Chinese liquor is an indispensable drink in people's life in China. Liquor culture has a long history here, Chinese people are very happy with drinking. People drink liquor, people build up friendship. What we enjoy is the wind, the flowers, the snow and the moon. What we enjoy is a pot of Dukang(a kind of liquor). With the development of the times, wine, whisky, sake and other national alcohols have entered China. Even the most familiar beer has a higher level of enjoyment. After work, the big and small bars where the friends are immersed in the night are no longer Qingdao, Yanjing, Budweiser and Carlsberg who drink together. Moreover, this crown of beer belongs to the original state -  Craft Beer!

What is craft beer?

Craft beer is originated from the U.S. Actually before the word "Craft beer" was created, such kind of beer was called draught beer. If you want to know more about craft beer and stand out among many friends and lead your beer circle further, it is necessary to start with the emergence of beer. The history of beer can be traced back to 3000 BC. It was invented by Sumerians living in Mesopotamia plain. (Sumerian civilization is the earliest known civilization in the world. They invented hieroglyphs. At that time, the development level was fabulous, such as law, teaching, agricultural irrigation, etc., I even doubt if it is an alien civilization to the earth.)

The original form of beer is totaly different from the present. In a simple analogy, the beer at that time was actually sweet water made of barley with a small amount of alcohol. (because at that time, there would be no bitterness in modern beer without hops. The principle is as follows)

As the Roman army traveled across the continent, they connected and spread many different civilizations. Beer was one of them. At that time, people were making beer at home. As a daily drink, it was as common as boiling soup. People boil the malt and wait for the sugar in it to react with the microbes in the air to produce alcohol. Add some local specialties to make the beer taste various. This is the early beer, you can drink by yourself, entertain friends, or taste with neighbors, taste and so on.

Difference between craft beer and water beer
 

Beer is not a complicate drink. It's not like wine with so many courtesies and drinking methods. It's not like whisky with profound layouts. Even the principle of brewing craft beer is very simple. It can be done at home. So what craft beer brings, is happy atmosphere, pleasure of drinking, natural fragrance and stress releasing.
 
Of course, even so, drinking beer is not a random thing. We still have to maintain a ritual sense of life, in the sea of craft beer, drink clearly, drunk gentleman.

In short, beer is a kind of sweet wort with hop flavor produced by fermentation. It is mainly composed of four raw materials: malt (or other fermentable starch crops such as wheat or rice, but craft beer can only be It is brewed with malt, which is the product of barley germinated after soaking in water and then dried). Hops, a flower of the cannabis family (don't worry if you drink it, it's not a drug). Yeast, a single-celled fungus. The last is water.

How do these four ingredients work? One word tells you: chemical reaction. The barley is germinated, germinated and dried, then crushed and boiled in hot water to break down the sugar (maltose). Yeast is then added and the yeast is allowed to eat the maltose, which breaks down carbon dioxide and alcohol. As for hops, it is to increase the aroma of beer and to neutralize the sweetness of maltose with bitterin in female hops to make the beer more refreshing. So far, this is the process of making beer.

The advantage of beer brewing is that it is very convenient. Unlike wine, it can only be brewed in the area near the grape origin. However, even though the brewing methods and ingredients are the same, each beer still has its unique flavor. Because a good brewer is like a chef, he will use his own method to mix the proportions of malt, hops and yeast. At the same time, the fruit flavors, coffee flavors, caramel flavors, etc. that you can drink now are also different for each brand.

(It's worth remembering that traditional craftsmanship can only include malt, yeast, hops, and water, and no other flavors can appear. However, with the continuous development, the American Brewers Association (BA) has released Part of the requirements, so these various flavors will appear later, making craft beer like amusement park, colorful.)

We already know about the ingredients of craft beer, it should not be difficult to remember. Then we need to talk about the difference between craft beer and water beer (industrial beer).

According to BA's definition of craft beer, the first criterion is small, which means that the annual output does not exceed 6 million barrels. In order to meet market demand, industrial beer production is 10,000 tons. In particular, the most important thing is that the raw materials of industrial beer will be used: rice, corn, starch ... to replace the high-cost malt, and the proportion of water is high. Drinking this kind of beer is like clear water with alcohol content. Except for drunk and going to the toilet, you will not experience the slightest taste bud enjoyment.


Secondly, in order to meet sales and storage needs, industrial beer is pasteurized before canning to extend the shelf life. The temperature of pasteurization will completely destroy the original taste of beer. Craft beer will not be pasteurized and cold-filtered to preserve the original flavor and taste of the beer to the greatest extent, and even leave the essence on the bottom of the bottle.

