WEEK 156---The Unspoken Rules of Bottle Share

This is supposed to be the next article but sequences don't really matter here so will just let this one jump ahead of the previous one first....

在craft beer世界中，品酒（tasting)和瓶子分享会（bottle share)是不少啤迷推崇和选择的喝酒方式，把两者结合就是品酒分享会，无论是字面意思或实质上来说都跟一般人观念中喝酒方式有所区别，很大程度上来说，喝少嚐多是品酒和一般喝酒方式最大不同。

品酒分享会最基本概念就是几个人聚在一起分享自己带来的瓶子，在分担酒量分担酒精情况下探寻啤酒的味道层次。对新朋友来说，虽然品酒分享会并没有什么明文规定准则，但实际上还是有一些“潜规则”要注意的：-

To many a geeks---bottle share/ tasting session is something which comes naturally once you been drinking for a while and somehow manage to find a few like minded beer friends who like to share/ drink less taste more---however for some newbies---how a bottle share would go about might be a new thing, here's a few points to note:-

1) Settled on theme of the session

It is because of the availability of so many different beer styles/ choices that the idea of bottle sharing is a fun one---and it's exactly why one needs to firm up theme of the session before hand--for examples would the session be a Vertical tasting (where it's all the same style of beer from 1 particular brewery but with different years/barrel aging) or will it be a Mix Styles tasting where everyone bring different styles of beer from different breweries.

While Vertical and Mix Styles tasting are two vastly different format of tasting---the objective is the same---that is to seek out different flavours/nuances/deliciousness/uniqueness a beer could possibly bring.

1）先确定品酒会主题

craft beer的不同类型风味非常多，因为选择多所以才可以有品酒分享会，不过，正也是那样所以分享之前需要先确定分享会主轴是强调同一酿坊单一风味酒款但不同年份的直线品酒会(vertical tasting），又或者是以不同类型风味啤酒为主的混合品酒会（mix styles tasting)，这是两个截然不同的概念，但基点是一样的，都以品嚐啤酒美味层次变化为中心思想和目标。

2) "Equal level bottles"

A bottle sharing session is about tasting and it's also about sharing---which could very well meaning the unspoken rule of "equal level brew"--meaning if it is stated that everyone should only bring their A game bottles to a share---no one should bring anything less---bring a B level brew is not a nice gesture.

2) 瓶子级别的对等

品酒分享会讲究的是当然是分享，因为那样，啤迷之间有个不明文规定的守则，就是带来分享的瓶子必须是对等级别的，意思是如果分享会主题是大家必须带A级别的酒，那就不能带B级别的应付过去。

或许有人会问，那么多不同新旧酿坊那么多不同类型风格啤酒，怎样去鉴别什么是A级B级C级之类的？这的确是个问题，因为就算有评酒网站为不同啤酒打分数或有排行榜，谁也不能绝对权威的说什么酒是A或B或C，所以品酒分享会所说的级别对等啤酒很大程度上只能是啤迷之间的共识，某种程度上也算是一种只能意会不能言传，懂的人就会懂的“潜规则”。

as for HOW TO DETERMINE which is A and which is BCDEF level is obviously a very subjective matter--because it is very hard to say in absolute terms what is equal to what--although there are several beer ratings site/apps or even the "top chart/pop chart" equivalent of beer to tell you which beer is ranked at which position in the world----the truth is--no one can tell anyone in absolutely conclusive terms which beer is better than the other---so the "equal level brew" during a bottle share is basically the understanding among those who participate---so long it's acceptable by all then there's no issue.

3) The level of palate appreciation

This may sound a little odd( or even arrogant to some) but there is such a thing as "equality/like-mindedness" during a bottle share session---besides the "equality of bottles brought"---there is also the small matter of "equality/like-mindedness" among those who participate.(imagine 4 people sharing and one only like barley wine--one don't/can't drink lambic/sour---and another only like IPA)

3）味蕾鉴赏力和共识

这样说或许有点奇怪，但品酒分享会在某种程度上的确存在是不是对等的问题，除了上面说的大家带来的酒必须对等之外，参与品酒会啤迷之间对酒的鉴赏力也是一个重要的事，打个比喻的话，有时候品酒分享会就像是朋友之间打羽毛球那样，尽管不是比赛但如果对打双方的水准相差太大，无论是水准高还是水准比较低的都会觉得无趣，分享会虽然只是品酒嚐味，但也是聊天交换意见的场合，如果有人在喝酒时必须一边解释什么是什么然后听的人还一知半解或完全不明白这酒有什么美味的话，那绝对会很扫兴，因为品酒会并不是新人教学班，所以品酒分享会潜规则之一是，不管是新旧朋友，能聚在一起分享品酒的，基本会是具备一定鉴赏力和共识的啤迷们。

In a way---a bottle sharing session can be like a tennis/badminton game---it's NOT  a competition---just a game to sweat it out--but if the two players are of big gap in standards--the game is obviously a lot less fun than it could have been if it were to be played between two same/closer in level players.

