WEEK 229--2024 Tokyo Beer Trip

Went to Tokyo mid October basically just chilling & of course to meet up with beer geek friends living there--as well visiting a few old & new craft beer places--and for a change did a few recommended speciality coffee places too--but will just stick to beer on this one.

#Apart from what's written for the newspaper will also be mentioning places not included in the column--as well links for places written last year#

十月中去了趟東京，大致上和之前几次相似，走走看看见见认识的啤迷朋友，自然要去几家新旧craft beer专卖吧，也少不了跟朋友的瓶子分享会，要说有什么不一样的话则是这次多了精品/手冲咖啡探索，算是个跟啤酒无关但也有些关联的行程。

这期先聊聊在東京新旧专卖吧喝到的一些酒，当中有日本在地酿坊作品，当然也有欧美酿坊进口选择。

#文末会把专栏没写新去的酒吧约略提一下-也把去年写的链接附上#

While private bottle sharing sessions are always something to look forward to--visiting bars to see what's on tap or available in fridges is also part of the fun--this piece is about a few beers encountered at bars during the trip :- 

Amakusa Sonar Beer- Highway Queen & Oni-Ike Sour

Was pleasantly surprised by this brewery from Kumamoto last year with their play of fruited sours--again this time they have different fruited sours on tap as well in cans.

Highway Queen was a smoothie style sour which actually taste more sweet than sour but in a nice way--pack full of guava-pink grapefruits-tangerine & strawberry--this was a palate pleasing easy sipper.  Oni-Ike sour was another one which was also thick body-milk shake like fruited sour beer with raspberry-strawberry & Sicily red tomatoes--this one is a "rougher" version with obvious "fruits peels/particles" in the mouth feel--if swee sour fruits shake is something you like then this one is quite nice.

去年在東京喝到有惊喜，来自熊本的日本酿坊再一次有很不错的“果泥啤酒”作品，是配合三軒茶屋一家专卖吧三周年纪念而作，加入大量水果包括番石榴粉红葡萄柚柑橘草莓等等，单看酒体色泽厚度就完全是奶昔果泥类型啤酒，口感甜中带轻度回酸，虽然酒款类型是smoothie sour却是可以大口轻松喝的“甜品类”作品。另一款也是为了東京一家“老字号”专卖吧12周年纪而酿的“天草鬼池”果泥酸啤作品则是用了草莓覆盆子和西西里红番茄一起酿造，酒体明显更浑厚，也有一些果皮果肉带来的颗粒口感，虽然两者相比的话会感觉后者稍微欠缺整体均衡感，不过还是水平之作，喜欢甜味带点水果酸香的接受度会高。

Uchu + One Drop-Wassgood

Many of you would have known Uchu mainly for their hazy ipa--this time in Tokyo i did sampled a few of their hazy ipa but this collab brew with a brewery from outskirt of Sydney--a fruited sour with blueberry-black currant-strawberry-coconut cream & vanialla was the one which really stood out for my palate.

来自山梨县的宇宙酿造以印度淡啤(ipa)特别是类果汁款式（hazy/neipa)为啤迷所知，这次在東京也有机会喝到好几款ipa作品，不过这款跟澳洲悉尼周边地区小酿坊One Drop合酿的水果奶昔果泥啤酒是让人喝了感觉愉悦的讨喜之作，用蓝莓黑加仑子草莓加入椰浆和香草，是让人喝过啤酒泵版本後想买罐装版回来分享的一款。

Bierstadt Lagerhaus-Slow Pour Pils & Helles

It's interesting to know that in the States when many breweries are into the bolder/hazy brews game--this one is so very into German traditional brews--Personally been wanting to try thier brew for quite the longest time ever since hearing about these seemingly very straight forward simple brews--so it was a pleasant surprise to have both in Tokyo--both on tap & from the cans. Conclusion--when lager & pilsner can be this good it made me wish to have a cartoon of them at home every now & then.

