WEEK 36---BANGKOK Craft-Spotting

曼谷，很多人喜欢去吃喝玩乐的城市。

跟东南亚很多城市一样，曼谷是长久以来被普通大厂啤酒(包括自家泰国品牌）淹没的CRAFT BEER沙漠。

两年多三年前，情况才开始转变。

曼谷撞意啤酒文化在逐步延伸着，过去18个月有不少新酒吧/餐厅开始能找到CRAFT BEER喝。虽说可能很大程度上还是混合着普通大厂啤酒来卖，至少，这城市的CRAFT门是开了。

近期很多啤迷去曼谷的最大动力很大程度上是因为“米吧”。有啤迷朋友觉得，要是把“米吧”从曼谷挪开的话，还能有什么理由特地飞去喝啤酒吗？

这问题留待时间来回答，看看未来18个月曼谷会不会出现更多不同类型/品牌的撞意啤酒/专卖酒吧/专卖瓶子店。。

BANGKOK---a city many people love going for all kinds of reasons-----EXCEPT BEER.

almost 3 years ago---there's basically little to non for craft beer drinkers to chose from---this is a city very similar to many South East Asia cities---where beer market is flooded by big boring factory beers( be it national brew or imported---in the case of BKK, of course there's a couple of national brands dominating the market apart from the imported ones)

Obviously---the beer scene in BKK is changing--- the past 18 month or so---there's a flow of new bars/restaurants serving craft beer---though most are not selling 100% craft beer, with usual factory beers in the mix---at the very least, doors been opened for craft beers.

As it is, drinking beer in BKK is getting more interesting than before, however, there's a question of "what if there's no Mikkeller bar--what other choices left? " in the mind of beer geek/beer nerd/beer snob....would be interesting to see how the craft scene evolve in the next 18 months....

QUOTES:-
"one thing about BKK craft beer scene is that many bars/restaurants are still selling the usual big factory beers--besides Mikkeller Bar, the other 100% craft beer dedicated bar is Craft-the pop up bar"

"Craft--the pop up bar--a semi open air bar located at Shukumvit Soi23---if you love US brew+some Japanese brew--this is the place. 8 taps when visited--food choices is nice since it's related to the next door restaurant. "

"Mikkeller Bar--this could be the reason many beer geek getting into town for---could be a bit hard to locate for newbie since it's tucked in an old bungalow in Ekkamai,definitely not your usual bar set up...." 

"HOBS--few bars in different parts of BKK that sell both craft beer and usual factory beers."

"Brew Beers & Ciders--also having a few bars in and around BKK--selling both craft beer and factory beers."

"other noticeable new bars/restaurants that sell craft beer inlcudes places like Beerology,Niche Beerville, Sway, The Beer Bridge, White Beer'd...."  

"of all the slightly older or newer bars which sell both usual factory beers and craft beer---both HOBS(house of beers) and Brew Beers & Ciders are having slight edge over the new comers in terms of craft bottles selection..."

NEXT WEEK--TOKYO BEER SPOTTING

WEEK 35--WHAT's in a name?

首先，要承认自己是BEER SNOB，也是GEEK。

SNOB是因为已经好几年不碰普通大厂啤酒，也有时候不喝一些自觉不是心目中那杯的“轻量级”酿品。（不是指LAGER或PALE ALE---比较多是看酿酒师/品牌/产地）

说了这些，其实这一期写的只是玩笑性质，没有什么需要认真的。

无论是NEWBIE也好，SNOB.GEEK或NERD都好，重要的只是要欣赏好的作品。就像听歌那样，有那么多不同类别音乐，虽说每个人口味不一样，可总是会有一两种或以上是对味的。

喝CRAFT BEER---讲究的是对味。

花名这玩意儿，笑笑就好。

This is more of a jest than anything serious.

First, have to admit that i have been turned into a SNOB, as well a GEEK ever since craft found me---or maybe it's the other way round....by that i mean no more "factory beer" for the past few years...

Anyway--craft beer is a bit like music---there's so many different genre out there---there bound to be something that would suits your taste....regardless if you are a Newbie, SNOB/GEEK/NERD or whatever...

The thing about craft beer is simple---just find the taste/s you like---and you are good to go.... 

as for nicknames---it's just a play...nothing serious.

QUOTES:-
"BEER GEEK--there's no clear definition--it's just how deep are you into--and you could very much just measure yourself/label yourself with one if you think you are...."

"BEER SNOB---it's a bit like self-pleasuring by calling yourself a snob.."

"BEER NERD-- kind of like someone who is into fashion trend or antique collection--you would chase some rare bottles-- JUST GOTTA HAVE EMMMMMM...."

