WEEK 116---Craft Appreciation---go jumping or vertical?

It's quite interesting at times here at KL---when me and the tasting group guys would be having some bottle share, usually at a friend's craft beer bar--that we would inadvertently attract some curious looks from some who happens to be at the bar--some would just give that "what's going on" look, while occasionally some would walk to us and ask....

Bottle share is something geeks do all over the world especially those living in US/EUROPE where supplies of awesome varieties /big names brew/fresher beers are a lot more accessible than here in ASIA, though having said that, bottle sharing session is still something geeks in ASIA quite often do.

瓶子分享会是Craft 文化中常见动作，算是品酒会的代名词，也是让Craft Beer 变得更有趣，更接近一种分享文化感觉的动作。

在啤迷聚集的社交网络中可以看到很多关于#bottleshare 的图文，重点都是喝了分享了什么瓶子多少瓶子，有些欧美啤迷其中一个惯用词是#killshot，干掉多少瓶子意思。

瓶子分享会出发点当然不在于一次能干掉无限多瓶子，这其实是独乐乐不如众乐乐的延伸动作，就像一个人上餐馆，能一下子吃的不同菜式有限，倒不如叫上几个人，大家可以点满一桌子菜色分享。

在亚洲不同城市，不同啤迷群体都会有自己的瓶子分享会，虽然形式不一，也不管是分享本地或进口酿坊瓶子，有一点是肯定的，分享让大家可以在喝少尝多情况下认识/享受到更多样化不同类型啤酒。

Yes, bottle sharing is quite common really for geeks within the craft community, but it's something very new to newbies, even more curious looking in the eyes of non-craft drinkers.

To all you newbies/non-craft drinkers--here's the basic idea of bottle share session--it's like going to a restaurant alone--that's only so much you could order/eat all by yourself--but having a few friends sitting around the same table, you could order/try out a lot more varieties, and eat in smaller portion.

Is there any rules/set format for a bottle share session? i guess apart from making sure what everyone bring to the session is "not far off or of equal standards/same level of hype"( i know--it's so subjective--but geeks would know how to figure that part out--and sooner or later newbies who care to elevate palate profile would too)---how one likes to do it, be it jumping/mixing it up or vertical, a bottle share session can be quite flexible really.

JUMPING/MIXING it up

this is like going to a restaurant and making sure the dishes ordered are a mix of different flavours profile--you want a mix of taste rather than 1 dimensional, put it in a beer tasting/bottle share session, it's like making sure you have varieties of at least 3 or 4 distinctively different styles, in fact if we were to linked this to say a 10 course dinner, it would be like having your appetizers/main/dessert/s--with palate cleanser/s in between. 

Though it is quite natural to start the sharing session in the order of lightest( in terms of abv/style of beer/body and such) to biggest hitters(or biggest hyped/names) like a step ladder style of drinking, where there's a certain concern that if one were to drink a "heavier"beer( say a double ipa) and then only a pale ale---then our palate would not make a fair judgement of the taste profile of the supposedly "lighter" pale ale, that it might just taste less flavourful than it should be or even plain bland.

不同类型风格品酒会

如果以上餐厅点菜比喻，这就像是汇聚了苦辣甜酸咸鲜等不同味道的丰富一餐，啤迷可以一次过让味蕾经历不同啤酒风味感受，有趣的是，如果用西餐的前菜主菜甜品再加之间的清爽味蕾点缀品方式来看，瓶子分享会方式还真的可以蛮相似。

虽然每个人喜欢的方式可能不一样，不过在分享会中一般会从口感酒体或酒精度比较“轻量”的瓶子开始，比如说瓶子选择中有ipa, double ipa的话，会先从比较轻的ipa 喝起，又或者说有porter, stouts 的时候，会从比较轻的porter 喝起，这样做是有点道理的，因为一开始喝口味比较重的再喝同类型比较轻的就可能会对比较轻体那支觉得太淡太轻，味蕾有欠公平对待。