可以这么说，在以大手大脚投放啤酒花或水果食材香料酿造印度淡啤或果泥啤酒/果酸啤酒或大黑啤的美国craft beer界中，这家遵循德国传统方式以酿造浅啤及拉格风格作品并以强调麦芽和啤酒花均衡/纯粹风味为乐的丹佛州酿坊是个异数，在众多口感风味强烈不同类型作品中，他们的作品基本就像是一股清流，喝过两款作品後不得不说这样水平的“淡味啤酒”真好喝。

或许会有人觉得这么平平无奇的啤酒风格不是满大街都有吗？事实是喝过这家作品就会知道越是听起来简单的作品要做到顶级水平还真没有说起来那么简单。

Baghaven-Ruud Peesch & Burning Sun- Saison Provision 2023

Went to this place with the interesting name of Sour Swamp not far from Chitose Funabashi station to meet Neil-my "everytime in Tokyo will meet for some beers" blogger friend. In fact we first went to Caliqours new branch bar nearby then to Sour Swamp--had quite a few there and those 2 mentioned above stood out.

跟每次都会见面喝酒聊天的常住東京英国人啤酒博主朋友约在这家位于千歳船橋站附近小巷弄中名为<酸沼>(Sour Swamp)，选酒以酸啤和农村风格作品为主的小酒吧，纯以酸啤或有时会被误以为只有蔬果风味的农场风味啤酒为主要卖点的酒吧在亚洲并不多见，要谢谢朋友提议得以知道一家有意思的酒吧。

在这喝了几款不同作品，最有印象是已绝版的Baghaven桃子红酒桶陈版酸啤，以及英国农场风格酿坊使用三种不同酵母的橡木桶陈作品。

Insight Cellar-Glimmering Grave & Sunstead White Peach & Maturation:Bocoy 

Insight Cellar is a new brewery/blendery--but to those who know it's actually the "reincarnation" of Copenhagen based Baghaven--the sour beer brand once associated with Mikkeller but now fully operated by the man who used to call Baghaven his home ground.

Found 5 of their bottles at Mikkeller bar Shibuya--where glass pour is being served--picked 3 out of the 5 with different fruits aged in wine barrel as well sherry barrel respectively--it was a nice way of sampling some new bottles from them.

这是一家新酿坊，但懂的啤迷都知道这是之前为Mikkeller旗下酸啤品牌Baghaven担当首席酿酒师的自立门户新品牌，简单说就是现已绝版Baghaven酸啤系列的变身，新品牌酿造的主要还是桶陈酸啤风格啤酒。这次在東京涉谷“米吧”适逢有5款作品以小杯方式提供品饮机会，选了三款试味，分别是Glimmering Grave, Sunstead:White Peach以及Macuracion:Bocoy，其中，第一款以杏子和油桃通过葡萄酒旧桶浸泡提味并以不同年份酸啤混成，第二款则以白桃浸泡于白葡萄酒桶中并混以不同年份啤酒而成，第三款是通过旧雪梨酒桶陈放提味并和另一桶较“年轻”版本酒勾兑而成。三款当然都因为酿造手法差异各有不同风味表现，对喜欢酸啤啤迷来说，都是不错的水准之作。

Side Note/还有。。。

beers mentioned above were some of what i have encountered while bar hopping in & around Tokyo--there were more which was not mentioned in the newspaper column due to limited space--here's a quick note on craft beer places( as for few more beers not written in the column--well just let them remain in the photo folder)

这次东京行基本还是去回几家之前一直去的专卖吧--间中或由于啤迷朋友建议或因为顺道所以去了以下三家之前没去过。

Chirose Funabashi Station千歲船橋站

Sour Swamp（酸沼）

One of the new places i went during this trip was this small bar focusing on sour/saison--6 taps & bottles from fridges--its quite a cozy place located inside the alley not far from the station. If these style of beer are your "cup of tea" then its worth coming over for a few beers.

每次去东京一定会见面啤迷朋友建议下去的，位于车站不远巷子内，气氛是轻松的，因为专注酸啤/农场风格啤酒的专卖吧并不多见所以在朋友建议的三个地方中选了从来没到过的这一区。

Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station清澄白河

Folkways taproom

Not close to the station but close to Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo--housed in a ground floor unit of residential apartment opposite side of the Museum--this is a small taproom with brewing equipments behind bar area--had basically all of thier brews on tap for the day with quite nice bar food--it's a place worth checking out if you are around the area.

