Friday, June 12, 2015

CBC---Copenhagen Beer Craving---SIDE NOTES

CBC 2015 is over--yet memory still alive & kicking--this one is more of a personal note-- of beers tasted in Copenhagen--before, during CBC,.
去了哥本哈根出席CBC2015, 啤酒庆典是重点之余,几家酒吧当然也是要去要看的。。这期比较是个人的寻啤记录。写写找到什么,喝了什么之类的。。看图或看酒单就很清楚,就不多写中文版本了。
Looking at the little black book i was carrying through out the 2 days--4 sessions CBC--though tasted some awesome beers, but miss out on a lot more.... 
Before CBC-
Arriving on 28th April---the day when Mikkeller Viktoriagade was having THREE FLOYDS tap takeover-- simply no missing out on this one...
Dark Lord + Zombie Dust+ Dark Lord vanilla bean--talk about triple fisting


Warpigs brewpub is still spanking new in every sense of the words--lots of geeks who descended on Copenhagen end up here....

ALSO--A little bottle share session at Mikkeller bar(thanks Rob)
The day before CBC---found these two delights at Mikkeller and friends
DAY 1---YELLOW SESSION
一早就跟朋友来排队,一到已经有更早到的啤迷们。风有点凉,不过,为了好喝啤酒,风不算什么。
went early--line up--went in---took my time to walk around--took some photos....then only started...here's the list of beers tasted:-
1)      TO OL  flower sour   10% ( oak aged elder lower sour)
2)      The Kernel  London sour,damson 4.3%(Berliner weisse with fruit)
3)      The Kernel  Pale Ale Nelson Sauvin 5.4%
4)      8wired  Rastafari unchained  6% BA stout
5)      B.Nectar Zombie Killer 5.5%  Cherry Honey Cider
6)      Omnipollo  Yellow Belly Sundae 12% Bourbon BA peanut butter biscuit stout
7)      Arizona Wilderness Denmark in the desert BA pappy barrels 8.7%  sour peach porter
8)      Bell’s Black Note  11.5%  Bourbon BA imperial stout
9)      Alpha State  Raspberry Cheese Cake IPA  6.5%  speciality beer
10)  Surly BA Darkness 10.3% Russian Imperial stout Rye Whiskey
11)  Mikkeller Spontantripleblueberry 10% Sour
12)  Warpigs Christiana Chronic  6% malt liquor
13)  Side Project Biere du Pays  4% Farmhouse Ale
14)  Alpha State  Vanilla Mocha Shake  10% Imperial Stout
15)  Cigar City  Jai Alai 7.5%  IPA
16)  Westbrook  Bittermilk 8% Rye old ale aged in old fashioned barrels
17)  Alesmith Coconut Speedway stout  11% Russian imperial stout
18)  Buxton  BA Dragon Tips 9.1% imperial stout with Chipotle, maple syrup & bacon
19)  Mikkeller Rieslingale  6.7%
20)  Jester King  Repose  8.3% biere de garde brewed Hay and refermented in brandy barrel
21)  Arizona Wilderness  American president stout 9.5%
22)  Beavertown BA bone king  8.9%  BA DIPA
23)  TO OL  Mead Cleaver  9%  mead
24)  Siren Life is a peach –collab with omnipollo 6.4% fruited IPA
25)  Siren Maiden 2014  11% blended BA barleywine
26)  Jackie O’s  Berliner Weisse  5%
27)  Green Flash  West coast ipa with mango & fresno chilli  8.1% DIPA
28)  Buxton Two ton ipa  11% DIPA
29)  Cycle  Wednesday- Rye batch 500  10.5%  Rye whiskey BA imperial stout
30)  Tired Hands  Portcullis  6% blended saison 