虽然那样说，实际上，瓶子分享会并没有硬性规定的尝味进程需要遵循，大家可以跟着各自喜好安排不同风格啤酒的先后顺序，只要味蕾感官应付得当，就算不管轻重顺序之分，随意跳着喝也无不可。

Having said that, a "jumping/mix it up" tasting session really can be quite flexible, if you are not having a dead serious tasting notes related or say BJCP exam style tasting--then it can be more relax, though the "light to heavy rules" kinda relevant, but sometimes a little reversing of the rules could work too as long as your palate stays alert (don't drink much more if your palate has gone to sleep--it's a waste of good brew!)

Vertical Tasting

This is quite popular too with some geeks.

if we were to put it in layman's terms, it's like buying the same brand/same taste profile of a particular cheese--say maybe all 10 or 20 of them--the only different would be the year the cheese made.

Yup--you got the idea, vertical tasting is basically SAME brand, styles of beers but brewed and bottled in different years.

Essentially, vertical tasting is about trying to find out what TIME can do to a beer when cellar/kept properly, it's an interesting way of trying to find out what changes can TIME and cellar conditioning/weather and other external factors could caused to a beer though it's by definition the same brand/style of beer.

相同类型啤酒直线品饮

Vertical tasting 是不少啤迷会做的事。

放在吃东西概念来说，就像是把同一家品牌但不同年份的芝士聚在一起品尝，意思是，在瓶子分享会中可能会有十多支同一家酿坊，同一个品牌，同一个风格类型啤酒，不同的就只是年份，有啤迷喜欢这样喝，想探寻不同年份会有什么细微或比较大风味差异表现，这样品饮的基本动机是想知道时间会可以带来什么影响。

当然不是每个人都喜欢这样做，有啤迷觉得一次过和那么多同样风格不同年份的啤酒是浪费，因为味蕾会麻木或感觉像在做研究，有点应付不来。

另一个接近直线品饮的方式是同类型啤酒但不同酿坊，不同品牌，用吃东西概念来说，就像是同时间品尝好几家不同餐厅的烧腊饭/云吞面之类。

这是像探索同类型啤酒经过不同酿酒师傅诠释能有什么差异的方式，这中间其实是有点功夫要做的，比如说IPA品尝分享会，听起来虽然是同类型啤酒，不过，因为IPA可以是很多不同啤酒花功能的展现（就先不说不同麦芽酵母能带来的影响），不同啤酒花之间的表现可以是苹果和橙子的差异，放在其他类型啤酒也一样，所以这样的所谓同类型啤酒品饮其实很难做到所有同类型但不同品牌啤酒能在同一个起跑点上做比较。

Personally i would think vertical tasting is not for newbies/ if you are not fond of a certain beer style OR don't have a certain understanding of that style of beer as it could become a little overwhelming drinking say 6 to 10 or 15 of the same beer at one session though it might be in smaller pour size.

不管你是喜欢跳着喝还是研究心比较重的直线品饮，说到底，CRAFT文化讲究的其实是品饮和分享，如果有身边新朋友还不是那么了解瓶子分享会概念，那就麻烦把这文化散播出去吧。

END of the day, no matter which style of bottle sharing you prefer, the key to a bottle sharing session is NOT about how many bottles were shared/killed--or how many Whalez were slayed( the "joke" is that this is more of a First World Problem in the states and yeah i hear you saying it does matter on social media post)---the fun of a bottle sharing session should be about sharing--drink less in volume--let palate stays alert longer to taste better/taste more--and make some friends if you will.....

WEEK 115-----Beer -Camera Phone & CAMERA

'i recently realized that the journey of craft beer exploring is very similar to photography" 

It was a casual chat with a photographer friend who is starting to know a bit more about craft beer:-

"i used to think craft beer is only beer, why the fuss, or why you keep saying there's such thing as palate building" (looking at me, shaking his head a bit while saying)

"then slowly i get it--it's a process of discovering, letting palate explore new flavours/combination of flavours---kinda like learning how to shoot photos---from a hand phone camera user(drinking MACRO) to learning how to use a proper camera..."