之前就听东京啤迷朋友提及过这家，这次既然到了清澄白河美术馆，就因利乘便去了位于美术馆正对面住宅区内一栋公寓楼下的酿坊品饮室。地方不大-ON TAP有8个选择-当天基本喝完这家的作品-基本是轻松易喝型啤酒-小吃很不错有点意外惊喜。

Kamakura Station镰倉站

Btaps 

Was on way back after playing tourist in Kamakura & stumbled upon this craft beer place located very close to the station--was in need of a place to rest the tired legs & eat drink a bit before boarding the train back to Tokyo so went in knowing fully well the tap list is not really the geeky type--place was rather big but chill--food was quite good for a beer bar. ( this time did not go back to either Yorocco taproom or Beach Muffin at Zhusi--for pervious write up do click the link below )

在镰倉随便走走逛逛後回程路上在很靠近电车站发现的一家位于三楼的酒吧--有卖食物--刚好可以让走累的脚步歇一会--于是就上去了--酒单选择不是那种啤迷型的--不过食物倒是有点小惊喜。（这次没有去回Yorocco Taproom 或逗子市的Beach Muffin--

Previous write up click below-之前文点这里http://cttai.blogspot.com/2024/04/week-221-tokyo-2023-zhusi-kamakura.html  ）

Other places were basically those i have been either many times or once/twice previously:-

1)Shibuya涉谷- Mikkeller Tokyo & Mikkeller Kiosk 

2) Harajuku原宿- Dig The Line Doors

(pervious write up-上述两家前文点这里-http://cttai.blogspot.com/2023/12/week-213-tokyo-2023-harajukushibuyaniho.html ）

3) Sangenjaya三軒茶屋- Pigalle & Sanity 

(previous articles-之前介绍点这里http://cttai.blogspot.com/2023/12/week214-tokyo-2023-sangenjaya.html  ）

4)Takadanobaba高田馬場-Takadanobaba Beershoku

(previous articles-之前介绍点这里http://cttai.blogspot.com/2024/03/week-218-tokyo-2023-takadanobaba-mejiro.html

WEEK 228--It's Beer It's Not Beer

I was asked quite a few times about what's the biggest lure of craft beer--what makes it so interesting for one to go the distance in becoming a beer geek? The answer to that is "CHOICES"--there are so many varieties of beer styles with very different taste profile--that's what makes craft beer so different from the stereotype BEER perception many consumers have/had.....

craft beer世界中，不同类型风格啤酒很多，当中有些作品不管是酒体颜色，浓郁程度到风味呈现对不少新朋友来说无论观感或口感上都会让人感觉不是啤酒，特别是如果以传统大厂啤酒“风味”来做对比的话更会显得落差巨大无比，是接触craft beer 之前无法想象的啤酒风味表现。

简单例子来说，近年流行的类果汁印度淡啤(neipa)还有果泥酸啤(fruited sour)浓郁一如果泥奶昔的酒体，还有不同水果带来的鲜艳酒色，再到完全颠覆一般人对啤酒风味认知的味觉口感领会都会造成“说是啤酒但却不像啤酒”的混淆/错乱式趣味体验。

Indeed for anyone who only been drinking or thought MACRO LAGER BEER is the WHOLE Truth of beer world then he/she will be in for big surprises when entering the world of craft beer with the types of different beer styles available--from beer body to color to taste profile will be so so different from those long standing stereotype/ perception public has had when it comes to beer. It would be interesting to watch the reactions of first-time drinkers when encountering say a Hazy IPA or Fruited Sour with their milk-shake like thick body and fruit puree like color & taste--giving newbies the somewhat confusing doubts of "is this beer?"..

