WEEK 204----Anything but DRINKING---slight agony of a geek

 

November 12th was "designated" as a special day for all of us within the #KLTastingGroup due to several reasons:-

1) it was the wedding reception/big day of Pete--the youngest member of the group .

2) Jeff of Superstition Meadery in Arizona was kind enough to agree to KL joining many other world wide locations celebrating Berry White Day 2022 which happened to be on the same day.

3) It's the day where all members of the group can gather for a sharing session after a year plus since one of the guys been out of the country for overseas posting--to be held in the evening at another location after wedding lunch reception.

刚过去的十一月十二号是本地瓶子分享会的特别日子，除了我们几位成员时隔年多之后终于因为最年轻成员的婚礼而全员重聚，也适逢吉隆坡和其他城市首次一起欢庆美国蜜酒高手酿坊年度庆典Berry White Day。

有点遗憾的是，这样的好日子却由于个人不久前动了小手术而不得不禁酒一个半月，就这样，原本可以跟啤迷朋友把杯欢庆品酒的时光变成了只能以旁观者角度闻香观色拍照的静态参与者。虽然当天滴酒不沾，看着啤迷朋友们开喝品酒一起聊聊天感觉上有点奇怪但毕竟几个星期後就可以解禁，这次没能喝到固然可惜，但有时喝酒也讲求时机缘份的。

No doubt i was looking forward to the session--but it was not meant to be this time around--was admitted to hospital roughly 2 weeks before 12th Nov to go under the surgeon's knife for removal of something hindering the better health of my body system--though there were bit of hiccup but overall the surgery went well---and i have had smooth recovery since---but having gone under the knife would automatically mean NO ALCOHOL for a certain period---in my case it was 6 weeks---meaning I can't drink--not even a sip during 12th Nov.

For a geek who been looking forward to a share (it's been few and far in between through the year--hence the anticipation)--not being able to drink is probably the biggest issue--but a step necessary for better health--so I did went to the session knowing fully well i can't and won't be drinking anything on the table but just Kumbocha while taking photos--likely smelling too--but mainly "participate" as a bystander while the guys enjoying/describing/ discussing/commenting the opened bottles of beer/ mead.

How was it sitting at the sharing session knowing you can only watch-smell-take pictures of bottles/glasses after pour but cannot even go for a small sip? it was bearable though certainly not how joining a session should be--perhaps some agony but overall not that bad since i wanted and enjoyed the guys.company.

Overall it was a more mead heavy session than we would normal do---mainly because it was a session to celebrate Berry White Day KL---also--what better way to celebrate the sweet union of a newly married couple than some delicious mead?

整体来说这是有别于我们一贯分享会瓶子类型的一次---明显的蜜酒占了多数---其实也可以明白--除了因为是吉隆坡首次同时庆祝BERRY WHITE DAY之外--还有什么比蜜酒更适合庆祝一对新婚夫妇甜蜜结合的大日子？（更何况蜜酒是小两口的心头好）。

for the record here's the main bottles shared on 12thi Nov:-

以下是当天开喝重点瓶子（部分照片啤迷朋友Gareth提供）：-

** all pics from no.9 onwards courtesy of Gareth Davies as i have left for home around half way through.

1) 3Fonteinen Robijn (Oude Kriek)

2)Schramm's Amelia

3) Second City Meadery  Pineapple Angelic

4) Weldworks  Coconut Medianoche

5) Mills Saison Herllertau

6) Pips Black Currant Pancake

7) Side Project Bubble Wrap

8) Superstition Mango White

9) Superstition Strawberry White

10) Superstition Berry White

11) Half Acre Bone Valley

12) Superstition Cherry White

13) Missbeehavin Meads Same Old Jam

14) Second City Meadery Gin BA Fate

15) Hill Farmstead Wheat Blanc

16) Superstition Black Berry White

17) Anniversary Bourbon County Brand Stout

18) Superstition Blue Berry White

19) Schramm's The Statement

WEEK 203--- November Beer & Mead Scenario

 

It's November, a year is coming to a close with some exciting events happening( or just passed)in the month of Nov.

First up was MBCC 2023 with tickets going on sale as well annoucing a small line up--looking at the list of names announced one get the sense that after the "so so line up" of last edition--next year would see MBCC storming back to the level it should be.