“原来喝啤酒跟摄影是可以很相似的。”

说这话的是一位开始了解Craft Beer美妙之处的摄影师朋友。

他说“一开始完全不理解为什么有喝啤酒需要时间历练味蕾说法，觉得不就是啤酒嘛，直接喝就对啦，干嘛还需要这么麻烦？”

“然后慢慢的开始懂了，原来喝Craft是需要一个过程的，情况就像是一个一路来只是拿着手机用自动对焦功能拍照的人，如果把摄影机交给他/她，没经过时间锻炼很难拍出什么像样照片。”

这样子比喻的话，还真的蛮相似。

That was quite a reference--with probably 9 out of 10( if not 10 out of 10) people nowadays happily snapping away with whatever phone camera they hold--it's all about convenience/accessibility--kinda like beer too--i mean--how many of us would carry a DSLR camera/lenses/tripod while going out( if it's not passion driven /work required?)

and then he asked "while i kinda understand how the technical indicators/pointers of photography works--in the world of craft beer--how do i know what is a really nice brew /and what is not? i mean looking at the bottle label don't give much clue unlike a camera specs"

That is a valid point--indeed there's NO clear cut indications showing HOW GOOD or HOW BAD a beer gonna taste like--until you drink it--and then again that's also subject to many factors such as:-

1) personal preferences 

2) palate appreciation level

3) condition of the beer( examples -if it's fresh enough if it's a hop beer--if it's well kept--if the tap line is properly cleaned and so on)

4) mood and physical condition of the drinker on that day

喝啤酒是需要培养一定程度味蕾鉴赏力的，Craft Beer 世界迥异多变的众多风味选择意味着喝酒人需要能辨别不同类型风格啤酒的变化，只喝大厂啤酒或固定一两各个风味类型的话肯定无法领略个中奥秘。

那要怎样从手机自动对焦照相者变身厉害使用照相机的人？摄影师朋友答案“基本就是多学多用多观察，再吸收使用。”

放在啤酒的世界，也一样，多尝味多了解，多些尝试高手酿酒师的不同类别啤酒，慢慢就会领悟。

在摄影的世界，有一些技术要诀作为指南，不过，在Craft的世界，要怎么区别什么是上佳或劣作？这是很难也可以说是没有100%公认的事，就算是要举例说哪一支啤酒是必喝也是不容易的事，因为同一款啤酒可能会有几千支不同品牌选择，大家又因为地理位置不同，有的酒喝得到，有的因为没人带来亚洲不容易喝到，单是不同城市能喝到什么或喝不到就可以有很多差异之处。

“可是不少新朋友都想知道说什么啤酒是值得尝试的，喝了会领略那类型啤酒美妙的”摄影师朋友的好奇提问，因为那样，就从亚洲城市最普遍被接受的不同类别啤酒说起：-

It's true there's NO DEFINITE GUIDE about what is a good beer or bad beer until one drink it--- no one can say with absolute certainty that THIS IS THE BEST BEER IN THE WORLD--nope NOT even ratebeer/beer advocate and/or untappd combined can say it's absolute--in fact NO ONE CAN--that's probably why craft beer is fun, as basically there's only one way to find out if a beer is good or bad--- by drinking it.

'But surely there must be some guide/reference beers for newbies to get a feel of what's the benchmark of a nicely brew style of beer?" he opined and then pop that question--" say for examples what would be a few porter/stouts/ipas you would refer to always when asked?"

and so i obliged with these few--reference point is made with regards to what's available in KL in those early days of drinking craft and felt in awe/or fell in love with(for sure people in different cities in and around ASIA would have different favourites due to different supply from importers)

PORTER

by modern day beer terms/theory--porter is the "thinner/weaker" cousins of Stouts--that a porter is usually lighter in taste/lower in abv/ which personally it could also mean watery/not rich enough for a tasty black brew.