Having said that---Of course a bottle sharing session can be a mix of experience geeks and newbies for whatever purposes( educational/ just casual drinking session/bonding and so on...) where the above mentioned unspoken rules does not apply---but if it's meant to be a "equal level share" only kinda session---then it's quite naturally/automatically understood. 

4) Don't waste beer/Not for sake of showing off

The primary objective of a bottle share is to find out how tasty a brew can be---hence the focus is never about how much one can drink or how many bottles can be opened during a session---taste is always the focus--not volume.

It is perfectly ok to pour down beer which do not meet expectations or just not tasting good---in a bottle sharing session its not a waste to "drain pour" unwanted beer---it is a way of saving body energy for the next one which hopefully is a much better one.

4）不浪费但也不勉强

品酒分享会追求的是品嚐啤酒带来美味层次变化，也就是说志不在量，可以喝多少瓶不是重点，最重要是能喝到以什么面貌层次出现的美味，因为那样，在品酒会中如果有人因为觉得不对味或不符合期望值而把杯中酒倒掉洗杯等下一款的话，听起来虽然好像是浪费了酒，但其实很正常，因为品酒会注重的是高质素酿品，如果喝到水准不高的或甚至保存不良的啤酒，与其勉强喝不如倒掉节省身体解酒机能等下一杯。

不浪费酒是品酒分享会应该做到的基本，这可以体现在事先选酒或临场决定，意思是分享会可以事先依照参与人数规划当天需要的不同类型风味起伏，不要因为条件许可所以无节制的开酒，品酒会和所谓千杯不醉没关系，既然目标是品嚐美味，那就最好恰如其份的喝，人的酒精抗力是有限的，味蕾鉴赏力也会受酒精影响逐渐变得迟钝，所以最好的品酒分享会并不是看起来为炫耀而开一堆盛名瓶子又或是有不少剩酒的画面，而是参与者都能很好均衡的分享品嚐不浪费好酒那种。

What constitute to wasting beer is the act of opening bottles when it's obvious from the start that it's way too much to drink for the number of people participating---of course how many bottles is deemed the perfect number for a share is very subjective--since people have different alcohol tolerance level/ as well as bigger/smaller collection of beers---but if the objective a of bottle share is to taste how good a brew can be/find out deliciousness--then drinking beyond one's alcohol tolerance is obviously wasting beer since you palate would have been well and truly FXXK beyond recognition.

As for the more extreme act of showing off by opening a bunch of rare/super hyped bottles just "because i can"---it might bring some envious glance on the social media--but it could also very well be mocked by many as dick wiggling.....

或许会有人会觉得不过是喝啤酒有需要那么讲究吗？的确对很多人来说喝啤酒是件普通到不能再普通的事，不过，对好些啤迷来说，分享会意义是超越喝啤酒三个字能代表的，就像喜爱美食分享美食那样，品酒分享会就是啤迷探寻交流分享藏在啤酒中不同层次美味的一种方式。

While it is true that majority of the public don't know what craft beer is --let alone what a bottle share session could mean to some beer geeks---the fact is that at times a sharing session is way beyond what the word " beer-drinking" could represent---a bottle share session is the way of the geeks to finding deliciousness/ nuances in a beer--much like a foodie would do.

WEEK 155---Who DECIDES what you drink?

There were a few questions/comments on social media recently about beer rating---it started when a brewer throw question about if brewer/ brewery owners or those associated with it should be allowed to rate beers( both their own or others)---and then among the comments there were these two:-

"should anyone rate beer at all?" 

"should anyone care about others ratings?"

最近craft beer社交媒体上出现这样的对话，有人问说“酿酒师应该被允许发表酒评吗？”， 有人回应笑问说“喝酒的应该写酒评吗？”，另一个人反问“自己喝酒有必要去理会别人口味意见吗？”

这是相当有趣的对话，换个角度看，等于有人问为什么看戏前要先看影评人或网红之类评语才决定看不看，又或是订餐厅前为什么需要先看美食饕客写过文章，既然吃饭的是自己，自己不能独立做决定吗？这问题的答案当然不会一致，因为总会有一群人是会想先看了别人意见後再做决定，当然也会有什么都不看自己决定的人们。

If we were to link the above scenario to daily life situations--it's similar to when one refer to movie critics/ratings before deciding if a movie is worth watching--or say referring to food critics opinions/ratings before deciding if a restaurant is worth visiting. There is no right or wrong in these scenario because it's up to individuals what he or she prefer---to refer or to just decides without referring.

