味蕾真正体会啤酒风味表现，况且有时在酒吧/瓶子店无论是不是提问总会遇到热情想要自动“倾力教学”的啤迷。

10) What would you say to those very new or trying craft beer for the first time?

Try as many different beers and styles as you can and make up your own mind about what you like. There are no right or wrong answers. Some beers which I think are horrible are loved by other people. No-one’s opinion is correct as it’s all subjective and a matter of taste. In Japan many people like to follow the buzz and drink things and go to places that are getting publicity. If this is interesting to you, go ahead and follow too. But at the same time, if you prefer going to somewhere that fashionable people don’t go to and drink something that has been available for years, you should do that.

10）对刚接触craft beer新人有什么要说的？

尽量多尝试不同类型风格後就能找到合适自己口味的啤酒，实际上没有对错，比如个人觉得糟糕的别人可能很喜欢，都是个人口味决定所以没有绝对。在日本不少人喜欢跟随风潮和社交媒体热度而去特定的“潮牌”酒吧，不过也有人反其道而行去存在已久不是潮流关注点的酒吧。

11) To those who think craft beer is no different from Macro ?

Clearly they’re wrong. Craft Beer is a lot more expensive! Hehe. I think people from both sides of the argument would both say that their preferred type of beer is more delicious / more skillfully made but I don’t think you can definitively say that about either macro or craft beer. For me the use of the phrase ‘Craft Beer’ is an important issue. I don’t think macro brewers should be allowed to use it as there is more to Craft Beer than the product being ‘crafted’. I don’t want to drink macro beer because I think it is important to support small businesses in these days where a few huge companies are dominating many aspects of our lives. I would never say that every craft beer will taste better than every macro beer because clearly that’s not going to be true. But I will say that if a craft beer is available I would probably drink it over a macro because I don’t think the macros need my support or business.

11） 对那些觉得craft beer和大厂啤酒没区别的人有什么说？

这看法肯定是错的，因为craft beer要贵得多！两者之间可能会各说各话觉得自己喝的比较对味。

个人觉得craft beer名称/定义是很重要的，大厂啤酒公司不应该被允许使用因为并不符合craft定义要求。个人不会选择喝大厂啤酒是觉得更应该支持小型酿坊/小生意，虽然并不是所有craft beer就一定更好喝但只要有得选就一定会喝 craft beer因为大厂不需要我的生意。

12) craft beer is still a business hence it's inevitable bars or bottle shop might ceased to exist, is there any particular ones which you are fond of (or otherwise)which no longer there?

I’ve just had a look through eight pages of places on my website that are now closed and to be honest, I don’t think that there’s anything in the list that makes me particularly sad that it’s gone. Like you said, it’s a business so it’s no surprise that places come and go. But it is sad when you consider that many closed places represent someone’s dream having gone up in smoke. I think in the past it was more significant as we didn’t have as much choice. But now you could probably drink in a different craft beer bar in Tokyo every day of the year without having to repeat. Maybe I’m lucky in that none of my real favourites have closed yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

12）craft beer也是一门生意，酿坊或酒吧会有来去，有没有哪家已结业店家是让人遗憾或怀念的？

刚看过8页已闭店的酒吧/品饮室，并没有特别让人觉得遗憾的，就像你说的，生意有来有去，不过如果一家店代表的是某人的理想破灭那就有点伤感。在以前酒吧瓶子店品饮室不多的年代一家店的结业会显得举足轻重，不过如今东京及周边酒吧多到可能换着喝一年都不必重复。或许是幸运的至今个人关注/喜欢的店家都在运行中，但也不知道是不是可以一直存在或是说不准哪一天就突然结业了。