NOT this one--black ball was one of the very early days porter which still remain a personal choice now--it maybe only a porter but it's rich and tasty enough to overshadow many supposedly richer/thicker/"bigger" stouts.

Porter /Stouts 

大众认知的黑啤，两者之间是有些不同的，以近代历史说法演变来看，stout 是理论上要比porter 来得更浓郁，更香醇，酒精度更高的黑啤，虽然实际上在天马行空的Craft 世界里这个理论未必时常被酿酒师遵守。

黑啤风味虽然被认为离不开烤香麦芽，咖啡，巧克力，香草，草本，类醋味等基本风味，但是当然其中变化还是可以玩到很大差异的，比如可以有带水果酸香味的黑啤，也可以有酒体类白色的黑啤！

以吉隆坡较早期喝得到的黑啤来看，达到一定水平的摄影机级别黑啤有以下几支

To Ol  Black Ball 

北欧品牌porter, 虽然理论上酒体较浅，不过口感一点都不输很多牌面上更浓的stouts。

STOUTS

Personally--any stouts under 9% abv would get a "???" mark as i have very seldom found a stout rich/thick/aromatic enough for my liking.

Well--this breakfast bottle broke that perception--it was really nice for a stouts with lower than 9%abv.

Mikkeller  Beer Geek Breakfast 

只看酒精度的话，会觉得低过9%酒精度的黑啤会不够香醇浓郁，这支丹麦名牌黑啤是好喝的“低度”stout 。

For "bigger'/richer/bolder stouts--these 2 would still work for me, Bomb is the one with chili/pepper spiciness along with the dark chocolate/roasted malt/vanilla influences.

Prairie  Bomb 

美国酿坊的带辣味香浓黑巧克力咖啡香草黑啤，超过10%酒精度却不是那种会让人感觉带酒精味的佳酿。

while Black Albert is a stand out to those who think Belgium don't have any good stouts--try one and you shall be blown away.

captured with phone camera

IPA

personally don't really have much to say about what's available locally since IPA is something you need to drink real fresh--with KL being a prohibited zone for home brewing/no brewpub it's hard to pick an outstanding one though there are some which is quite all right to start with.

with my photographer friend's insistence--here's what i told him" if you live in ASIA-with accessibility issues especially pertaining to those big IPAs from USA---no matter what ipas you might have had via local importers--personally i would think everyone should try to get hold of these 2--they are NOT THE BEST( which many would tell you)--but these 2 for me are the ones which saves me from ipa fatigue( from the same old grassy grassy thops attack) of almost giving up drinking any more ipas.

capture with CAMERA

或许对一些新朋友来说，从大厂啤酒直接尝试喝比较苦涩浓郁的ipa 会是个味蕾系统震撼，不过，只要不是喝到过期变质的ipa ，一旦味觉可以逐渐接受这类啤酒强调的啤酒花柑橘类苦涩甘香就可以领略到个中美妙。

一般情况来说，除非有上佳的在地酿坊，因为运输时间处理等关系，在亚洲喝进口ipa 都很难是最佳状况，比较难喝得到啤酒花保持上佳新鲜度的啤酒，或许因为那样，有一些朋友觉得只要是苦到够力就是好喝ipa，实际上并不那样。

以吉隆坡本土能喝到ipa 为例，选择不是很多，近期开始热起来的类果汁NEIPA也没什么机会在本地酒吧出现，就不举例了。

硬要举例的话，或许可以这样说，无论在亚洲喝过多少不同品牌的欧美进口Ipa ，还是应该想方设法从美国找来这两支/罐最具代表性的酿品，只有喝过了才能领略什么是摄影机级别啤酒。

Russian River  Pilny the elder 

美国加州酿坊的名作，让觉得ipa 只是强调苦涩的人们开始了解什么是啤酒花麦芽酵母均衡结合的美妙。

The Alchemist  Heady Topper 

绝对的经典作之一，罐装上有一行字说"drink from can "鼓励从罐口直接喝，当然也可以一分为二，倒些在杯子，留点在罐中，味蕾能感受不同程度啤酒花冲击表现。

WEEK 114---ENJOY Beer Festivals--DON'T GET SLAMMED

A little mixed feelings writing this post--while the post is a basic "don't drink yourself to the ground" kinda piece about all sorts of beerfest in and around Asia--the news just came in that the Only mini craft beer fest in KL has been shoot down by the authority due to "sensitivity concern".