DAY 1 ---BLUE SESSION
1)      Mikkeller  Sour Ol Ananas  7%  sour
2)      Omnipollo  Fruit tap orange juice pale  5%  fruit beer
3)      Magic Rock Bearded lady BA chocolate orange  10.5% grand marnier imperial stout
4)      The Kernel  Farmhouse—collab with Jester King  3.2%
5)      Alesmith Hammerhead speedway stout   11%  imperial stout
6)      Arizona Wilderness  sweet potato saison-tequila barrel  8.4%  farmhouse saison
7)      Buxton the living end BA bourbon  10.1%  BA imperial stout
8)      Brekeriet  Kombucha  6%  sour ale
9)      Superstition Meadery  Portuguese Blindfold 14% dessert mead
10)  Siren Dippy and the equinox-collab with boneyard  8%  something hoppy
11)  Alpha State  Levemand (laphroiag & bourbon BA blend)  10% imperial stout
12)  Alpha State  Equinox IPA 7.5%
13)  Side Project Grisette 4%  farmhouse ale
14)  Beavertown Heavy Water 9% imperial stout with sour cherries & sea salt
15)  18th Street  Deal with the devil  9.4% IPA
16)  Surly Pentagram 6.7% wood aged sour
17)  Warpigs Smoldering holes BA sherry  9.6% imperial stout with vanilla
18)  Surly  BA devils works  6.7%  robust porter BA rye whisley

DAY 2---RED SESSION
sort of purposely went to venue slightly late--having experienced the awesomeness of day 1--it's natural for palate to go slightly slow in wanting to rush again....in fact inside the hall--it felt a lot more calmer than yesterday--everyone seem to take a slower pace..
经过第一天后,很自然的会稍微放慢脚步--实际上不只是我,整个体育馆内的氛围都是比较放松的,可以感觉到大家都没有像昨天那样冲。。
1)      18th Street  Contessa  6.5%  Saison with pink & green peppercorn & pink seasalt
2)      Surly Eight  11% Rye whiskey BA oat wine
3)      Boxing Cat Donkey punch porter  5.6%  robust porter with ancho chilli & cocao
4)      Lervig –collab with Magic Rock  6% farmhouse IPA
5)      Brewdog  Bowman’s Beard  18.3% Double Barleywine
6)      Buxton Bloc Head  6.1%  farmhouse pale ale
7)      Superstition Meadery Blueberry Spaceship Box  6.9%  fruit cider
8)      Alpha State  Sorachi Black Ipa  6%
9)      Westbrook Lichtenhainer Weisse  4% smoked sour wheat
10)  Alpha State  Black Forest Gateau 10% imperial stout
11)  Edge  Midnight lullaby 8.1%  BA imperial stout
12)  Firestone Walker Agrestic  6.6% American wild ale
13)  Crooked Stave  Origins  6.5%  Burgundy sour ale BA wine
14)  Boneyard  Suge Knite 13% Imperial stout
15)  Jester King Natural Union –collab with Prairie 7.1% farmhouse ale brewed with lemon beebalm rosemary  
16)  Tired Hands  Only Void 12% imperial stout
17)  7th Sun Octopus has no friends 6.1%  sour brown
18)  Cellar Maker  Imperial coffee & cigarettes 10.4%  lightly smoked coffee porter
19)  Way Beer  Purple High 5  -collab with AZWilderness 5.5% fruit sour with raspberry fermented in Cachaca barrels