同样情况放在craft beer世界里，也会出现习惯先看别人酒评再决定或一直只凭自己感觉选酒的不同群体，或许不熟悉craft beer文化的人会觉得喝啤酒干嘛还需要看或写什么酒评，不过一旦了解不同类型风味啤酒实在多不胜数特质之后就可以理解为什么酒评的出现是自然现象，因为可以感受到的不同类型美味层次佳酿确实多，对啤迷来说，自己写酒评或看别人写酒评都是普遍不过的事。

无论是在专卖吧或身边有啤迷朋友的基本都见过啤迷喝酒时对着杯中啤酒又是嗅又是小口品嚐的同时一边思索一边手机上打字，边喝边写酒评可以说是很多啤迷的特色指定动作，就像美食饕客会做笔记写心得那样，写Tasting Notes或酒评是不少啤迷表达或记录喝後感受方式之一。

The situation is not any different in the world of craft beer with some preferring to check other's opinions/ratings first every time when facing with a decision to pick a beer--while some just go with own judgement/mood of the day---as for why people who drink beer care about writing comments/ tasting notes or rate beers---the motives can be a little different for everyone--some would do it because of "pro-need" such as preparing for BJCP beer judge certification---some for own beer tasting record--some because of the need to tick/"level up" for beer ratings apps/game.....

Tasting Notes(缩写TN)从字面意义上很清楚说明是怎么一回事，喝酒会写酒评/品酒心得感想的起因动机可以有几个，有人是基于“专业要求“为出发点比如为了啤酒裁判（BJCP）认证考试做准备/贯彻所学，有的纯粹只为提升自身品鉴能力，有的是因为积极参与追逐网站/手机程式“评酒勋章”或“提升级别”所以写酒评。

基于写酒评动机的不同，不同喝酒人会有不同方式整理自己的喝後感受，一般来说，品酒5大原则被认为是正统方式，喝的时候依序以外观，气味，味道，口感和整体感受5大要点为依据进行评断，这方式也是许多啤迷习惯使用的。不过，从另一个角度来看，酒评怎么写可以是件没有绝对结论的事，虽然评酒方式可以一定程度上被规范以减低个人口味影响/误判因素，比如按照啤酒裁判认证（BJCP）品鉴指南进行评定，

For the uninitiated---beer tasting notes is basically about one's tasting experience with a beer much like when eating food---when tasting/rating a beer---the 5 basic principles always in used are:-

Appearance

Smell(or Nose)

Taste

Mouth Feel

Overall

The 5 basic principles are commonly accepted rule of thumb by many---although it must be said that not everyone who rate beer or taking tasting notes would follow 100%---if you are more of a follow the guide type---click here for The Beer Advocate tasting notes guide

但也可以是很个人认知的事，网上可以看到各式各样酒评，这其中有比较专业详尽的，但也有很个人化的意见，大致上也长短不一，比如有类似这种 “开瓶倒入酒杯後颜色呈琥珀色，气泡适中不过很快消散，入口微酸爽中带红葡萄酒木桶余韵，酒体中等，口感有坚果，覆盆子，松针，麦芽糖，尾韵带回甘略微干涩显得不够圆润“等等一个酒评中随时可以出现十多二三十个不同食材味道技术性形容词“长文慎入”型酒评， 又或是简单一两句完结的”感觉像喝不甜的巧克力沙冰，好喝极了。”类型短评。

Obviously there are all kinds of tasting notes/ratings out there in the www---and that's understandable since a same beer will be sampled by many different people who would feel/rate it differently--partly due to personal preference in beer taste or beer styles--and partly could be due to one's understanding/appreciation level of a particular beer/beer style.

In short---tasting notes/ beer ratings are basically other's opinions--of course some are great reviews while some could be a waste of time---while looking up to some good reviews would help newbies in some way--but the most important thing in beer tasting is still about how one understand the taste profile/changes/nuances of a brew by actually drinking one.

一定程度上，酒评反映的是个人意见，不同人对味道对食材理解或表达方式不太一样，同一款啤酒不同人喝也可能会有很不一样喝後感受，如果要问什么样的酒评对新朋友比较有帮助，答案是虽然看较专业详尽的会有所帮助，但喝酒这回事还是需要自己品嚐累积不同类型风味品酒经验之后才能逐步提升味蕾鉴赏力，一直看别人酒评虽然可以提供基本概念，说到底酒还是要自己喝过才能真正了解。1

有句老话说“尽信书不如无书”，放在喝酒境界中适用，他人意见是可以借用，不过最重要还是味蕾体验，别人酒评只是或有用或废话的文字，光看不喝单凭想象是没办法实际感受评断的。

There's an old Chinese saying"JIN XIN SHU BU RU WU SHU" "when one only totally believe in books then might as well do without books"---in simple words it means don't just believe blindly what others says---one need to form his/her own opinions too---and that's exactly the scenario when it comes to viewing others tasting notes/beer ratings---end of the day it would still be you who decides after sampling a beer if it's good enough---others ratings can be useful tips or trash opinions wasting your time---and imagining how a beer might taste is certainly NOT the way to go.