To a large extent--in Asia it's not surprising that mere mentioning of the word "alcoholic beverages" would trigger images of drunken loud/rowdy crowd--and that would extend to imaginary images of a beerfest generally to people who can't differentiate what is binge drinking and what is tasting/savoring/enjoying.

说起啤酒节三个字，你会想到什么？大杯大口尽情喝？有免费酒喝的好日子？只怕喝不够， 不醉无归？

在亚洲，最为一般消费者知道的啤酒节大概就是源自慕尼黑的十月啤酒节，多得大厂啤酒公司促销策略，不管是不是跟德国或慕尼黑有任何关联,,亚洲很多城市十月都会有大大小小各式各样啤酒促销活动或啤酒节出现。

在craft beer的世界，啤酒节的确是推动craft文化所需方式之一，理由很简单,与其等消费者自发自动到专卖吧或瓶子店发现什么是另一个崭新的啤酒世界，通过更多人可以接触到的啤酒节把craft文化散播出去未尝不是好方法。

目前来说，亚洲不同城市大大小小的craft啤酒节不少，从北京上海到东京首尔到台湾香港再到曼谷新加坡，每年都有不同形式不同名堂啤酒节在进行，虽然不能跟一些顶级欧美啤酒节相比，至少有起到推介craft作用。

Generally speaking most people in Asia would have heard of Oktoberfest--along with images of large beer mug filled with seemingly endless volume of beers---that's quite typically the perception of the general public when the word beerfest is mentioned---of course they won't think or know that there can be really huge different levels of beerfest--depending on the intention/objectives of the organizer.

In Asia--most of the beerfest is either organized/run by event organizer who aim to sell space/booth or importers/local breweries keen to promote their brands( be it MACRO or craft) to a larger audience--while everyone need to sell more for business sake--there can be a different pertaining to how a beerfest is organized/run--there are fest which aim to only sell and sell--there's also fest which aim to spread out the craft cultures....

While generally going to a beerfest is seen as a good day to get slammed--drink to the ground--it really does not have to go that direction, beerfest can be quite an enjoyable affair if one take it nice and slow regardless if you are going for the very first time or been there and always end up face down on the ground....

亚洲craft啤酒节来说,多的有上百不同品牌类别啤酒等着品尝，少的也有几十种，怎么在一天或半天时间内好好品味而不是走着进去歪着或抬着出来是有简单小窍门的。

here's a few simple tips that would help one to enjoy a beerfest better:-

1) DON'T ever go in EMPTY STOMACH

Quite some people thought it's really natural/ok to go into a beerfest and starts enjoying some food & beer at the same time--meaning no food consumed PRIOR going into a beerfest--though it seems innocuous --the reality is that the body system will definitely go under attack by alcohol influences while the food is waiting to get digested.

Unless you plan to make a mockery of the meaning of enjoying one self at a beerfest--you would not want to do this--ever.