实际上，craft beer世界中有些酿坊除了啤酒，有时也会“不务正业”干点其他的，意思是会做啤酒以外的其他酒类作品或是诸如果酱，枫糖，芝士之类的食品，比如比利时天然发酵小作坊Bokke之前的限量果酱，美国大师级别酿坊Hill Farmstead偶尔出现的桶陈枫糖，比利时修道院啤酒酿坊的芝士等等。此外，比利时小型酿坊Antidoot也会酿造自家自然葡萄酒和苹果酒，英国酿坊Mills以及Little Earth Project也有苹果酒和混合式作品等等不是一般认知中“只是啤酒”作品出现。

In fact at times it's not all about beer in the world of craft brewing--there were occasions where brewer/s would do things other than beer brewing--for examples Bokke did some fruited jam--Hill Farmstead did barrel-aged Maple Syrup--also the Trappist breweries making own cheese--Antidoot make their own natural wine/cider--UK breweries Mills & Little Earth Project do some cider/blended brew & so on....

And it's rather fascinating to know that a few Non-beer alcoholic beverages are somehow closely knitted with craft beer world, for examples:-

啤酒之外，craft beer界其实有不少或酿坊自行衍生的其他酒类作品，也有完全不关啤酒但与craft beer界关系密切友好的酒类，比如：-

Hard Seltzer

In short--this is sparkling water with alcohol--and depending on how the brewer intended it to be--adjuncts such as fruits or food items or spices will be added to make it even more flavourful or close to what the brewers wanting to recreate.

Hard Seltzer became popular in the craft beer world & among beer geeks during the dark days of Covid--when Homes brewery started a sub-brand "Smooj" in 2020 to make Pina Colada & Strawberry Banana hard seltzer as some kind of "side-project"--the response those 2 new creations received was quite overwhelming--the popularity spreaded & some other craft beer breweries did joined in to make their versions of hard seltzer.

酒精气泡水（hard seltzer ）

简单来说，这不是啤酒，而是像字面意思那样含酒精的气泡水，视乎酿造者意图，这是可以有非常多不同水果，食材或香料口味选择的气泡水。

酒精气泡水在90年代就有，不过在craft beer界带起风潮的话可说是由密芝根酿坊Homes Brewing掀起，以果味啤酒，类果汁印度淡啤（也有黑啤作品）著称的这家酿坊2020年时兴起了酿造酒精气泡水的念头并以Smooj为名设立副品牌，首批以鸡尾酒Pina Colada以及草莓香蕉为风味概念的新作品一推出就很快售罄，作品风味表现让不少啤迷激赏，口碑传开後第二批作品更是在一小时内被抢光，也让一些其他craft beer酿坊仿效加入酿造自家版本酒精气泡水行列。

Cider

As many would know--this is alcoholic apple juice though in fact many other fruits can be used to make a cider too. Indeed some breweries who have their own small farms with apples or other suitable fruits do make their own versions of cider or barrel-aged cider--there are also some breweries who collab-brew with cider houses who specialises in making cider.

苹果酒（Cider）

字面上非常直接明了，就是把苹果压碎/榨汁酿造而成的酒精饮料（实际上也有使用其他水果比如梨，桃，杏，蓝莓，李子，覆盆子等等）。craft beer酿坊中有一些特别是有自家农场或注重水果入酒的酿酒师会或酿造桶陈版本苹果酒或用苹果酒和啤酒勾兑出混合型作品。另一种情况是自己没有酿造苹果酒的啤酒酿坊会跟专门酿造苹果酒的友好作坊合酿，发挥各自所长造出混合型作品。

 

Natural Wine

The name says it all--while wine making is viewed as another domain which is unrelated to beer brewing--but there are quite a few beer breweries who do make their own wine--for examples Antidoot of Belgium who have their own small farms cultivating fruits suitable for wine as well cider making--those who have tasted their beer would know there are indeed blend of beer+wine.

自然葡萄酒（natural wine ）

虽然酿造啤酒同时也酿造自家葡萄酒的craft beer酿坊为数不多但还是有的，比如比利时天然发酵小酿坊Antidoot就是。拥有自己小型农场，这家主要酿造以蔬果草本入酒的作品，除了不同类型啤酒，也酿制少量苹果酒和自然葡萄酒，至今喝过好些作品中就包括混合葡萄酒的桶陈啤酒。

Mead

Mead are essentially fermented natural honey so NOT beer but somehow been very closely knitted with craft beer festivals where beer geeks do chase after some top tier mead makers bottles.