After all---a beer is for tasting/drinking--not viewing.

WEEK 154----The one "Must Do" when drinking Sour Beers

"What exactly is the idea of drinking sour beer? is it all about pucker up?" A newbie asked not so long ago, which bring up the question of "what makes a sour beer good?  is it only about sour or what else?"

有新朋友问酸啤酒到底什么概念，是不是酸得让人脸挤成一团就算水准之作？怎样才是好喝的怎样才算不好喝？

酸啤酒（sour beer)是craft beer众多不同类型风格中非常重要一环，一些酿品也被誉为是最接近葡萄酒和香槟风味层次的啤酒，酿得好的酸啤绝不会只有酸的单元表现，而是多元层次可以让人在酸味基本层面中找到其他不同风味表现，是那种会让人感到幸福的美好。

Sour beers is of course an integral part of craft beer variants--and sour beers is definitely not just about being sour---a well made sour beer is surely much more than just the mono tone of sour but can be so nice it makes you feel such gratification

对新朋友来说，一个重要基本概念是，酸啤酒可分为天然发酵（spontaneous fermentation)和酵母发酵（yeast pitching)两大类，两者最大差别是天然发酵通过利用特定地区空气中自然滋生野菌发酵酿造，后者则是通过人手投放酵母，因为发酵体和发酵方式差别，两者之间完成酿品风味层次会呈现明显差异性。

Though for some reasons sour beers also probably one of the "lower acceptance rate or later in acceptance" type of styles for newbies--meaning comparatively newbies would mostly go into other " easier to accept" styles first before discovering eventually accepting sour beers.

对啤迷来说，天然发酵方式酿造而成的比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒（Lambic)是备受推崇的酸啤类型，这是有特定因素的，天然发酵方式除了需要看天气状况决定（只能在秋冬季节冷度合适时酿，热天高温是大敌）之外，酿造地也有其特殊性，只有在包含布鲁塞尔西南周边城乡，一个统称为Pajottenland区域内酿造的天然发酵酸啤酒才有资格用上Lambic名称，这区域之外任何酸啤酒，就算使用天然发酵方式酿造也不能自称Lambic。（一定程度上这解释了为什么好多欧美酿坊酸啤作品都使用wild ale或sour beer字眼）

如果有人觉得Lambic特殊性只是因为区域名称使用限制所致，那不尽然，Lambic之所以会被啤迷推崇最主要是酿品水平风味层次与众不同，特别是一些酿坊的高水平“复杂版本”风味表现更是会让懂得欣赏的人惊艳回味。

If you are new to sour beers---there are obviously quite a lot to pick up---it would be helpful for newbies to take note that sour beers comes in 2 different ways----those which use Spontaneous Fermentation and those which do Yeast Pitching(which refer to manually adding yeast)---the biggest differences between the 2 is that Spontaneous Fermentation pretty much let good bacteria occurring naturally in the air to handle fermenting job---which is restricted to only during cooler/cold seasons of the year as heat/humid weather is not suitable for spontaneous fermentation. These two different ways of fermenting does bring out different types/flavour profile of sour beers.

To many sour geeks---it is no doubt that Lambic(which is a term referring to sour beers brewed with spontaneous fermentation method at a brewery/blendery located within the Pajottenland area in and around Brussels) is the most highly sought after/worship style of sour beers.

的确，酸啤酒当然不是只有比利时Lambic，以酸味为主轴啤酒类型不少，比如美式酸啤(American Sours/Wild Ale)，德式风格咸酸啤（Gose)或柏林酸麦啤(Berliner Weisse)，比利时旧式酸啤（Flanders Red/Blonde)等等，实际上，在鼓励创意的craft beer世界中，连强调啤酒花鲜香甘涩的印度淡陴(IPA)或是表现浓郁烤麦芽咖啡巧克力等风味为主的黑啤(Stouts)也出现融和酸味甚至以酸味为主轴的趣味实验版或常态版。

众多不同风味酸啤类型中，想了解什么是上佳酸啤酒，喝多几款不同类型比利时Lambic是绝对必要功课，比利时Lambic当然有不少上好酿坊/混酒作坊品牌选择，这其中绝对大师级酿坊Cantillon和 3 Fonteinen的任何作品，无论是Geuze,Framboise或Kriek或其他类型的入门级别或复杂高深作品都是开拓味蕾鉴赏力的美味选择。

Yes---there are many other different styles of sour beers apart from Belgium Lambic---for examples there are American Wild Ale/Sours---or German inspired Gose(sour & salty) or the sour wheat beer of Berliner Weisse---as well as the old bruin/red of Flanders styles sours----in fact there's even sour version of IPAs or Stouts to be found in the "anything is possible" creative world of craft beer including either experimental brew/fusion/play around one off or even regular releases.