1) 绝对不要空腹喝酒

啤酒，无论是多么低度易喝(3到6%)都是带酒精饮料，的确在啤酒节一边喝啤酒一边吃东西是享受，所以空腹去好像很合理，这个观念听起来没问题，实际上，空腹去啤酒节一边喝一边吃，再继续喝，你觉得是酒精会先发挥醉人影响，还是食物可以比酒精先一步消化起到"压肚子"作用？

答案是很明显的，空腹喝酒明摆着就是在找自己麻烦，不但不能好好享受不同风味啤酒乐趣，分分钟还会让自己难堪。

2) less is MORE

Forget about the photos/video/images you have seen about that event in Munich--beerfest does not have to be only about drinking in huge beer mug or drink yourself to death---while it is true that generally all beerfest in ASIA is selling beer in a rather big serving-it does not mean you have to finish the beer all by yourself--you can always share with friends--just drink say 25-150ml of a particular beer and move onto other beers since a beerfest would have atleast tens of hundreds of different beers to choose from--if you really like a particular beer you can go slow and finish it--if a particular beer taste awful/not your liking--you could try ask if your friends/ or new found stranger friends wanted to try and share it--otherwise just leave it/pour it....

The key is--beerfest can be like a larger scale tasting session--with different choices to pick--why not just drink/sip in small volume, that way you could try a lot more different styles/brands of beers and enjoy/savour each taste profile better.

2) 少即是多 (Less is More)

如果你去的啤酒节有几十种甚至上百不同类别风格品牌等待品尝，假设有8小时喝酒时间，是要大杯大口喝够本还是说要小杯小啜慢慢品味？

一般亚洲人酒量来说，喝上10支330毫升小瓶装啤酒算"厉害"的了，以此推算，怎样可以从容的在啤酒节细味享受超过几十或更多款不同风味啤酒而不是勉强喝\拼命喝\喝到挂是重点。

抛开个人酒精承受力，体质不一样，当天身心状态等因素不说，最简单的喝酒方式是<积少成多>，意思是想试的每款啤酒都尽量只要一点，比如25到100毫升之间，也不需要每杯喝完，个人很喜欢的可以慢慢喝完，感觉一般或不对味的可以看下身边朋友是不是想试，可以分享，再不然就放一旁或干脆倒掉，再去试其他的。

啤酒节可以是一个放慢来品尝不同风格啤酒的地方，就像在餐厅享受美食那样，狼吞虎咽会少了很多乐趣，细味才是重点。

3) Get "time out"--go for intervals

Going to a beerfest can be like playing a ball game--you do need to take a break in between drinking--drink some water/eat some food/ go for coffee if that's your thing--it is true everyone has got different level of alcohol tolerance--but it's always good to take a short interval--let the palate/body system freshen up a little before continuing.

3) 喝酒也有休息时间

像去运动打球那样，在啤酒节只是一直不停喝也不对，应该给身体机能一些调适时间，喝酒的同时也喝水，间中吃点东西，只要不是太重口味比如辣或麻辣到令味蕾失调的就好，喝喝停停，停停喝喝，聊聊天聊聊啤酒经，新旧朋友间交换下心得，啤酒节会变得有趣。

The craft culture/ craft beer movement in Asia is still in early developing stage--while various beerfest is happening more often in and around different cities in Asia--the majority drinkers are still very much influenced by the binge-drinking culture--that beerfest is about price factor/value for money/drink til you drop kinda perception--which of course can be avoided if more people starts to realize that just like there are awesome beer and really bad beer, a beerfest can also go that direction of making a different.

在亚洲，很多人觉得啤酒节就只是个很多酒喝的节目，基本都一样，啤酒节基本元素是“共聚一堂把酒言欢”，说白了就是喝喝酒说说话吃吃东西，这原理放在鼓励大家开怀畅饮（或者牛饮）的大厂啤酒节，或是更鼓励慢喝细味的craft啤酒节听起来好像没差别，因为理论上啤酒节只是个把喜欢喝啤酒或喜欢热闹人们聚在一起的节目。

实际上，在craft的世界，一个啤酒节的规模大小，是不是有什么明星艺人出现不是重点，真正重要的是啤酒阵容，有什么酿坊什么类别啤酒出现才是关注点。

亚洲啤酒节现阶段来说，在一般消费者比较关心价格，是不是可以喝到饱喝到卦，不是很了解craft文化情况下，说这样的话可能会让人觉得困惑，去啤酒节需要关注有什么啤酒喝？不过，如果你觉得疑惑，很好，至少现在你已知道不是所有啤酒节都一样的。

YES--it's completely unfair/incomparable to mention about the level of #MBCC #CBC has set for a beerfest to what Asia can envisage to achieve---it can be a sky high benchmark Asia beerfest can look up to and see what mini version can be done here in ASIA--in simple word--a day when you announce a beerfest which would only serve between 25-100ml per pour and people who paid for the beerfest ticket wold have to line up for 1 small keg of each beer and  won't question "why so little/why so expensive/why so stupid to have only 1 keg why can't be 10 keg of the same"?