Day 2---GREEN SESSION
while waiting in line to get in again for the last session of CBC 2015--you could feel it already--that everyone seems to have "come alive" once again and ready to dash for the beers....
到下午最后一个环节,很清楚可以感觉到,整个大堂内那种冲劲又上扬了。。
1)      Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout   11% spiced imperial stout
2)      Side Project Lattice 6%  farmhouse ale
3)      Westbrook 2014 BA Mexican Cake(tequila barrel)  11% BA imperial stout
4)      Lervig  #Grapeful Oat IPA  6% dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin & Hallertau Blanc
5)      Omnipollo Protein Shake IIPA  8% DIPA
6)      B.Nektar Meadery  Scurvy Shyster Bastard 11.5% grape juice fermented with orange blossom honey, dry hopped with citra, Amarillo hops, elder flowers & grapefruit zest
7)      MAD beer Old lambic BA sherry jerez  5%
8)      Westbrook Shane’s Big DIPA 9%
9)      Mikropolis Toffee Tequila  15% classic cocktail
10)  Surly Damien  7.7% small beer made from “darkness”
11)  Mikkeller  BA X imperial stout Mikkeller/Spirits bourbon Ed  16% BA imperial stout
12)  Beavertown  BA ‘Spresso  8.5% BA stout
13)  Gigantic One Step Beyond 13%  BA quad
14)  8wired Flanders Pale  6%  pale sour beer
15)  Alpha State Larsen’s Ruin( Moonshine BA) 10% imperial stout
16)  Alpha State Larsen’s Ruin( Ardbeg  BA)  10%  imperial stout
17)  Edge brewing  Brass Knuckles BA  10.1% American strong
18)  Edge Flor de la Vida  4.7%  American pale ale
19)  TO OL Mr. Bombastic  10.4% long time boiled barleywine
20)  Brekeriet  Smokey Sour  6%  Sour ale
21)  Stillwater  Liquid Rio-collab with Morada  4% peach Berliner Weisse
22)  Lervig  Once You Go Black (2013 vintage) 13.5% bourbon BA imperial stout

Somehow ended CBC 2015 with a bottle found in Amsterdam which i shared with some new found friends---perhaps the name of the lost abbey beer is just a nice conclusion to a wonderful beer trip....Angels Share....

If were to count the number of beers tasted--it's really very little as compared to total available--but it's ok, for me CBC is not just about getting as much beers possible...and I really enjoy having coffee, cold brew, sausages and cheese in between chasing beers...

整体来说,喝到的佳酿不少,当然要是算数量的话就喝的不多,反正个人感觉良好就可以,那么多不同高手酿酒师的佳酿,如果胃口饱和了,勉强为了喝而喝反而是种不尊敬。

Monday, June 8, 2015

WEEK 52---the small matters of CBC 2015

This week's column is very much like an intro to CBC for general readers---about what the fest( or fuss?) is all about....why geeks fly all the way from far and wide to attend.... 

之前有幸出席了在哥本哈根举行的CBC 2015--这期专栏很浅白说下这次啤酒庆典的几件小事。。。
就像电影,音乐或美食那样,撞意啤酒在不同城市每年也有各种庆典。
各大小庆典中,有些啤酒庆典是啤迷想出席却未必一定能的。

比如说,很多啤迷心目中的两大CRAFT啤庆典,其一是历史悠久,每年在美国科罗拉多州丹佛市举行的THE GREAT AMERICAN FESTIVAL,或简称GABF,这是美国撞意啤酒大聚会。另一是近年才开始,由丹麦名牌MIKKELLER主办,每年4月底5月初在哥本哈根举行的COPENHAGEN BEER CELEBRATION(简称CBC),跟GABF不同,虽然规模小,汇聚的是世界各地包括欧美,南美洲,亚洲,大洋洲各大高手酿品。
just like the music scene or movie industry--there's plenty of festivals going on in the craft beer world---some huge, some big, some smaller..
to some geeks--there's 2 beers fest that's really high on the list of "must go--wanna go"---one is THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL or GABF in short---that's an annual gathering of lots and lots of American beers in Denver, Colorado.

The other one is a fairly new kid in beer fest terms but already attracting such immense interest worldwide--Copenhagen Beer Celebration( or CBC in short) held annually at a gymnasium in the city of Copenhagen---with beers from lots of different places around the world being gathered and celebrated. 

What is CBC?
in a nutshell----a fest where you will find  "damn famous--or insanely hyped--but so bloody damn hard to find beers" + "crazy beers" + "experimental brews" + "first release to public beers"..and so on so forth---all come under one roof---literally.