本地craft beer市场能找到酸啤酒来说，基本状况只能以差强人意形容，选择有限情况下，想喝佳酿只能往外找，比利时当然最理想（其他欧美啤酒重点城市当然也很不错），亚洲的话东京大阪长期有不少优秀选择，台湾香港新加坡首尔上海北京曼谷不定期也有些不错选择。

有啤迷朋友说过，第一次喝酸啤後脸皱皱逃之夭夭的新朋友不是不能接受酸啤，而是味蕾还没能搞清楚自己喝到的是什么，况且，酸啤也有不同酿坊作品水准高低不一现象，难怪有啤迷霸道的说，“没喝过不同风味比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒（Lambic）基本不能说会喝酸啤酒”！

With so many different styles of sour beers---finding what's nice what's soso what's not nice is something newbies find it a little hard at times since " a sour beer is a beer which taste sour"---that notion is understandable when one is new to the sour beer game---while there is no short cut to improving one's palate appreciation ability--the one "MUST DO" any newbies to sour beers should do is--no matter how many other sour beers one has had---trying out proper Belgium Lambic is a must---while there are some very good Lambic out there---it might be easier to narrow down to 2 absolute legendery masters of lambic for newbies---seek out different styles of lambic( oude gueuze/kriek/frambois) from both 3Fonteinen & Cantillon whenever/wherever you can if new to sour beers---regardless either their entry level brew or more complex/hard to seek bottles---the lambics from these 2( and of course not only these two) will go a long way to opening the senses and palate appreciation ability of newbies.

If you are very new to sour beers---remember these:--

A geek friend once said " newbies who tasted sour beer/s and ran away with a twisted face---the reason why he/she ran away is not because he/she cannot accept sour---it's because his/her palate is not ready for sour beer---they simply cannot figure out what hit emmm"

Another geek friend went a step further by saying "if you have not tasted a few different styles of Lambic---don't say you know sour beers!"

WEEK 153---Know what you are Drinking

Someone very new to craft beer asked " how do new people get familiarize with craft selections easily and rather quickly? "

It is understandable where the question is coming from having seen many a times new people walking into a craft beer bar/ bottle shop and seemingly overwhelmed/ confused/ too excited upon seeing various brands/styles of beers available for selection....

有新朋友说，craft beer那么多不同类型风格啤酒选择，有时候让人看了头昏眼花不知道什么是什么，有没有什么最简单直接的入门方法？

对新朋友来说，开始接触craft beer是有可能感到混淆的，喝酒最重要的是自己喝过品嚐过才能理解酒的味道层次，但新朋友的确有时候搞不清自己喝到什么或只是雾里看花一知半解的不能领略一支酒是好是坏，也谈不上欣赏不同层次变化带来美味。

喝craft beer当然不是件有多么高深难懂的事，只要新朋友有心，可以相当快掌握品饮欣赏分辨酒的好坏基本要诀，虽然过程难免需要一定时间味蕾训练，不变的第一个要诀其实很简单，就是每次喝之前或正在喝时都尽量了解自己喝着的是什么。

The answer to that is simple---newbies just need to do one thing first---know what you are ordering/drinking each time a beer new to you appear---knowing what you are drinking is the single most important thing every new drinkers to craft beer should do---it's the first step to getting to know more about beer styles/flavours profile/nuances and so on.

To people who are are new to the world of craft beer---knowing that drinking craft beer is more of a process to finding deliciousness in a beer form( just like eating good food) is important---the focus is never about downing lots of pints---the focus is about finding different flavours and what makes a beer taste delicious.