A mead is made with at least 50% natural honey--it can be a traditional mead- a sparkling mead- a fruited mead & so on--of course adjuncts such as fruits-food items-spices would come into play depending on what the brewers intended--as well barrel aging process--if anything--perhaps the closest link to beer is a Braggot( mix of beer & mead)--which perhaps can be considered a lighter- sessionable mead.

While some of the top mead makers from the States are concentrating only in making mead--there was this Gose from Sahtipaja of Sweden many years ago which left an impression--along with their top notch "meadme" series.

蜜酒（mead）

不是啤酒但和craft beer界走得很近，经常在重要的啤酒庆典活动中出现，啤迷中也有好些是蜜酒迷，可说是个人早期啤酒探索路程上最先接触到就印象深刻的非啤酒类型作品。

蜜酒的定义是酿造原料至少50%必须是高质天然蜂蜜，可以是传统式只有蜂蜜风味作品，也可以加入各种水果，食材或香料提味，当然也会有不同其他酒类旧桶陈放版本。

酿造啤酒同时也酿蜜酒的酿坊不多，虽说当今最被推崇的几家美国顶级蜜酒酿坊都是只专注蜜酒，不过早期个人喝过来自瑞典小酿坊Sahtipaja的高质蜜酒作品同时也对这家的德式风格酸啤作品印象犹新。

 

WEEK 227--The Cognition of Beer

 

What is beer?

seemingly a silly question which needs no explanations whatsoever--yet this is a question with an answer far exceeding most consumers idea of what beer really is or can be.

啤酒是什么，这是个似乎完全不需要问或思考的问题，但与此同时又是个涵盖内容超乎大多数人认知中“啤酒”两个字纯字面意思的酒精饮料。

在啤酒世界中，是有不同认知存在的，意思是不同人对啤酒的认知或既有印象可以是天差地别截然不同的。

In the world of beer--there are very different cognition/perception/understanding of what beer is from different people--the most commonly found idea is that "beer is just beer--basically just the same--not much differences to talk about"--that idea has long been rooted in the minds of most consumers who been given that stereotypical idea by MACRO BEER's "taste profile" & beer must be drank ICE-COLD. Most of these consumers never knew there's another beer world out there called craft beer & that beer do need to get warm & "wake up" for better enjoyment of flavours.

在啤酒世界中，最常见的大众认知就是“啤酒都是一样”或“大同小异”，没什么所谓迥异有趣风味可言，但这只是非常刻板，很大程度上可以说是被误导的认知，因为绝大多数消费者并不知道啤酒世界其实有两个截然不同的区域，其一是大众认知中的大厂啤酒（Macro Beer)而另一个则是以酿造各种不同类型风格啤酒为啤迷喜爱的craft beer（中港台惯称精酿啤酒）。

In it's most basic & simple form--beer are made with 4 natural ingredients, i.e. Malts-Water-Yeast-Hops--but if we were to push further--even with ONLY these 4--the taste profile or beer styles can be very very different--for examples a brewer can make a Lager or a Pilsner--or an IPA--or Stouts--or Sour--all by utilising those 4 ingredients alone. It's kind of like here in Asia where RICE can be turned into various form of food items--not just being steamed rice.

最基本层面来说，啤酒是使用水，麦芽，酵母，啤酒花四种酿造而成的酒精饮料，是啤酒最基本风貌。不过，再深一步说的话，单只是使用这四种酿造原料做出来的啤酒风味表现可以千差万别，就像同一种白米可能被变成各种不同食物或辅料那样，啤酒也可以在使用相同酿造原材料情况下变出不同类型风格并具有迥异风味表现的作品。

 

It is very understandable that beer drinking is a form of socializing activities--and the choice of beer( be it MACRO or craft) is very subjective & no right or wrong. If we were to talk about the ease of finding a place with beer then undoubtedly MACRO BEER places will always prevail since there are so many bars/restaurants or convenience stores/supermarket selling those.