What to expect?
this is a beer fest where often tickets are sold well off months before the actual event date---yes---it's like going to a mega rock star concerts---tickets can be gone almost as soon as sale open ONLINE----yup--there's no on site ticket for sale during the 2 days fest.
什么是CBC?
直截了当,就是汇聚了超级出名但很难找到啤酒,疯狂啤酒,实验性酿品,新啤酒等等各地高手酿酒师心血作品,为期两天的啤酒庆典。
有什么值得期待?
跟之前几届一样,这是很多时候有钱也买不到入场票的庆典。除非受邀或你是工作人员,入场需要买票。问题是,庆典那两天,现场完全没票卖。门票几个月前通过网上订购方式出售,如果说陈奕迅周杰伦张惠妹演唱会门票常被秒杀,CBC也一样,几万啤迷抢每个场次的1000张票,基本秒杀。根据主办方数字,这次有来自25个国家啤迷上网抢购,尝试但买不到票的次数接近8万。
 重点是?
大家都冲着众多受邀酿酒师啤酒而来。或许可以这样比喻,这场庆典就像是汇聚了世上最顶尖厨师,最受看好新秀厨师,甚至是已登上“厨神”位置大师级美食的飨宴。2天,4场,接近50个不同CRAFT品牌,不少于三四百种美味啤酒,啤迷能不心动?
如果你是爱电影的,可以想象康城或威尼斯影展星光熠熠画面。(当然,CBC不是比赛性质)
What so great?
it's ALL ABOUT THE BEERS--obviously. if you were to imagine a gourmet food fair--it's something like you will get to taste food prepared by some of the best chefs in the world---the most famous--the up and coming--even the legendary chefs.
2 days--4 sessions---hundreds of different beers--good enough?


How is it like?
here's 4 sessions with different tickets for each--for examples the 1st day morning session is Yellow, afternoon session is Blue--- if you hold a PINK ticket--then yes it's a 2 days ALL sessions pass, you get to taste all the hundreds of beers on site--if you so desire--all with a specially crafted taster glass given while entering--and that is all you need--no money is needed for BEERS because it's all inclusive.
现场情况怎样?
CBC只有两天,会场在小体育馆,每天分早场(早上10点到下午2点半)和下午场(下午3点半到8点)。票以颜色区分,比如第一天早场黄色,下午蓝色。如果你拿粉红色票,那就是两天4场通行票。门票已包含酒钱,啤迷只需排队入场,拿到特制尝味小杯後就可开始忙活。

没有就没有了
出席啤迷都知道,CBC游戏规则是,每位酿酒师每一场次只带2桶不同啤酒来,一些备受期待,盛名赫赫或平时死鬼难找到啤酒一定出现人龙,大家一早乖乖排队,因为都知道,那桶珍贵的啤酒发完了,就是完了,有再多钱也没用,现场再没有同样啤酒配给了。
When a beer is finished---it's bloody finished
everyone knows--that's the golden rule--and the fun part of CBC(or maybe some would say not so fun if bloody missed out)--for each session--no matter how hard to find/famous/rare/hyped or whatever you wanna call it---there will only be ONE KEG of that beer--you want that beer? you line up---if that keg is out--then yes--no amount of money would be able to buy you a tiny taster filled with that beer--because there's simply no more....
Flying all the way to Copenhagen for beers---worth it?
just like basketball fans outside of america would dream of or wanted to one day watch NBA live in the states---or football fans wanting to go far and wide to support own team---beer geeks feel the same--and going to a beer fest like CBC 2015 is something many geeks wanted to but can't simply because there's not enough tickets to accommodate everyone. 
There's thousands of geeks who missed out every year--because there's only so many tickets for sale--for examples--this year's official figures showed that there's geeks from 25 different coutries went online to purchase---with nearly 80,000 attempts that never got thru.