是的，新朋友需要做的第一件事就是了解自己在喝什么，craft beer就像美食，嚐的是味道，就像食物有咸酸苦辣甜等等非常多不同味道表现，啤酒也一样有不同味道呈现，了解自己在喝着什么类型风味啤酒是客观评估一支作品水准高低的关键。

一般人绝大多时候在点菜时已经知道要吃的是什么类型味道食物，比如说麻辣火锅香辣，清炖鸡汤鲜美，炸鸡外脆内嫩之类，什么菜色什么概念心里有底。可是来到craft beer世界不同类型啤酒该有什么味道呈现很多新朋友并不清楚，甚至一点概念都没有，换个角度来说，很多时候其实在“盲饮”。 

在酒的世界中，“盲饮”或英文BLIND TASTING是不少人认可的品酒方式，无论喝的是烈酒，葡萄酒或啤酒，盲饮可以让酒名称资料被遮蔽情况下避免喝酒人做出根据酿坊名气/风评或以往作品印象先入为主的评价。啤酒盲饮测试中，喝的人事先只知道酒的类型风格但不知道酿坊品牌资料，通过自己味蕾感受或品酒经验做评断，这种情况下，对craft beer众多不同类型风格啤酒没有基本认识很难做出客观公正评断。

Hence--knowing what you are drinking is really the first step to getting to know more things about why a beer is tasting delicious or otherwise---it's kinda like when eating a Sichuan Hot Pot we expect to experience spiciness/numbness---or when eating steak it should be meaty/beefy/juicy---in another word---most people would have known the expected flavours profile long before eating what he/she ordered.  However--the same cannot be said when it comes to craft beer drinking---many a times some newbies are simply "blind-drinking" not knowing what he/she is having even if they know the name of a beer style.

"Blind Tasting' is commonly accepted as a way to judge alcoholic drinks including craft beer---it's about concealing the brand name/ brewery name/materials used( e.g. hops/malt/yeast used) and such so as to give each and every beer being judged a fair chance of getting judge objectively---not letting the judges being influenced by bigger names/past reputation----but "blind-drinking" by newbies would almost always mean drinking blindly--not giving attentions to the taste profile/nuances of a beer---or don't even care if a beer is in good condition for consumption---some newbies would just drink for the sake of drinking as long as it's "craft-beer' with alcohol----that's definitely NOT what" blind-tasting" is about.

对新朋友来说，什么资料都不看的“日常盲饮”跟正确意义上的盲饮还是有很大不同的，因为什么都不知道情况下尝试craft beer或许是有趣的体会但也可能是会吓跑一些人的体会，有句话说快跑之前先学会怎么好好走，先了解自己喝的是什么才是培养味蕾鉴赏力的正确起步。

那要怎样才知道自己喝的是什么酒？很简单，喝之前或喝着时候看酒标资料就会有相当清楚资讯，有的酒标会有酿酒师说明酒会带来怎样的味道层次享受，要是碰到比较注重酒标设计感所以省略说明的可以上网查找资料了解这款酒是什么，最佳赏味期，用了什么类型麦芽酵母啤酒花，有没有加入什么其他食材比如水果蔬菜咖啡豆茶叶香料等等提味，又或是有没有混合其他不同风味啤酒或不同年份啤酒，是不是经过不同酒类旧酒桶浸泡熟成多久之类的资讯都有助于喝酒人进一步了解酒所该有的味道层次表现是什么，如果是入口啤酒也可以了解是不是运送过程或店家有照顾好酒的品质。

So what do newbies look for to know what he/she is drinking? The most convenient first step is look at label information--at times the info on bottle label/printed on can will be so detail one would know not only the hops/yeast/malts used---bottling/canning date--best before date and so on---but also tasting note from the brewer/s telling drinkers what flavours profile to expect when sipping/when warmer and when finishing....

If you have ordered a glass from the taps with only brewery name/ beer name---or have a bottle/can with very little info except with those two pieces of info---just go on a web search---99% of the time you will be able to find detail or at least basic info about the beer you just ordered...

画个角度看，因为不了解啤酒类型风味特质，只是一直凭着自己喝酒偏见去解读一款酒是不对的，也是很大可能贻笑大方的，经典例子是几年前一位只懂喝大厂啤酒的外国人去了比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒绝对大师级酿坊Cantillon後，在自己完全不懂喝到的是什么类型啤酒情况下，非常关切的在社交媒体上留下了让全世界所有天然发酵酸啤爱好者爆笑的留言 ”如果你爱啤酒，请离这家远远的”！！

另一个例子是一位喝酒人对某一款啤酒写喝後感受，其中一句是”没有什么啤酒花苦涩味道”。咋看之下或许会以为点评的是以啤酒花特色风味（包括苦涩）表现为主轴的啤酒，不过，被点评的那款啤酒特色重点完全不在于啤酒花苦涩味，在这款啤酒寻找啤酒花苦涩味打个比喻就像吃着红番茄芝士披萨然后说怎么不麻不辣的？

"Why do one has to know more about what he;she is drinking? " the answer to that is simple---because you do not want to post on your social media telling the world that the Hawaiian Pizza you had was NOT BEEFY or SPICY or  CREAMY enough---or saying the Vanilla Ice Cream you had does not smell CHOCOLATY---in another word---one should at least know what he/she is/was drinking before judging---above was a guy who went to Brasserie Cantillon and was totally clueless about Lambic but still posted this rather "famous" comment " AVOID this place if you LOVE BEER!"( he thought "it's not beer---it's vinegar!!"