NEXT WEEK---craft in BKK

WEEK 34--drink Craft--learn ABC

这期来点“免费英语教学”。

当然是开玩笑的。

喜欢撞意啤酒的新朋友可能最先发现的就是变化多端，什么STYLE都有的瓶子贴纸，这跟之前大厂啤酒比较统一化，比较沉闷的帖子/设计有很大不同。

然后，再仔细留意的话，会发现有些酿酒师会在瓶子贴纸上“留言”--会告诉你为什么这酒是这样酿，或用了什么啤酒花，什么麦，什么酵母，什么提味食材之类的，又或是这是向谁谁谁或什么传统文化致敬之类的信息。

撞意啤酒之所以好玩，有时候不是只在于酒本身，有时候酒背后的小故事，初念，想法都让喝CRAFT BEER这件事变得更有趣味。

这期的ABC都是很浅白撞意啤酒单词，就像喝啤酒这回事一样，没有什么太复杂的，喝了-------自然就懂了。

One of the things newbie drinkers would probably notice very early on is the ever changing--free form expression--almost anything goes--different labels design on the bottles.

And then you might slowly noticed that it is not just the graphic design---the labels actually contain lots of other thing---such as info about why a particular beer is brewed the way it is---basic info of what malt/what yeasts/what hops/what other organic/food item added and so on.....sometimes the label would say this is in tribute to so and so/or to a particular tradition/culture....

All these make drinking craft beer a little more fun--the fact that there's a little info here and there to pick up--to understand what's behind a brewer's thinking/cultural influence/little stories behind the scene.....

QUOTES:-
"BA is not an abbreviation for a university degree---it stands for the word Barrel Aged---the process of aging a beer"

"BA does NOT necessarily make beers taste better--some beers are better off without BA--the Original version could taste much better"

"Carbonation has always been the benchmark for big factory beer drinkers--to determine if a beer has gone bad---not always correct when you are opening a craft beer bottle---because some craft beer were born WITHOUT much carbonation or none at all..."

"Craft beer--anyone or everyone who thought this is just the same bloody boring/one dimensional "alcoholic yellow piss"--try it--then you will see...."

NEXT UP--what's your nick name?

WEEK 33--"GUAILOH" Cooling Tea---SAISON

这是上星期的专栏。

说的是“鬼佬”凉茶--广东话啤酒的泛词。

SAISON是法语季节一词演变而成一种啤酒类别，指的是传统以来，农家在冷季节酿造，准备夏天喝的啤酒。

换成亚洲人的说法，就是热天消暑的“凉茶”。

当然，SAISON不只是“凉茶”这么简单，虽然普遍来说，这个类别在亚洲似乎并没有IPA或黑啤类那么受落。

某些程度来说，好像被忽略或被误解为易喝无难度无层次啤酒类。

这个，是要归咎东南亚，甚至亚洲来说，市面上不多SAISON选择？还是因为口味关系？

SAISON，肯定不只是消暑凉茶而已。

This is last week's column.

In giving SAISON a nickname--"GUAILOH Cooling Tea"--which is the direct translation of the Cantonese word--"foreigners' herbal tea"--which is referring to beer--rather than tea.

Saison is traditionally being prepared during cold season, to be consumed in the summer--as a thirst quencher---a little bit like what some Asians/Chinese always do--if you feeling "Heaty"--go drink some herbal tea.

Generally speaking, it seems Saison is not a much sought after category of beer as compared to say IPA or porter/stout in South East Asia--or the whole of Asia. 

Not sure if this is due to what's available in the market, or it's just a personal taste issue, but the fact that there's not that many selection available here locally is a fact that hopefully would change in the not too long future...

QUOTES:-
"if you ask a brewer, is saison a straight forward easy beer or a complex one--answer would be the latter"

"someone once said, saison is the type of beer you would find  closest to wine in many aspects"


THIS SUNDAY's column will be uploaded in few days time....

WEEK 32---Denmark-Kiwi---chit chat with Soren Erickson---8WIRED

8WIRED的酿酒师/创办人SOREN ERIKSEN是丹麦人。

不过，他第一次玩自酿是在澳洲，送他简单自酿工具的是当时的女朋友，现在的太太。

他成名的地方是纽西兰，理由很简单，因为是太太的故乡。

要是很老土的简介，大概可以把8WIRED说成是一个爱情酿的酒故事。

本地去年开始有不少8WIRED啤酒可选择，比如，还不是很习惯喝IPA的新朋友可以试试SEMI CONDUCTOR（半导体）较浅IPA。喜欢加强版本的可以试试SUPER CONDUCTOR。如果喜欢有点海洋咸味的STOUT可以试I-STOUT或BIG SMOKE。要挑战味蕾+酒精度的可以试MIGHTY。。。

If there's a cliche angle to tell the story of 8Wired---say from the HOLLYWOOD angle---then we could probably say it's a love story..:)

The fact that why Soren Ericksen made his name in New Zealand instead of Denmark where there‘s no shortage of big names brewers is sort of well documented( for those who are in the known)

This week's column is a short chit chat with Soren.