So what awesome beers were on?
too many---if you are interested--just go on to Copenhagen Beer Celebration FB for the full beer list link....
https://www.facebook.com/copenhagenbeercelebration
大老远飞去哥本哈根,值得吗?
如果说篮球迷心愿是去美国现场看NBA,足球迷想在自己支持的球会主场看球。啤迷情况也一样,对不是住在欧洲啤迷来说,去CBC是需要飞很远的,现场所见,有亚洲,巴西,美国等地区啤迷。不过,路途遥远不是顾虑,每年想来却没能买到票啤迷至少几千人,买不买得到票才是每年让众多啤迷期待又担忧的事。

有什么厉害啤酒?
太多了。有兴趣知道什么酿酒师受邀出席,还有几百桶啤酒什么是什么的话,可上CBC 2015官方面子书看看。

Sunday, May 31, 2015

WEEK 51--NEWBIE 101

外出期间,报纸专栏刊了两期,还没拿到存报,就先跳一下,49/50期较後才上BLOG。

这期很浅白的说下新人常问的一些问题/疑惑。


Been away for a while---there's been two prior articles published in the newspaper column--week49/50---since i have yet to collect the old newspaper---this week let's jump to week 51.

here we go:-
Q: what is craft beer?
A: in Mandarin--craft beer is "translated" as "jing-niang"(fine-brew), "shou-gong"( hand-crafted) or as i called it "zhuang-yi"( clash of ideas) .
Craft beer started because someone was bored with what the big factory beers were offering a long while ago---hence decided to try brewing beers he/she/they like---and when those home-brew started going to the public for sale---that's the beginning of craft beer revolution

Q: so--only home brew is considered craft beer?
A: NOPE. when home brew first started long ago, a lot of now very successful or famous craft brewers started from home brew--but technology is there to provide certain help as we move along--for examples bottling of beers can be done by machine rather than packing them one by one....and  of course when you start selling you need a proper brewery to cope with demands....
Q: what's the definition of craft beer?
A: quite a few characteristics--craft brewers emphasis a lot on taste profile--unlike big factory beers with one single product or very few variants and spending big bucks on advertising campaign. Of course the other key point about craft beer is the seemingly endless varieties of  beer styles and choices.
OR--you could just check the official definition by the American Brewers association.


craft beer是什么?
中文叫精酿。手工。或撞意啤酒(不同意念想法通过酿造让原料食材碰撞出来的啤酒)
会有CRAFT BEER是因为多年前有人觉得市场上只有单调口味大厂啤酒,觉得啤酒不应该只是这么无趣,所以自己动手酿造心目中喜欢的啤酒类型/风格。当自酿慢慢受欢迎,开始向外公开卖的时候,撞意啤酒文化逐步成形。
自己家里酿的才算Craftbeer?
不是的。
十多年前当自酿盛行时,很多近年很出名很成功的酿酒师或品牌都是从自家酿开始。发展到最近十年,很多酿坊都很现代化, 就算保持传统酿法的也会利用科技设备。比如说以前家里酿是每一瓶啤酒都手装,现在用装瓶机器替代。


craftbeer的定义是?
基本有几个特点,比如酿坊酿酒师注重啤酒口味变化,不会像大厂啤酒那样产品划一,注重花大钱打广告。当然,非常多不同类别风格啤酒选择是CRAFT BEER 另一大特色。
比较正式定义的话,根据美国酿酒师协会就有三大:-
年产量在小范围内(不超过6百万加仑)
非craftbeer投资者不能拥有超过25%股权
不可用廉价替代物比如人工香精代替啤酒花
Q: meaning a beer with the term "craft beer" surely taste good?
A: NOPE.  just like dining in a restaurant--there will be some very good ones--some average ones--some bad ones---same goes for craft beer.
Though beer is about personal taste--with such varieties.choices available--one is sure to find more than 3, 4, 5 beers that you will surely enjoy.