了解自己喝的酒是什么是很简单的动作，也是重要的一步，通过这一步，新朋友可以逐步认识不同类型风格啤酒该有的味道层次表现，也是往后提升自己味蕾鉴赏力必须的基本功课之一。

That being quite a famous/ extreme examples of why knowing what you are drinking is very important apart----for newbies who are interested/keen to improve one's palate appreciation ability as well learn more about what to expect from various beer styles--this is the simple  yet essential first step---only by knowing what we are drinking then one can go on to explore more going forward--much like how we all learn to walk before running..... 

WEEK 152----Of course Beer-Fest are NOT THE SAME

What will be the first image that pop-up when mentioning the word "beer festivals" ?

To majority drinkers/consumers---the word beer-fest is almost synonymous to scene where BIG BEER MUG is flowing with beers while chewing on sausages at the same time. It is fairly common for the public to ONLY associate beer fest with Oktoberfest or some form of one price drink till you full sort of beer buffet promotional "fest".

提起啤酒节三个字会让人即时联想到什么关键词？

对很多人来说，或许最先想到的会是一边吃香肠一边大杯喝酒的德国啤酒节，又或许是能以一个价钱喝到饱喝到倒那种自助餐式“啤酒节”。某种程度上来说，在一般消费者眼中很多时候跟啤酒节联系在一起的字眼大概离不开“酒鬼”，“狂欢”，“醉酒”等负面印象。

事实当然不是那样的，至少在啤酒世界另一端，特别是以分享craft beer文化为出发点的啤酒节就有宣扬品饮/品嚐/慢喝细味不同类型啤酒美味层次的作用，参与的酿酒师/啤迷之间互动都是围绕探讨啤酒不同风味展现，拼命喝饱喝倒完全不适用。

While beer fest is generally perceived as some form of party/drink till you drop boozing activities by some---of course NOT ALL beer fest are the same--of course NOT. At least, in the world of craft beer---there are many beer festivals that focus on exploring deliciousness of a beer--sharing of craft culture as well as knowledge---yes, beer fest can be such rather than an excuse to drop face down.

While it's evidently clear that some of the best craft beer festivals are being held in US-Europe---there are fortunately some craft people who are working on getting the standards of Asia craft beer festivals up to mark---we have already seen efforts being made in cities like Tokyo/Shanghai/Beijing/Hong Kong just to name a few...

虽说craft beer界每年最重点最精彩的啤酒节都在欧美地区举办，不过亚洲还是有一些不错的选择，基本来说，亚洲的”精酿啤酒节”会以三种面貌出现：-

In Asia--generally speaking beer fest can be divided into 3 categories:-

1) MIX of MACRO BEER & craft beer
Obviously the best selling beers which has long been dominating the market are the few household Macro Beer brands from international MACRO giants---these are what the general public know as BEER( and sadly how a beer should taste)--with such high public acceptance and brand recognition----it is no wonder sometime we see a MIX beer fest where MACRO BEER are being served in the same event/venue as craft beer---the thinking behind is simple---since these are beers where majority public already recognized---it's much easier to promote the event with very low risks---there's always a choice of trying something strange(craft beer) or just go back to drinking something very familiar(MACRO).
This type of MIX beer fest do not appeal to beer geeks though some would argue that it's a good opportunity to let some who would to get started with craft drinking--but hey--if selling loads of beers is the aim--then who cares if the beers are tasty or otherwise?

1）大厂啤酒和craft beer一起卖

亚洲啤酒市场占有率当然是由几家国际大公司旗下的几个大厂啤酒品牌以绝对优势领先，这意味着无论是市场营销和围堵销售点所需财力人力都在大厂啤酒那边，craft beer的力量是有限的，因为这样，就有了混合型啤酒节的出现，对主办方来说，既然消费者最熟悉大厂啤酒，那大厂啤酒和craft beer一起提供的“啤酒节”自然是最保险的做法。

这类型啤酒节对啤迷来说缺乏吸引力，不过有人觉得啤酒就是要同欢共乐，不必分什么大厂或精酿，反正只是啤酒，喜欢喝哪一种各适其所就好，也有人觉得这是可以让一些只喝大厂啤酒饮客认识什么是craft beer的机会，因为很多啤迷都是从一开始什么都不知道只会猛灌大厂啤酒到有机会接触craft beer并对品饮啤酒概念有了认识後才知道啤酒其实不是只用来干杯YamSeng的。