QUOTES:-

#why New Zealand?
"I moved to NZ 8 years ago. My wife is from NZ so I followed her down here, same old story really."

#what makes you think 8wired could work?
"The response was good right from the beginning but more importantly I liked what we were brewing. We never really had a plan set out to grow big but it always felt like it could work."

#comments from various people(ratebeer/advocate..)affects you?
"It doesn't affect my personal mood or mental state, no. But I do take the feedback on board and try and improve things that people don't like. If I agree with them at least, if it is just a matter of personal preference, there is not much we can do about that."

#winning( or not) international awards--affects you?
"It makes me happy to win awards of course but it doesn't affect the way we are brewing or which beers we are making."

#brew at own pace or do more to meet increasing demand?
"We have always been relatively limited by capacity and flexibility, but we are in the process of building a new brewery. Once this is fully up and running in early 2015 we will have a lot of room to grow. We don't have any specific sales targets, nor do we have a cap on how big we want to be. But I don't have much desire to become so big that I loose touch with the daily production of brewing."

#what to expect in the next 12-18month'?
"There will be a lot of new beers when the new brewery is operational. On top of that we have the biggest program of barrel aged sour beers in the southern hemisphere (250 barrels currently). These are slowly starting to mature so there will be a lot of these released in the next couple of years. "

#in South east asia--only Singapore is ok to homebrew--Bangkok & KL is illegal to do that--how to help spread the craft culture?

"Good question, i don't know. Homebrewing is always one of the best ways to start a good beer culture, but if that is not legal, then I don't know..."

#words for newbie
"Keep an open mind and try as many different beers as you can find:)

NOT included in the newspaper column

#any ritual when brewing?
"Not really. The only think I would mention is that I hate to store open bags of hops, so every recipe I write is in multiples of 5 kg." 

#on being invited to CBC(Copenhagen beer celebration)

"We've been invited to CBC all three years but have only managed to make it to one of them. We will be back next year though. It is of course a great honour to be invited to join such a great line up of world class breweries."

"Great experience of course. Not just trying many different beers but also networking with breweries from all over the world."

#Best 3 places to drink beer?

Portland (Oregon), Russian River (Santa Rosa, California), Warkworth (New Zealand, home of our new brewery).

NEXT uploading of weekly column will be after 13th NOV as the writer is going on a small beer trip soon.

NEXT UP--"GUAILOH LEONGCHA"---saison

"SAVING THE WORLD"---1 year AFTER--from Rochefort 8 to FFF

去年10月，随意的开始了这个部落客。

那时候PO了一瓶自己蛮喜欢的ROCHEFORT 8，写了开场白。

最初只想写个完全以中文为主的BLOG，因为每次去CRAFT BEER BAR 总是看到洋人饮客/朋友居多，就有点想 “拯救世界”的--觉得是不是可以开一个随意聊撞意啤酒的中文BLOG，或许这样可以有点帮助到本地CRAFT BEER文化的散播。。

后来觉得，或许应该写点英文（文法不好也不管了），这样可以认识更多同好，也好让不懂中文的朋友/受访者了解到底有没有被乱写。。

就那样，从随意聊到可以在“光明日报”星期刊写点东西分享，这个月算是部落客的一周年，上星期刚好碰上曼谷“米吧”的THREE FLOYDS TAP TAKE OVER---就当作是这个BLOG的周年庆，冲着第一次在亚洲上了啤酒泵的FFF喝去了。。算是小小庆祝BLOG点阅率在10月过了1万。

东南亚撞意啤酒市场还在起步，大家都多点动起来，多些分享，多些喝好啤酒。。。

有人说“喝酒是有固打的，别浪费在无谓/难喝酒精饮料了”。

Last year this month, the thought of writing something for the Chinese speaking/reading drinkers creep in.

Looking back it was a bit of a laughable notion of trying to "save the world"---you know, when you walk in a craft beer bar full of expats/tourists and very few locals--the feeling of maybe you could do something to spread the love of craft beer via your language kinda got this blog started....:)

So obviously the plan of doing a 100% Chinese writing did not go to plan---as the thought of trying to connect to friends/people who don't read Chinese---and so "double work" of having a English version as well---which probably is a good thing---at least brewers can see if what they have said been distorted or misquoted or not...