Q: how do i start? where do i begin?
A: use the MINUS OUT method. just like food--there's different taste profile to beers--just MINUS OUT the taste that you usually dislike in food---if you don't like sour--don't start with lambic--if you don't like coffee--don't start with a coffee porter or stout....
The main point about craft beer is --it's a sort of palate training process--once your palate goes through different beer styles/taste profile---you will starts to appreciate/enjoy a lot more different beers.....
Q: Newbie have to start drinking from the most easy beer?
A: Many people would say yes--that's the way--starts from pilsner--pale ale--ipa--and move on to porter/stout...
However--beer is just like food--if you were to start from something 'heavier" from the starts--and you love it--it taste good for your palate---then why not?


Craftbeer就一定好喝?
不是的。跟上馆子吃饭一样。肯定有适合自己口味或不喜欢的餐厅。
啤酒也是。个人口味会决定你喜不喜欢某一支啤酒。重点是CRAFT BEER 有太多不同类别风格选择,每个人一定会找到自己喜欢的啤酒,而且肯定不止三五支。
新人应该怎样开始喝?
用删除法。
如果日常生活中不喜欢吃什么味道的食物,就先从啤酒类别风格中移除,先喝自己喜欢,能接受的口味是不错的开始。喝CRAFT BEER是需要味蕾逐步接受不同味道刺激的过程,累积下来的不同尝味经验会提高鉴赏力。


新人是不是一定要从最浅的啤酒开始喝起?
一般来说很多人会那样建议。
比如说从pilsner,lager,pale ale开始,然后逐步尝试IPA,PORTER, STOUT之类的。
只是,个人口味这件事是很难有统一标准的,如果你一开始就喝比较浓郁或比较高酒精度的啤酒,只要对味,未尝不可。
Q: can I determine a beer by it's color?( that it's easy or complex?
A: NOPE. with big factory beers--things are very straight forward--golden is light beer---dark is "heavy" beer----NOT with craft beer.
in craft beer the color of a beer certainly is not the only factors that would determine the depth/complexity...

Q: seems IPA is in trend recently in KL, what is that?
A: IPA is India Pale Ale in full---so named because of  British colonial era historical reason( or so it seems)---the beer is not invented by Indian--nor brewed in India.
Basic idea is --if you drink tea with 1 tea bag---try doing it with 3,4 or 5 tea bag with same amount of water....:) ( of course IPA is not only about bitter--the taste profile is much more than just that)
If you go straight from big factory lager to IPA--that's going to be a fun ride for your palate....
Q: Can i find some craft beer in supermarket in and around KL?
A: YES--but very very limited choices and very few places only.
Currently there's still a distinct lack of craft beer places in and around KL if we were to compare with other cities around us--but still--compare to 3 years ago--KL craft beer scene has improved quite a lot ....


最近听到一些朋友说IPA开始流行。。到底什么来的?
IPA
是india pale ale的简称。中文是印度淡啤。 跟印度扯上关系是因为很久以前英国殖民地时期的历史原因。这类型啤酒不是在印度酿,也不是印度人发明的。
IPA
在美国非常盛行,基本概念可以想象成把一般人喝的一杯茶加上三四五个茶包。IPA是把pale ale加上大量啤酒花,利用酒花甘香苦味酿出比pale ale口味更强,更浓郁的金黄色啤酒。
之前只喝过大厂啤酒的话,一开始喝IPA会是对味蕾的好玩冲击。

目前本地超级市场之类的可以买到CRAFTBEER吗?
可以。不过只是很少量,选择不多。
暂时来说,跟其他东南亚城市比较,本地撞意啤酒专卖吧/瓶子店少的可怜,不过,要是你是还没开始喝的新人,跟三年前比较,本地也算有很多不同啤酒类别/风格供选择了。
尝味是最好的开始
别只是上网或看书,喝CRAFT BEER或者说认识撞意啤酒最好的方式还是拿起杯子喝这个简单动作。今天就开始选一瓶吧。
Tasting is the best way to start
don't just read online or buy books---best way to start with craft beer is the simple action of lifting a cup filled with craft beer of your choice....that's the way to go....