That would be the ultimate challenges for beerfest in and around Asia --though i honestly don't think there would be many out there who would share that thought or agree with.

WEEK 113---Beer really can be DELICIOUS

Let's talk about beer in the simplest form/terms possible.

What is beer? the simplest answer is alcoholic beverages brewed using 1.Water 2.Malt 3.Yeast 4.Hops

If you have heard of a law in Germany(purity law or Reinheitsgebot)  which insist that beer can only be brewed using those 4 ingredients and thought all along beer must ONLY be brewed that way--then you know perhaps only half the story of what beer can be.

啤酒基本是水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母的融汇结合酿品。

这样的组合，听起来看起来都简单得很，能有什么样多样化的味道变化吗？

大家那么长久以来所喝到啤酒味道来说，确实没什么变化好说的，啤酒就只是那样，酒精冷饮一枚，跟美味一点都扯不上关系。

以上只是大众对啤酒的片面认知，啤酒当然不只是酒精冷饮一枚，而是可以变化多端，以各种不同风格类别出现的美味选择。

Craft Beer的出现彻底打破了水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母只能酿出单调味道啤酒的错误看法，最简单说法是，除开大家都知道的不同水质问题外，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母其实有很多不同味道类别，个别不同组合会带来很多不同风味层次变化，再加上不同处理手法，比如Adjunct, 比如Blending, 比如Barrel Aging等等，让啤酒的玩味变得更浓更有趣。

Someone actually questioned "with only 4 ingredients--how beer can become complex or delicious even?"---can't blame this perception since majority "BEER" drinkers only know of 1 or 2 'taste' profile(for lack of proper vocab) ingrained by years of MACRO drinking/campaign effects.

Truth is--even with only 4 main ingredients--because of the hundreds of varieties of malt-yeast-hops, as well different quality of water--when the craft brewers turn on their creative minds--beer can become a totally whole new thing never imaginable by MACRO drinkers--and that's the single biggest reason why geeks go gaga over craft beer.

In the world of craft beer--brewers obviously don't give a shit about limiting oneself to brewing only with water-malt-yeast-hops since it's almost anything goes for some crazy ass brewers, here's a very basic/simplest look into what other things craft brewers do to increase the deliciousness/complexity of a given beer(and mead):-

ADJUNCT

if one were to check the definition of this word with any beer glossary--it's actually a Negative word describing low act of replacing malt-hops-yeast with cheaper alternatives/artificial flavoring agents with the intention of cutting cost--end up bringing down quality/flavours of beer.

BUT just like a coin with 2 sides--in craft beer ADJUNCT can be a good thing--a Positive thing when brewers starts adding at times ridiculous amount/types of REAL food/fruits/spices etc with 1 aim--to make that beer delicious--or crazy delicious.

In this commercial/profit first world--it's not uncommon for some food producers to find much cheaper/at times even harmful chemicals/artificial flavours to cut cost just to maximize profits--in the world of beer--the truth is ADJUNCT can become a good thing which enhances flavours and deliciousness of a beer--not downgrading or destroying it.