11月是值得啤迷注意的日子，因为不少重点活动开始了，比如新一届哥本哈根啤酒庆典（MBCC 2023）一踏入11月就门票预售，从主办方同时官宣的参与酿坊预告小清单看来，明年盛会看来会有不少重量级或备受瞩目新贵酿坊参与。本地方面，11月对我们几位本地瓶子分享会成员也是有着一定意义，主要因为以下几个情况：-

Locally and internationally--November is a month i was very much looking forward to :-

1) First ever Berry White Day KL

Yes, all the way from Arizona to craft desert Kuala Lumpur---on the 12th of Nov---this town will see a mini version of Berry White Day celebrated with geeks from many other countries/cities/town over the globe thanks to the good people of Superstition Meadery as well our own will to make this possible.

In fact, 12th Nov is the big day for the youngest member of our very own tasting group-- since this will be a sweet sweet day of union--why not make it extra special since Berry White Day 2022 coincidentally happening on the same day-- spoke to Jeff of Superstition about the idea and it was a resounding yes.

For those familiar with White series---that's basically 4 bottles of white chocolate mead with 4 different types of berries--each with it's own taste profile and nuances--this year though 4 has became 6--with 2 new addition of Cherry and Mango respectively.

*very much looking forward to sampling the new variants once my 6 weeks prohibition period is over.

1）首次跟全球蜜酒迷欢庆美国酿坊Superstition的年度重头庆典活动Berry White Day。

可以说是有点无心插柳情况下促成的美事，起因是其中最年轻的分享会成员问我说，既然时间点那么巧合，11月12日适逢他和也爱蜜酒准新娘的大喜婚宴日，让我能不能问问美国阿里桑拿蜜酒酿坊掌门人Jeff以小型私人分享会方式参与到Berry White Day全球庆典中？于是就这样，Jeff第一时间就肯定了这个想法，也非常欢迎吉隆坡终于可以同步参与全球蜜酒迷欢庆这个概念上类似Zwanze Day活动的年度蜜酒盛事。

简单来说，Berry White 系列是Superstition酿坊的年度重头作品，从第一代开始至近年的一系列四款基调是白巧克力和蜂蜜但以不同莓果带出区别，今年则是一变六，保留一路来四款莓果选择之余，带来了樱桃和芒果这两款新风味，重点是数周前就已安安稳稳的送到本地安放适当冷度藏酒柜中等待12日的到来。

2) Online sale of some wanted beer mail

Covid is bad but at the same time it kinda brought changes not seen before with some "elusive" bottles being made available for on line purchase----as most geeks who play the chasing games know best. 

This Nov has seen quite some big ones came and gone---Cantillon autumn pack---Side Project BBT pack--and this morning Pips meadery pancake pack.....

Whoever hit gold or bite the dust---it's all part of the game.

2）欧美特定酿坊限定啤酒首卖

新冠疫情来袭前，欧美酿坊不定期网上首卖是有的，无论啤酒类型风格区别，大多是需要会员制才有机会买到。在疫情干扰全世界後情况有所变化，比如比利时酸啤酿坊包括像是Cantillon，3Fonteinen等等之前极少或从未网上公开给全球酸啤迷抢购的机会出现了。

就在写稿当下，Cantillon刚刚宣布了11月2日会网售一套6支由四款不同风味Lambic组成成分的作品。

这个11月对推崇美国密苏里州绝对高手酿坊Side Project 啤迷来说，今年度BBT(Beer Barrel Time)首卖是最受瞩目的一次网售活动，这是酿坊备受啤迷追捧的大黑啤作品。（然后还有今天早上的PIPS蜜酒水果松饼系列首卖。）

3) Full attendance of the TastingGroup

for more than a year the group has never seen full attendance of all 5 members since one member is away on overseas attachement----come 12th Nov all will be in attendance---this has been a day i was very much looking forward to as plans been made to have private sharing session after wedding lunch party--though unfortunately i would have to just watch from the sideline this time around--it would still be a very nice sharing session no doubt.