文到此处，应该对精酿啤酒有了基本认知了吧？这些酿造原理和知识，足够你在朋友聚会时大show一把。当然，只懂得原理还是不够的，更多的是如何品尝和选择。（可以继续往下看了）精酿啤酒浓重的麦芽香味，醇厚的口感，以及它不算高的酒精度数和易于接受的市场价格，使其成为酒类饮品中的社交之星。无论男人，女人，年轻人，还是老人，都可以美美的喝上一杯，体会其中的幸福感。

那么，如何选择一杯适合自己的精酿呢？下面这几个指标和种类，你一定要了解。以后在酒吧点酒就不会发愁啦！

IBU：全称是国际苦味指数，主要告诉你这瓶啤酒的苦度，通常数值越大越苦。有的啤酒会将味道做的比较平衡，苦味展现的不是那么明显，但实际上IBU还是很高的。

ABV：酒精含量，也就是度数高低的意思，除了一些断片酒，大部分都可以接受，用%vol为单位。怎么选看个人喜好。

麦芽汁浓度：这个主要是口感的不同，越高的口感越厚重，同比ABV也会越高，用°P 为单位。

拉格（Lager）和艾尔（Ale）：下面就要说到精酿啤酒的种类了，在此之前这两个名词我们需要知道是什么意思。这是两种酿酒的发酵方式，过于细节的不说了，我们只需要知道：艾尔采用的是上层发酵方法，这种方法温度会比拉格高15度左右，酒体会更加饱满，味道丰富浓烈。拉格是下层低温发酵，酒体会比较澄清，口味偏淡，是现在大部分工业啤酒采用的方式，例如青岛、燕京、百威这种。下面介绍的精酿啤酒种类中，大多是采用艾尔发酵，会多次提到。

IPA：必须第一个介绍这种精酿。喝精酿的人没有不知道IPA的，全称是印度淡色艾尔啤酒（Ale）。在今年的国际精酿啤酒展上，IPA是每家展台上都会有的。注意！IPA可不是印度的啤酒，名称来源于它的历史背景，实际上它的原产国是英国。IPA的特点是极香与极苦，因为加入了大量的啤酒花，所以如果你品尝了一杯双倍IPA或是三倍IPA，那种对味蕾的刺激绝对会让你咋舌。

（英国人在向印度殖民的时候，军队不愿喝当地的水，所以便以酒代水。为了让啤酒在海运时不会变质，便加入了大量的啤酒花延长保质期。此后成立了东印度公司，这种啤酒也变成了正常的消费品，起名印度艾尔啤酒。）

波特（Porter）和世涛（Stout）：这类啤酒的特点是采用烘焙麦芽酿制，酒体颜色偏深，充满了焦糖、咖啡、黑巧克力风味。同时，这种酒的ABV普遍会高些，尤其是帝国世涛啤酒，是经过俄国人改良的版本。如果在酒吧你想点一杯带有“帝国”（Imperial stout）前缀的啤酒，可要先掂量一下自己的酒量。

修道院啤酒（Trappist）：这也是一个啤酒的种类，产自比利时，代表了一类经由比利时修道院修士酿造的啤酒的总称。这种酒的特点是颜色深，香气浓郁，ABV高，喝起来有淡淡的苦味及焦糖味，算是一种烈性艾尔。如果你在酒吧看到瓶子上印着“Abbey”或“Trappist”那这就是一款修道院啤酒了。

皮尔森啤酒：在拉格发酵的啤酒阵营中皮尔森可谓是大名鼎鼎，因为它是世界上第一款拉格啤酒！金黄澄清的酒体，较低的ABV（5%左右），细腻的泡沫，清香的味道。水啤界大鳄百威，便是采用的改版皮尔森配方。如果想喝一杯纯正的皮尔森啤酒，可以认清酒瓶上的标识“Pilsner Urquell”。

小麦啤酒：可以简单理解为白啤，酒标关键词wheat，white。这类酒在酿造的时候加入了一定比例的小麦芽，市面上常见的福佳白，1664等都是小麦啤。特点是酒体浑浊，气泡感强烈，入口较为清爽。

其实写了这么多，我已经有点迫不及待要倒上一杯精酿提提神了。长久以来，精酿啤酒都延续着最本质的酿制方式，在基础原料之外加入的不同配方，会让每款精酿都独具特色。那如何分辨一款啤酒好不好？我们可以去看它的配料表：大米、玉米淀粉、酒花浸膏、人工香精、以及低于12度的原麦汁浓度，只要有这些，都不是值得一喝的啤酒。

In recent years, domestic brands of craft beer have sprung up. At the 4th China International Craft Beer Culture Exhibition held last month, a group of domestically representative brewers appeared on the booth with the concept of "redefining beer". Dozens of brands come together, including Panda Craft, Jing A, Moker, Flavor Hut, Flintwalker, Blue Marlin, Goddess Craft, and more. It can be seen that the Chinese people have reached a clear turning point in improving the quality of life. We care more about exquisite things with cultural connotation, not just the dregs of the appearance.

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