Craft is Art: 2015 MEMORABLE BEER LIST--by RAYMOND

来自新加坡的朋友RAYMOND以自己的方式记录今年的品酒记。。

and the list continues--this time from a Singapore beer geek friend, instead of a list, Raymond has written in his own style--remembering "beery moments" of 2015....

here's the list in his own words:-(all pics provided by Raymond)
"Firstly, many thanks for sounding me out with the idea of recording the top beers I have enjoyed in 2015.

(Un)fortunately, there have been far too many outstanding beers that I had experienced this past year! Even after weeks of thought and deliberation, I am still stumped to produce any useful list. Therefore, I have decided to compile a general list of BEST beer experiences in 2015, hopefully that can make up for the pathetic indecision that plagues me.

“过去一年喝了不少好酒，实在没办法整理出清单情况下，决定以这样的方式来记录。。。”

1) Doing weird things to beer.

In 2015, some of my beer buddies have started to experiment with different ways of appreciating craft beer. Apart from those who are homebrewers and have incorporated Asian ingredients into their handmade beer (and they are most delicious!), I had the privilege of enjoying self-blended craft beer (for example, an IPA with an amber ale), and pressure infused beer (using an espresso gadget to press lemon oils into a saison or gose).

今年和一些啤迷朋友开始试验不同方式品味，比如自己混合不同啤酒，或利用咖啡机挤压柠檬混入农村风格啤酒或德式酸啤酒。。。

2) Encountering rare beers.

This year was also remarkable for the number of so-called “whales” that were either shared kindly by friends or encountered during my travels. I would have never expected to taste Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, not just once, but TWICE! While it lived up to well-deserved reputation, it was not so much better than the beers that are more easily available. That helped to give me a sense of perspective that we need not always chase after rare beers. Adding to the mix were examples like Brewdog’s Sink the Bismarck and Tactical Nuclear Penguin. While I managed to find End of History, sadly it was not for tasting. The picture is still memorable though.

通过啤迷朋友分享或旅游时候发现，今年品尝到不少“大酒”--比如盛名在外的PLINY就有幸喝到两次。通过这次经验也有所启示，喝酒不必执意追求“大酒”。。。

3) Drinking with friends

There have been many beer sharing sessions in 2015, which have made it possible for my poor liver to survive all the different beers being ingested. The solidarity of the Singapore craft beer community is amazing, and many of them have contributed a lot to the increased awareness and progress made in terms of craft beer activities. Furthermore, it has become more likely to bump into fellow Singaporean beer geeks overseas! In fact, one of the most memorable experiences of the year was drinking beer, whisky and sake with Daniel Goh and Mengchao (of Brewer’s Craft, Good Beer Company and Smith Street Taps fame) in Tokyo!

今年有很多次分享会，新加坡啤迷之间的融和是令人赞叹的，这也对提升撞意啤酒文化发展起了作用，也因为那样，在海外碰到新加坡啤迷的机会也提高了。。今年最值得回味的一次经验就是在东京和SMITH STREET BAR的两位掌柜分享啤酒，威士忌和日本清酒。。。

4) So many beer events!

Events involving beer really ramped up in 2015, with many beer stalls having tap takeovers, beer club gatherings, beer festivals, parties; in some weeks, there were not only events every other day, but several happening on the SAME day. This was the first year that I had the chance to volunteer with my favourite beer businesses and both occasions were exhausting but also exhilarating fun (also, free t-shirt).

今年新加坡有好多撞意啤酒活动，例如不同的“占领啤酒泵”活动，啤迷聚会，啤酒节等等，有些是相隔一天进行，有些碰上同一天。也因为那样，今年是RAYMOND第一次自愿帮忙啤酒商活动，虽然累也是乐趣满满。。。（还有免费T-SHIRT ；）

5) Sours, and more sours

One style of beer that I had been obsessed with in 2015 was sours – lambics, geuzes, goses, saisons, oude bruins, anything that was spontaneously fermented and as funky as possible. I remember the first sour beer I had was from Stillwater Artisanal and it was not a pleasant experience at first. It had reminded me then of animal urine and stale socks! Over time, however, I grew to enjoy the depth of flavours, much like an acquired taste for blue cheese and other pungent fermented products. This obsession encouraged to travel great distances in Osaka, and even to Nagoya which stock such beers that are almost impossible to find elsewhere in Asia. These journeys did not disappoint and the beers I found there were pure treasures.

今年最让人着迷的类别是天然发酵果酸啤酒，RAYMOND之前第一次接触的酸啤酒让他觉得像在和动物小便或臭袜子！！渐渐接受并喜欢上果酸啤酒後，今年到了大阪名古屋找酸啤酒去了。。