3）久违的全员重聚分享会

过去有接近年多两年时间，我们几位没什么机会全体会合，特别是其中一位成员由于工作外派海外後更是难。

这次适逢最年轻成员婚宴日，计划是午宴後分享会成员汇聚一起，除了欢庆大马破天荒第一次Berry White Day，当然也要分享一些不同类型风格的啤酒，虽然暂时没列出瓶子清单，但肯定可以知道的是当天会有美国酿坊大黑啤，农场风格啤酒，比利时酸啤，也可能有新鲜飞进来的美国类果汁印度淡啤等等，久别重聚的瓶子分享会很可能是尽量不想浪费好酒原则下而在挑什么瓶子不当天开喝，可以预期当天各类型啤酒蜜酒瓶子选择数量会超乎能够合理品味欣赏的酒精承受范畴，所以取舍是必要的。

#虽然很不巧的个人因为不久前动手术必须禁酒6个星期而只能当旁观者，这一天的瓶子分享会还是会精彩的。

WEEK 202---Black Tuesday beer memories

Was informed by tasting group geek friend that KL craft market is seeing some bottles for sale from The Bruery--including the big one that is Black Tuesday. Upon hearing this---somehow triggered some memories of our own early encounters with The Bruery and in particular the then hard to seek in Asia Black Tuesday(there were some Bruery bottles available for sale in Japan market but never seen BT ) as well the other weekday bottles.

啤迷朋友通知说本地craft beer专卖店多年後终于出现美国酿坊The Bruery一些作品可买，其中包括大名鼎鼎的Black Tuesday，一定程度来说这是有着某种进程象征意义的，

在本地craft beer前前后后大概十年左右历程中能直接在本地店家买到的美国大黑啤/大酒并不多，实际上用凤毛麟角来形容一点也不为过。这其中自然跟国家政策对酒精类商品不友善，本地craft beer市场基本来说认知不够，进口商和专卖吧或瓶子店数量有限等等客观主观因素影响有关。

说起黑色星期二系列，犹记得多年前我们几位分享会啤迷成员第一次有幸在本地喝到当时来说亚洲市场基本一瓶难求盛名大黑啤时的味蕾震撼，看到如今喜爱黑啤的新朋友可以直接在本地店家买到，难免勾起一些当时记忆和感慨。

It was one fine day back in 2015---absolutely by chance/luck that i got wind of a total stranger from US is coming to town with 2 bags full of top notch beers ( the likes of The Breury- Russian River- The Alchemist & more )--so i got in touch with Shawn the stranger via Insta chat---and the rest was history( link :- 2015 stranger tasting with Shawn ). 

以黑色星期二为主的系列黑啤（包括Grey Monday， Mocha Wednesday，Chocolate Rain等等）无疑是The Bruery最为啤迷称道作品，那时候的亚洲市场应该只有日本能找到The Bruery一些其他类型瓶子（但基本找不到黑色星期二系列大酒），2015年因为机缘巧合我们几位本地啤迷第一次能在吉隆坡两天内开喝由一位陌生美国啤迷带来分享的好几款The Bruery系列大酒是件相当于开了个亚洲以致欧美来说都是顶级水平的私人啤酒庆典那样的大事。(链接在上）

7-8 years ago, the #KLtastinggroup was still very much in it's early forming period--there were and still are 5 of us in the group--back then the way forward was to seek help from US/Europe geek friends to sent in beer mails--and obviously US brew was the focus in particular dark brew/big hitters from the likes of Alesmith--Cigar City--Three Floyds--The Bruery, as well as hops & saison / sours from the likes of Hill Farmstead--Russian River--The Alchemist and so on were the main seek ).

Among the US dark brew/big hitters we have tasted then--obviously The Bruery did shook some of our early years palate---and not only just Black Tuesday or Mocha Wednesday or Grey Monday or Chocolate Rain--but also others from The Bruery--in particular their anniversary brew from 2014 Sucre(one of the tasting group guys mentioned this as the one big beer which changed/shaped his idea about what beer can be)& 2015 Cuivre---as well as Smoking Wood bourbon  & rye whiskey variants--just to name a few.