Adjunct(添加物)

根据Craft的定义，利用添加物酿酒原意是贬义词，意指不能用例如粟米或大米或人工香精之类的廉价代替品意图减低酿酒成本导致啤酒风味变低变质变次。

不过，转个念，这个原本的贬义词其实也能变成褒义词。

在德国，为保持啤酒的固定味道，有"纯酿法"的存在，列明啤酒只能以4种原料，即水，麦芽，啤酒花和酵母酿造，不能有任何其他食材或添加物，从另外一个角度看，这也可以是固步自封，Craft Beer 酿造手法中的Adjunt(添加食材如咖啡豆茶叶巧克力胡椒辣椒蔬果等等)就证明了正面的使用添加物是可以大大提高啤酒风味层次，而不是减低或破坏。

BARREL-AGING

It is common knowledge that certain food items needed time to give it another dimension(or more)--think cheese/vineger/kimchi /soy sauce/smoked beef/sausages and so on...

In the world of craft beer--there are lots of BA or barrel-aged version--in simple word--putting beer into barrels to let it rest/ferment/evolve--barrels can be from the hard liqour kind of whisky-bourbon-brandy-tequila to wine/port wine barrels--the latest is that mead barrels are in for some delicious beer soaking/resting too.

Of course not all BA beer would turned out way better/complex than the base beer--but at the very least--barrel aging is a way craft brewers like to try add complexity/layers of nuances to some already delicious base beer--the thoughts the efforts the intention that goes into a barrel is all there for drinkers to feel.

Barrel Aging(桶陈)

一般认知来说，桶陈就像是把酱油或泡菜放进缸熟成，又或是把蔬果食材腌制成另一个层次食物那种原理。

在啤酒的世界，桶陈的目标没变，也是为了让酿好的啤酒变得更有层次，更有不同风味，基本做法是把啤酒倒进使用过的不同烈酒木桶比如威士忌，波本，白兰地，伏特加酒桶等又或者是葡萄酒桶熟成，很多不同风格啤酒如Stouts, Porter, Saison, Lambic, 甚至是Ipa都会玩桶陈，最新情况是，有啤酒酿坊开始使用蜜酒(Mead)桶来熟成提味。

虽然不是所有经过桶陈处理的啤酒一定比没桶陈原版美味好喝，至少说明啤酒不是只有平铺直叙那么简单，啤酒也有多工序多心思的一面。

实际上，好些Craft酿坊玩起桶陈游戏是不惜工本，为了提升味道层次，很多时候不单只是桶陈，更多时候是加入食材蔬果浸泡，目的只有一个，让啤酒变得更美味。

BLENDING
Not everyone is a brewer--including some very sought after craft brew/names(think Bokkereyder-Casey-Tilquin and such)--there are some who do not brew their own beer yet they are not gypsy brewers--these guys are the Blenders--they buy wort from others and do their own things through "blending-adjunct-barrel aging"--whatever means that would make the brew the way they envisage/imagine or hope it to be.

Blending can be a fun thing even for us drinkers in a small way--by trying to find a nicely blended one through mixing different styles/variants of beers during a tasting/sharing session --the key is different styles/variants of beer though no one stops you from blending ipa A with ipa B or stouts A with stouts B if you so wishes.

Blending(混酒)

烹饪的概念就是如何把不同食材香料调味料融合好，比如酸辣汤强调酸味和辣味，比如咕噜肉就要是甜酸适中，啤酒的Blending基本概念大约如此，通过混合不同类别/年份啤酒寻找心目中想要的味道层次。

Craft Beer的世界，有Brewer(酿酒师)，也有不酿酒只混酒的Blender(混酒师)，当中包括一些炙手可热的比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒品牌比如Tilquin,比如Bokkereyder。

Blender的出现让啤酒的风味变化多了可能性，除了通过混合不同类别风格啤酒，又或是相同类别不同年份啤酒之外，也利用桶陈+添加物方式让啤酒酝酿出不同层次风味。

啤迷或喝酒人有时候其实也可自己试试玩一下混酒，可以是不同类型啤酒混合，比如稍苦的黑啤加稍甜的黑啤，也可以是完全不同类别如黑啤混合酸啤酒或SAISON之类的，混对了会意料之外的很美味，没找对混合方案也没问题，下次再试，反正自由发挥是乐趣。