The not so commonly known fact is that--in the other side of the beer world--beer can be much more than just socializing tools--craft beer can be something which needs appreciation of taste much like coffee or tea lovers do--in the world of craft beer--"YUM SENG"(loud cheers & toast before gulping down in 1 quick throat movement) is not wrong but obviously not condone by geeks as a well made beer need some minutes to warm up--open up it's full flavours & best apreciated by slow sips.

对不少人来说，啤酒是社交生活一部份，至于喝的是大厂啤酒还是craft beer完全因人而异也没有对错之别，毕竟市场上无论是酒吧餐厅咖啡店还是超市便利店都是大厂啤酒最随处可看到也最容易买到，所以一般大众认知中的啤酒其实就是大厂啤酒中最常见的浅金黄色拉格(Lager)类型啤酒以及被称为黑啤的Stout。

不过，在做为社交酒精饮料之余，啤酒在另一个世界中也可以是类似咖啡迷品味不同风味咖啡豆或喜欢喝茶人欣赏不同茶类风味那样，可以是需要被细味慢啜的液体美味，换句话说有别于一般人印象中喝啤酒就只是拿起杯子咕噜咕噜喝下去，而是像享受美食多层次风味表现那样以品酒方式慢尝细品啤酒的风貌。

To drink MACRO or craft--that's always a choice for consumers--here in Asia generally speaking the cognition of beer within the public is one which is stereotypical hence the choices are mostly non-existing as most consumers would choose ease of buying or likely never heard of the word craft beer. On that score, craft beer operators & beer geeks alike still got much work to do...

喝大厂啤酒或craft beer是选择题，但在大众认知普遍不足或有误区情况下，亚洲城市来说这个选择题其实有时候并不存在，因为一般大众消费习惯上都会选择能随处买到的便利而不会特意花时间去寻找craft beer专卖吧/瓶子店，实际上怎么让更多人知道啤酒世界中其实还有另一个更多风味迥异的美味液体宇宙存在是所有craft beer业者及啤迷们需要面对的习题。

 

The lack of cognition about what beer can be--or rather not knowing there's another much more interesting & flavourful craft beer world out there amongst  majority consumers is part of the reasons why craft beer culture is limited to small group of craft drinkers in this part of the world.And then of course there are other factors in play--for examples here in Malaysia--alcoholic beverages will be taxed rather heavily & under  "sin tax"(A sin tax is a tax on goods and services deemed harmful to society) category. From legal point of view--there is NO local craft beer breweries licences--NO home brew allowed--hand carried beer luggage IF stopped by customs at airport might get confiscated or need to pay fine/taxes. With MACRO BEER given licenses to set up plants & brew locally--and basically all over the market here in Malaysia--it's quite understandable why beer cognition here is mostly if not only about MACRO BEER.

The situation down south in Singapore as well up north in Thailand is rather different--in Singapore local breweries/ brewpubs are allowed--beer geeks seeking to sent in beer mails from overseas can do so by the laws with clear indications on what to do and how much taxes to pay. Up north in Thailand--even though laws pertaining to local small/craft brewing is unfriendly but the scenario is a little different than Malaysia where the local brewers do find their own ways of going around--with seemingly more varied & at times quite exciting small batch imports there--Thailand's craft beer scene is rather active.

It is no doubt that craft beer market in places like Japan/Korea/China/Hong Kong/Taiwan are helped by the existence of local breweries--with even more varied imports available to choose from--these are the forefront of craft beer scene in Asia.

