What is Craft Beer? 到底什么是精釀啤酒?

　　First things first… how are we defining craft beer?

　　There is no single definition for craft beer. A beer can considered ‘craft’ if it meets a series of characteristics.

　　They are:

　　Made by small microbreweries: ‘small’ being defined by output – less than 6 million barrels of beer a year

　　Made by independent breweries: where less than 25% is owned by a non-craft beer brewery (a topic heavily under debate due to recent acquisitions of Goose Island, Meantime and Camden Hells amongst others)

　　Traditional: where at least 50% is brewed using traditional or innovative ingredients and methods

　　(As summed up by the Brewers Association)

　　Other commonly found characteristics of craft beers:

　　Fresh, unpasteurized, unfiltered beer

　　A short shelf life (typically a year or less, unless a darker speciality beer)

　　Higher alcohol content

　　Come from unique breweries with charm and personality

　　Often have innovative websites and beautiful, creative labels

　　An absence of rice and corn in ingredients (typically used to cheapen the brew)

　　High percentiles of barley

　　Made by breweries who aren’t driven by $$ and profit margins

　　Typically made with a ‘style’ in mind, like APA, IPA, Stout. Very few commercial beers are described as such, like Coors or Budweiser. But at the same time, it is totally possible to make a craft Lager. Just taste the difference!

　　Made by a heavily flannelled team, driven by creativity and authenticity

　　Sometimes, different tasting bottles of the same beer

　　Shouldn’t always be consumed ice cold

　　Sediment at the bottom as a result of fresh ingredients (yeast or fruit)

　　Unusual ingredients

 　　Typos on labels, maybe even a handwritten label

　　The latter list we have formulated ourselves based on our observations from chatting with brewers and working in the industry. It is by no means the ultimate truth nor one in which all features must be met. There are so many varying questions and matters of debate that come into play – is an independent spirit enough to class a brewery and their beers as ‘craft’? Should larger breweries, especially those who have been bought out, even be allowed to call themselves and advertise as ‘craft’ beer anymore? Could you make a beer in a completely innovative manner, but only produce a limited quantity and still be considered ‘craft’?

　　Regardless, the beers we import under ‘Drinking Buddies’ all meet the first three characteristics – traditional, independent and small. We love that everyone we work with are fuelled by creativity and a desire to create something great; constantly innovating and driven by a quest for individuality whether in their beer, bottling, branding or all three!

　　首先，讓我們來看一下我們是如何來定義精釀啤酒的。

　　我們很難用一句話來概括精釀啤酒的定義。如果能夠滿足以下這些特征，那我們既可以把它稱為精釀啤酒。

　　小型：酒廠的年產量必須少于600萬桶(約700000千公升)。

　　獨立：酒廠的股份必須有超過75%不被非精釀啤酒廠擁有的啤酒工業集團與旗下公司持有。(但是現在有一個熱議的問題：像 Goose Island, Meantime和Camden Hells 等一些精釀酒廠被百威這樣的啤酒工業集團收購之后，他們的產品還是否算得上是精釀啤酒。)

　　傳統：以啤酒為主要產品，使用傳統或創新的釀造原料，不可使用輔料降低釀造成本。增味麥芽酒精飲料不屬于啤酒。

　　(以上總結自Brewers Association)

　　其他常見的精釀啤酒的特點：

　　新鮮，未經高溫滅菌、未過濾的啤酒

　　保質期短(一般為一年或以下，除非是特殊的暗色啤酒)

　　酒精含量較高

　　來自具有魅力和個性的啤酒廠

　　通常有創新的網站和漂亮的創意標簽

　　成分中通常不含大米和谷物(通常用于廉價釀造)

　　啤酒中大麥的成分含量較高

　　啤酒廠通常不被利益所驅使

　　常見的精釀啤酒品種有：APA(美式淡色艾爾)，IPA(印度淡色艾爾)，Stout(世濤)等。像Coors和Budweiser這樣極少的工業啤酒口感與精釀啤酒類似。但是工業啤酒完全可以模仿精釀拉格，只是口感不同!

　　釀造團隊真實且富有創造力

　　有時候，同一款酒會有不同的瓶子包裝

　　常溫的精釀啤酒味道也很好

　　由于在釀造過程中有活酵母和水果等成分，瓶底會出現一些沉積物

　　釀酒過程中添加一些不尋常的成分，如水果、糖漿、蜂蜜等

　　打印的標簽上偶爾會出現錯別字，有些甚至手寫標簽

　　根據我們與釀酒商聊天和在業內工作的相關經驗，我們歸納總結了以上的特點。這不是絕對正確的，也不是所有特點都必須要達到的。 現在關于精釀啤酒的定義出現了很大的爭議 —— 難道說僅僅是因為獨立的原因，我們就可以將一些釀酒廠和啤酒列為“精釀”的范疇之內么? 一些大的啤酒廠或是啤酒集團，特別是那些收購了精釀酒廠的，是否可以在廣告上班標榜自己生產的是“精釀啤酒”呢? 而那些釀酒方式創新，生產數量有限的酒廠，仍然可以被認為是“精釀酒廠”么?

　　無論如何，我們Drinking Buddies啤友匯為您推薦的進口精釀啤酒均滿足小型、獨立和傳統這三個特點。我們非常高興的是我們的每一個合作伙伴都追求個性、在對釀酒事業都充滿熱情與創造力，這些在他們的啤酒、包裝和品牌中展現的淋漓盡致。

　　Image from/相關圖片來源于： Hospitalitytimes.ie