七八年前我们几位的分享会还处在萌芽期，通过美国啤迷朋友帮忙自己找酒运来本地以满足亚洲市场找不到想要瓶子的缺憾，当时来说The Bruery是绝对重点对象（其他重点目标包括诸如Alesmith，Cigar City，Three Floyds，Russian River，The Alchemist还有Hill Farmstead等盛名美国酿坊特定作品）。

虽说黑色星期二系列是重点目标也是早期帮助我们几位打下鉴赏大黑啤基础的美国大酒（之一二三。。），不过这并不意味着值得一提的The Bruery作品就只那样，分享会成员当时喝到并留下一定印象的包括酿坊2014周年纪念作Sucre，2015周年作Cuivre以及充满烟熏和波本旧桶风味的桶陈黑啤Smoking Wood等等。

Fast forward to 2022--we know how craft beer is at times very trend dominated--just look at how NEIPAs has swept the market--as well how Pastry Stouts is the in-thing in recent times-- the in trend situation would mean certain breweries/beers are much more sought after than the rest--even names like The Breury is no exception to the in trend game where Black Tuesday is still very much a solid big dark brew but it is no longer the gone by the seconds sort of "hyped"/"most sought after FOMO" beer it probably was years ago.

随着时间推移加上craft beer潮流关系，近几年甜点黑啤（pastry stouts）大行其道意味着一些被啤迷追捧新贵酿坊的冒起，强者如The Bruery的风头自然也无可避免的被掩盖，或许对我们几位来说黑色星期二系列已成为啤酒探寻过程中的经典作品（这样说并不带贬义），黑色星期二系列作品依然是实力派大酒，虽然因为酒精度偏很高（17-18度是小事，超过20度也常有）对我们几位已再没有开始那么吸引，不过对新人来说The Bruery大黑啤作品仍是可提升味蕾鉴赏力的习题，还没试过的新人们可以小酌细味试试，更何况如今的黑色星期二已不限于750毫升瓶装而是有了更小容量的罐装可供选择，更适合了解喝少嚐多乐趣的新朋友。

To see some Bruery's bottles including Black Tuesday being made available for sale here in KL is quite a mark for the local scene--for the past 10 years or so--to put it quite bluntly--the local craft market has seen really few big hitters from the US being imported for sale here--hence to see Black Tuesday 2021 available locally both in bottle & can is quite a moment.  Though personally and tasting group wise Black Tuesday( in part due to it's high abv) is no longer what we seek for -- it is still a big dark brew that newbies should try out-- still very much a proper palate training big beer imho.

WEEK 201----Beer gifts from geek friends

 

One of the best things with craft beer is the camaraderie which can be quickly foster among fellow beer geeks even though they are total stangers outside of craft beer circle--over the years i have had the chance to meet quite a few strangers who share the same passion about craft beer--and became friends who i would meet and share a few beers with either on a more regular or once in a blue moon basis, with geek friends came the chances of sharing/tasting more bottles/cans than one single person could ever manage--as well the occasional surprises of being gifted a few beers at times.

时光飞逝，有意为之情况下个人craft beer探寻历程一晃十年过去了，这些年来通过和好些不同啤迷朋友瓶子分享会算是喝过不少佳酿，也因为啤迷间分享精神这些年来偶尔也有些佳酿是来自啤迷朋友无预警馈赠或随机赐酒，身为啤迷这是让人感觉幸福的。

以下是一些不同情况下不同啤迷的赐酒：-

Over the years i been lucky and grateful to have received some beers from geek friends--mostly when least expected--hence the pleasant surprises. Here's a few examples of gift bottles/cans received while travelling overseas---there were more gift bottles/cans received which were not mentioned in this weekly column but im very grateful to have received each and every beer given be it overseas or locally---and you know who you are.

Cantillon Visit

it was quite some years ago already--was sitting at the tasting room of Cantillon--opposite there were strangers fellow geek---1 American & 1 Asian looking Canadian---with no hesitation I decided to say hello and soon joined their table---on that day---if not because of their generous act of sharing quite some bottles--i would not be able to taste 7-8 different bottles (with bottles at 750ml it's just impossible for 1 or 2 person to crack that many without wasting beer).