大众对啤酒的普遍认知不足或自带误区一定程度上是craft beer文化没能更加普及化的其中一个因素，当然亚洲不同城市也有各自不同客观条件和政策等因素影响，以大马市场来说，在政策对酒类饮料不友善（重税/不能自酿/不准设立本地小型酿坊/邮寄或自行带酒回国可能会被罚款或没收等等）情况下，大多数大众对啤酒认知只停留在大厂啤酒阶段是无奈但能理解的事。无论是对比南边的新加坡还是北边的曼谷，虽然也当然都是被大厂啤酒包围市场的城市，但新加坡是允许在地酿坊或酿吧（brewpub) 的，自行海外找酒邮寄进来也有明文规定条例可循。曼谷虽然也面对一定程度不友善政策限制但“下有对策”所以当地自酿品牌加上多年来好些很不错的进口啤酒选择带动起来的craft beer文化相对活跃，至于中港台日韩等地都有在地酿坊，加上更多选择的欧美酿坊进口酿坊作品，可说是亚洲craft beer文化认知程度相对较高的区域。

As for choosing to drink craft or MACRO--much like A only like to drink instant coffe/dip bag coffee while B choose to drink pour over speciality coffee--it's very much a matter of personal taste preference & to a certain extent the cognition of beer(or the lack of it)--that's all--no wrong no right.

某种程度来说，选择喝大厂啤酒或craft beer是个人口味决定，就像有人只喜欢喝三合一包装咖啡，有人则不介意贵价些选择喝以特定方式烘培而成特定咖啡豆冲泡的咖啡，其实也无关其他，大致上只是口味倾向和个人认知的体现。

WEEK 226--Newbies Do & Don't

This was published in Sept--as the year is coming to a close--will try to catch up a little bit on some backlog articles already published--with new ones coming in too....

This was written after a casual chat with a newbie who was curious about what might be the do(s) & don't(s) when drinking craft beer--while generally speaking beer drinking is nothing but a way to chill or quence thirst for most people--in the world of craft beer--there are indeed a few "unspoken" do(s) & don't(s) especially among geeks--it's good if newbies could pick up a pointer or two early on to make the craft discovering process a smoother one....

和刚接触craft beer新朋友聊天继续，这期来聊聊新人比较好奇的Do & Don't (该做不该做），换句话说就是有什么需要注意的初入门准则之类。

或许喝啤酒用“准则”这样的字眼听起来有点过了，毕竟喝啤酒不就是放轻松享受一下嘛，哪来什么规矩需要遵循？话虽那样说，站在啤迷角度来看，喝craft beer是有基本概念需要了解的，这样可以让新人比较清楚一些基本状况而不至于走进误区不自知。

DO

learn to taste(not just drink) & train up palate appreciation ability

Every beer geeks started from somewhere--most probably started with MACRO BEER just like many newbies do--in another words--likely started from zero as far as beer palate appreciation ability is concern.

The first thing a newbie should understand is that there will be a certain time period of 'palate training days"(it might actually take years for some)needed before one can get to grips with what is what in the big vast world of craft beer with many different beer styles & flavours profile--this is only natural especially one been only drinking MACRO BEER before & thought that

1.beer to be drank COLD ONLY & Fast while its cold.

2.beer MUST be served with pre-chilled to dead glasses ONLY.

3.ice cube is a NICE WAY to compliment a beer...

Well--craft beer is of course also beer--can also be drank cold & fast if one wishes to do so--but if you want to better appreciate beer flavours profile then take it slow--let the beer slowly warm up is the way to go.

It's always good to just use a room temp clean glass when enjoying a craft beer--regardless of what beer styles--a clean glass is all the beer need.

Knowing some of these basics and then slowly build up one's palate appreciation ability concerning different beer styles/various flavours profile is the way to becoming more acquainted with the at times overwhelming choices available in the world of craft beer. It is only after one can slowly understand the characteristics of different beer styles & learn how to appreciate then will one's palate appreciation ability improve accordingly.

DO

慢啜细品--提升鉴赏力

凡事都会有过程，从craft beer小白晋阶到能品嚐出不同类型风格啤酒之间风味表现的啤迷是需要一些时间摸索和品饮经验累积而成的，新人朋友要明白的第一个基本概念就是味蕾是需要一段时间训练的，而且开始喝craft beer时要摒弃一些之前喝大厂啤酒(Macro Beer)的习惯做法，比如开瓶入杯後很快就趁冷大口大口喝完，比如觉得喝啤酒一定要用事先冷冻好的杯子，或比如喝啤酒要加冰块才够冷等等误区。