2) craft beer fest by importers/local breweries
In ASIA---when there are supplies of imported craft beers--that means there are at least a few guys who are working on getting beers from overseas regardless if that's out of love or smelling a business opportunity---a city do need importers to stir up the craft beer scene with delicious choices---and many a times we do see importers gang up to organize big or small scale craft beer festivals as a way to get more public participation/ to promote craft or some form of promotional activities to reward existing craft drinkers.
At Asia cities where local breweries are permitted(in Malaysia there is NO license permitted for any small breweries---even home brew is ILLEGAL)---sometimes we see beer fest with mix of imported beers and local brew---or even special colla-brew between imported brewery and local brewery for the fest which can be a nice touch/talking point especially if the brew quality is up there.

2）进口/在地酿坊个别或一起推动

有craft beer喝的亚洲城市意味着至少有几个进口商在努力把自身所在地没有的一些优秀欧美纽澳等海外品牌带入市场，平时除了在酒吧瓶子店可以买到喝到，一些进口商也会联手办或大或小的啤酒节活动，一来希望可以让更多人参与，二来也可以当做或促销或回馈的市场营销活动。

有在地酿坊的城市比如东京香港台湾北京上海新加坡等等，有时候不同酿坊之间会合作办个活动，一次过让大家可以在一个场地喝到不同品牌酿品，当然有时候也会参与进口商啤酒节，形成进口和在地啤酒一起喝的活动，偶尔也会有外国酿坊和在地酿坊为了啤酒节合酿的限量特别款出现刺激话题和买气。

3) the Heavy-Weight level beer fest
It is indeed very hard to convince everyone which beer fest can be deemed as heavy-weight while others don't---it's kinda all in the eyes of the beer-glass-holders.
Personally speaking---the key to deciding if a beer fest is of certain weight is to look at one and only one thing--the list of participating breweries---whether there are breweries appearing for the first time in ASIA---as well as how "rare"/"hyped" the breweries are according to geeks opinions/ social media/ beer ratings sites/apps----of course these are very subjective and totally not conclusive/decisive enough to call but i'll leave it as that.

In ASIA---in all honestly there are really very little heavy-weight beer fest---of course there are efforts being made in cities like Tokyo- Beijing- Shanghai- Seoul as well as Hong Kong--personally if i were to pick one--then undoubtedly it will have to be MBCT (the mini version of MBCC) which will be held indoor this coming September at Shibuya Tokyo---though it's not comparable in terms of depth/width of the Copenhagen original version---the level of some participating breweries be it making a debut in Asia or coming back for a second year running is by far the best line ups Asia has seen (yet).

On another note---for LAMBIC lovers who love Cantillon--it is lovely that Asia has been allocated some beers during the annual Zwanze Day celebration though it has always been confined to 3 bars in Japan--with a surprise inclusion of Shanghai since last year--though Zwanze Day is not a "beer fest"scale wise---its nice to know that if you are in Tokyo- Nagoya-Nara or Shanghai this Sept--you will be able to sip on 2019 Zwanze Day brew along with whatever else available on that day.

3）重量级啤酒节

怎么去判断一个啤酒节的份量轻重是见仁见智的事，不同喝酒人会有不同诠释，个人意见，最主要就是看参与酿坊名单，换个说法，就是一些人口中的稀有度（或嘲讽式的“虚荣度”），意思是说，出现在啤酒节活动中的酿坊品牌在啤迷/评酒网站或手机程式中的口碑/风评，是不是第一次在亚洲出现，又或是在亚洲有进口但特别带来从没出现过酒款等因素决定。

在亚洲，这样份量的啤酒节不多，近年的确有人在北京上海香港尝试举办，个人来说，去年第一次在新宿公园主办然后今年九月中改在涉谷一个室内场地举行的哥本哈根啤酒庆典（MBCC)缩小版东京啤酒庆典（MBCT），以参与酿坊名单“稀有度”来说，虽然跟丹麦原版啤酒周活动的厚度宽度深度没得比，但毫无疑问仍是亚洲最有份量的啤酒节。

此外，对喜欢比利时天然发酵果酸啤酒的人来说，绝对大师级酿坊Cantillon每年发表特醸的Zwanze Day活动也是备受全球酸啤迷关注的重量级活动，可喜的是亚洲有分到一杯羹，从此前每年只能在日本入口商选定的三家日本酒吧进行，去年相对意外的上海有一家酒吧获得比利时酿坊首肯参与，所以从去年开始亚洲版Zwanze Day变成4家酒吧参与其盛，今年九月尾活动已公布酒吧分别位于日本东京，名古屋，奈良，以及中国上海。