CANTILLON不同瓶子

好些年前有幸坐在全球LAMBIC啤迷们心目中圣地，布鲁塞尔市区外围CANTILLON酿坊试饮室，当时对面桌的有两位完全不认识的啤迷，一位是美国人，另一位是亚洲面孔的加拿大人，很自然情况下加入两位陌生人的桌，就那样大家开始分享手中的瓶子，然后更多瓶子出现，一定意义来说，如果不是两位陌生人啤迷的分享，在瓶子都是大瓶装750ML情况下，当天个人不可能喝到七八款不同类型风味CANTILLON作品，如今回看，特别是近年新冠肆虐时空背景，加上CANTILLON较稀有款这里一瓶难求情况下，虽然陌生啤迷分享瓶子在CANTILLON试饮室是常态，但身为远在亚洲不能想去就去的啤迷，这一幕是珍贵的。

Slaying a Pirate

it was back in 2015 when i first went for MBCC which at that time was CBC and being held at a gymnasium slightly outside of city center---those who been would know that many beer geeks do fly in earlier in the week to bar hop/join in various tap take over or first releases events planned for the week--- i was at Mikkeller Bar Viktoriagade chatting with the then bar manager(a stranger then), next thiig i know was that a bottle of Prairie Pirate Bomb was cracked and i was sipping on a stout which at that time was a rather hard to find bottle here in Asia.

PRAIRIE PIRATE BOMB

同样也是陌生啤迷赐酒的情况出现在哥本哈根，多年前第一次前往参与根本哈根啤酒庆典（当时简称CBC而不是近几年的MBCC）时，参加周末两天在市郊外体育馆举行的啤酒庆典之前已提前到达的各路啤迷当然会出现在市内几家“米吧”相关专卖吧，当时人在“米吧”本店。和当年的店长从不认识到聊聊天，然后就出现了随机赐酒的事，当时来说这款黑啤是这家美国“新贵”酿坊亚洲难寻款。

Various Bottles gifted by geek friends:-

DeNeve Gueuze

it was during MBCC week---a Belgian beer geek friend came to my hostel lobby as i have brought some sake from my Japan trip prior to Copenhagen --it was not meant as exhange of bottles but just a show of gratitude to my Belgian friend for helping to sent in some Lamnic previously--and i was totally surprised when he pulled out a box containing a bottle of "extinct" old bottle of DeNeve Gueuze.   

Brought that bottle back to KL to share with a Belgian friend living here who have helped me opening up very early stage craft appreciate level by sharing his private Belgium bottles.

GUEUZE DENEVE

比利时啤迷朋友的礼物，虽说个人是有回赠日本带过去的清酒瓶子，但看到这支已有一定年岁痕迹而且是原厂已绝版天然发酵酸啤作品时还是很意外。带回来吉隆坡後，本着也给一位非常早期在探寻craft beer路上给过自己启蒙助益的在地比利时朋友小小惊喜带去他家分享了。

Mills Running Beer

my first Mills bottle was courtesy of this gift bottle by a geek friend from UK who not only gifted this but also some other bottles/cans---all hand carried back to KL by a fellow geek friend who happened to be back in UK for a trip then.  The Mills was shared during that year's Xmas share here with the tasting group guys.

MILLS RUNNING BEER

英国啤迷朋友的礼物，当时除了这款英国农村风格/酸啤酒新贵酿坊作品之外还赐了好些其他酿坊啤酒，让恰好身在英国的本地分享会成员啤迷朋友带回来，后来是在圣诞节重头分享会上跟本地几位啤迷朋友开喝了。

Tired Hands Ipas

During th last day or so at Copenhagen--an American geek friend gifted me a few fresh cans of TH brew he brought in from the states---brought these back and shared with a few KL geek friends--among the 3 different ipas---no doubt Key Lime Pie was the most outstanding and interesting.

TIRED HANDS IPAS

美国啤迷朋友的礼物，三款不同风味表现作品中以KEY LIME PIE最出色，是至今本地啤迷朋友仍然很有印象的一款，看酒名称是以做成墨西哥莱姆派风味呈现为构思，虽然没吃过那样的派，但酒绝对有趣好喝。

Yorocco BA Saison

A  japanese small brewery located at Kamakura--personally i quite like their brew--known for easy drinking yet not on the dull side--particularly good with their saison---had the previous year version of this BA Saison when i was in Tokyo--was very surprise to have received this one in Copenhagen--gifted by a Japanese geek friend---receiving a Kamakura beer in Copenhagen---that's how borderless craft culture can be.

YOROCCO BA SAISON

日本啤迷的礼物，以均衡易喝风味啤酒特别是农村风格啤酒为人知位于镰仓的日本酿坊作品，在收到这款前一年有喝过同款作品前作，是富有层次的桶陈美味易喝型啤酒，在根本哈根收到日本啤迷赠与的日本啤酒，啤迷之间的交流还真的是无界限。