Last Oct--a bottle of Rochefort 8 started this blog---this time--since it kind of coincide in the same month-- this blog celebrated "saving the world" by going to Bangkok for FFF tap take over at Mikkeller Bar BKK...kind of celebrating blog has surpassed 10,000 hit early this month organically...

1 year has passed since the blog started--the world looks pretty much the same--craft beer movement in south east asia is still very much in the starting stage, moving forward slowly...

"saving the world" mission is far from being accomplished--so people, let's help to spread more love to those who are still very blur about what the hell craft beer is/are/what/where/how/why......

WEEK 31--more than just SOUR--LAMBIC(part 2/2)

上期和NEIL聊聊LAMBIC事，这期继续。

关于LAMBIC，说的多不如自己尝味。

就如本期专栏说的，说到底，LAMBIC或其他类别啤酒都好，最主要是找到适合自己口味，自己喜欢的。

至于LAMBIC的关键词，最基本有三个：-

GUEUZE--有布鲁塞尔香槟别称--基本是新旧LAMBIC酒混合，有气泡，较复杂。

KRIEK--就是以酸樱桃为主，是意义上更传统的果酸啤酒。

OUDE--正宗原味标准。完全没有加糖版本。

Last week's chit chat with NEIL on Lambic continues:-

QUOTES:-

changes you noticed through the years?
"Things are pretty different now. The demand for the good stuff has massively increased and consequently it’s a lot more difficult to get the rarer bottles, even at the brewery. However, the regular beers appear in a lot more places than before, and the increased interest means that there are a lot of non-Belgian breweries trying similar things, with mixed success, in my opinion."

many craft brewers are into spontaneous brews/lambic--your take?
"Well, this is an interesting and slightly contentious question. There has been a lot of discussion over the use of the words Lambic and Gueuze. Personally, I feel that only beers made in the Payottenland area of Belgium should be allowed to be called Lambic or Gueuze, much in the same way as the use of the name Champagne is protected. However, the Cantillon boss has the opposite opinion, and my opinion is of no importance next to his. "

"Given my feeling I would say that not only the best Lambics are from Belgium, but that all real Lambics are from Belgium. Semantics aside though, there are some fine Lambic-style beers being made in other places, along with a lot of rubbish."

what is lambic to you?

"Difficult question. I am not the kind of person who is obsessed with one particular style. I like all different kinds of beers, but Lambic is right up there in my favourite few styles. Recently, better availability means that I now don’t have to restrict my Lambic drinking to when I am in Belgium and this availability has in some ways increased my desire for lambic."

"I remember having a sudden craving for a Cantillon Gueuze in the middle of a Sunday evening and was able to walk 20 minutes and get a bottle. It probably helps being in a large city like Tokyo or in Belgium for this to be possible though. But the point I am trying to make is that I don’t think there are many other beer styles that would make me even consider a sudden unplanned trip out on a Sunday evening when I have plenty of beer in the fridge. Because the taste is such a unique one, it’s something that is difficult to find a substitute for when a craving hits."

misguided perceptions about lambic?
"Basically, it seems that the consensus is that the more difficult it is to get hold of, the nicer it tastes, which is pretty ridiculous, but it’s easy to get caught up in the hype. You could easily spend a lot of money getting hold of various limited editions released in one bar or shop in the world and find that you prefer one of the regular beers. So best to choose a Lambic maker you enjoy and find one of their beers where they are playing around a bit, with ingredients that you enjoy."

so how?
"For those people who have tried the basics and want something more, the best thing I can suggest is follow your gut instinct and pick one that sounds nice to you from the ingredients used to make it."

anything else?
"you have to get to know a Lambic a bit before you really get on well together. Generally speaking, look for the word ‘Oude’. This means that you are getting the good stuff, rather than the nasty sweetened stuff that goes around pretending to be an authentic part of the tradition."

NOT included in newspaper column:-
"Going to the Cantillon brewery and seeing where the beer is made also somehow enhances the experience. It’s a very different brewery visit than the usual walk round a warehouse with some gleaming equipment in it. Now I am so far from Belgium and unable to visit six times a year like I used to, I have to get my Lambic fill elsewhere. However, there is something special about drinking it in Belgium, and in particular Brussels."

"At least for me anyway. Our modern world allows us to get almost anything delivered to any place,  but there is something to be said for the excitement of visiting a place and enjoying a product in the city it was made and in the environment it was created. Although the thirst quenching aspects would make it perfect for a hot Asian summer evening, it’s somehow more special when the sun manages to peak out from behind the heavy cloud when you’re sitting on a terrace in Belgium with this most Belgian of beers."

NEXT WEEK---when Denmark met New Zealand---8WIRED--chit chat with Soren Eriksen