简单说一下为什么：-

craft beer确实也是啤酒，也可以大口喝，但更贴切的方式是慢啜细品以便更好的领略作品逐渐回温开展的风味呈现。

啤酒入杯後需要一些时间回温来带出更丰富饱满的风味变化所以不需要冷冻杯子更不需要加冰块，实际上冷冻过的杯子特别是出现结霜状态的杯子很大可能会自带不良风味或其他会影响啤酒原有风味的隐藏污垢，所以喝craft beer 只需干净室温杯子就可。

认识到上述基本概念後下一步就是学会如何慢啜细品不同类型风格啤酒之间风味区别，只有懂得如何品嚐个别特定类型风格啤酒风味表现後味蕾品鉴能力才会逐步提升。

DON'T

too quick to conclude

craft beer flavours profile can be very distinctively different from one's palate memory of drinking say a MACRO LAGER--in another word--a newbie's palate might be given a big shock when drinking say an IPA or a Stout or a Sour.

Just like when eating food--people tend to go with flavours he or she like--or at least familiar with--but in the world of craft beer there are chances where one might encounter a beer with a "strange" ,"unfamiliar" or "dislike" flavours profile--if so don't be too quick to conclude that "disgusting/awful", "craft beer is not for me".

For newbie who encountered a "strange beer" or a beer with flavours which is not to his/her liking--it's actually not so bad--take it as a new experience to yur beer palate--and the interesting part is that when palate appreciation level is up say 1 or 2 years fom now--that same "strange beer" might taste different/tasty. In another words--sometimes it's not the beer is strange or to a newbie's liking but it's about timing--meaning newbie's palate still cannot appreciate that particular beer now--but given time & elevation of appreciation ability--the same beer can be appreciated better.

A newbie might want to ask this question--" do i just want to keep drinking the same 1 or 2 beer styles or do i want to explore varieties of styles available?"--no doubt the biggest fun factor about craft beer is the varieties of beer styles with wide choices available--keeping to 1 or 2 favourite beer styles is understandable and no right or wrong though exploring further than that would make one's craft beer exploring journey that much more interesting.

DON'T 

别太快下定论

不同类型风格啤酒选择众多是喝craft beer的乐趣，就像美食那样，在啤酒风味中也能找到各种不同味道口感的呈现，对新朋友来说，要注意的是有时候自己喝到嘴里的啤酒风味呈现出来感觉很陌生，不是自己想象中或熟悉食物/食材味道时别当时就下定论说“不好喝”， “好难喝”或“这不适合我”。

确实，喝craft beer某方面来说跟吃东西一样，每个人都会有自己喜欢和不喜欢的味道倾向，也会有偏食挑食情况，所以一般来说人们都会选对正自己口味避开不喜欢的风味，这是完全可以理解的。 

不过，从啤迷角度来说，第一次喝到自己不习惯的啤酒风味，或是陌生奇怪觉得接受不来甚至感觉难以下咽啤酒时，新朋友其实可以问下自己是只想一直重复喝同一（或同二）口味的啤酒，还是说有想要探索更多啤酒中自己味蕾还未尝试过的风味？必须说的是在craft beer世界中有时候觉得酒不好喝或风味呈现感觉陌生或怪怪的并不是因为啤酒不好，更多时候可能是喝的时候自己味蕾鉴赏力还没有达到能有效鉴赏水平导致。在啤酒真的不是因为感染坏掉或运输等因素导致已走味前提下，有时候现在感觉不对味或喝不来的作品等过若干时日当味蕾鉴赏力有所提升後再喝时就能领略当时和现在喝到的风味感受差异之处。同样的，也别因为喝到某款自己喜欢的作品就觉得这是最好的，因为浩瀚啤海中很可能还有没遇到的更好作品，实际上现在觉得非常好的可以等一两年过去鉴赏力有所提升後再喝一次来判断是不是还感觉那么好。

小结

喝craft beer是有趣的，不过在能好好领略各类不同风格作品的风味特点之前确实有些基本概念/功课需要先做好，以上提及的DO & DON’T只是非常浅显的基本概念，当然还有好些其他需要注意的基本要点，篇幅所限就留待以后。