此次我們邀請到台灣酒研學院專業講師—— Tom，來分享他品飲麒麟一番搾、一番搾鮮摘和 Spring Valley 精釀啤酒的超詳細品飲體驗，開啟啤酒品嚐的感官享受 ！
We invited Tom, noted lecturer from the Taiwan Wine Academy, to share his experience tasting Kirin ICHIBAN beer, Kirin Toretate Hop, and Spring Valley craft beer and launch you on a sensory journey of beer tasting.
Tom 老師這樣喝 ！享受拉格啤酒的絕妙滋味
Drink like Master Tom ! How to properly enjoy a Lager
我和妻子 Naseem 於 15 年前創立台灣酒研學院（TWA），開台灣飲品教育之先河。近十年來 TWA 同步開設 Cicerone（啤酒侍酒師認證）和 BJCP（啤酒評審認證）啤酒品飲課程，重點在於各式精釀啤酒風格。但很遺憾，精釀啤酒愛好者往往忽略優質的拉格啤酒。
My wife Naseem Chen and I pioneered drinks education in Taiwan 15 years ago when we launched the Taiwan Wine Academy, and for 10 of those years our school has offered parallel Cicerone and Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) beer-tasting courses with a focus on craft beer. Unfortunately, the wonderful lager has often been overlooked by craft beer lovers.
以現狀來說，除了水和茶以外，最多人喝的就是啤酒了，其中佔比超過一半是酒精量低且風味相對中性的拉格。為何這麼多人愛喝？難道只是因為隨處可見又相對便宜嗎？或許是吧。但仔細想想，經過了一整天炎熱且長時間辛苦工作後，可以開一罐冰涼啤酒來喝再好不過了！即便是連葡萄酒釀酒師也愛啤酒！甚至，還曾聽澳洲釀酒師這樣說過：「要喝很多啤酒，才能釀出好葡萄酒。」
Let’s look at the facts. Excepting water and tea, more people drink beer than anything else, and more than half of all that beer is lager—relatively low in alcohol and mild in flavor. Why do so many people prefer to drink such beer? Is it just because it’s everywhere and it’s cheap? Maybe. But I say this: After working long and hard on a hot day, there is nothing better than cracking an ice-cold beer! Even winemakers love drinking beer! I’ve even heard Australian winemakers say, “It takes a lot of beer to make good wine.”
啤酒的第一口就是關鍵，為了讓初始口感正確，啤酒必須非常冰，溫度介於攝氏 3-8 度。當冰涼啤酒進入乾渴喉嚨時，二氧化碳會爆發，急速解渴，尤其是冰涼的拉格，可說是最解渴的飲料，這可是水做不到的！大多數人喝啤酒時，不一定會把拉格倒進啤酒杯，而是直接開罐喝，這麼一來，就可以直接享受到那純粹、冰涼、充滿二氧化碳的快感，是更棒的享受。
The initial taste is the magical moment. To get that initial taste right, the beer must be super cold, 3-8 degrees Celsius; the moment the ice-cold beer strikes your parched throat, the carbonation explodes, instantly eradicating your thirst. It’s fair to say that no drink is more thirst-quenching than ice-cold lager. Water does not come close! For most people, the beer doesn’t have to be in a glass and is instead drunk straight from the can, so you can immediately enjoy that pure, cold, and carbonated rush.
麒麟一番搾，令人驚喜的風味調配 ！
Kirin Ichiban, a surprising blend of flavors !
但問題來了：香氣呢？啤酒花和麥芽呢？的確如此，極低溫的環境會壓抑大部分的香氣和風味，甚至突顯不討喜的苦味和乾澀感。但像麒麟一番搾這種優質的拉格，就跟其他啤酒不同。當一開始的快感逐漸退去，此時啤酒在口中和喉嚨加熱，釋放風味物質後，才能感受其微妙之處。
By now you must be asking, “What about the aromas? What about the hops and the malt? Indeed, extreme cold will suppress almost all the aromas and flavors and even highlight unpleasant bitterness and dryness. However, a premium lager like Kirin ICHIBAN stands out from other beers—after the initial rush, the beer warms up in your mouth and throat, releasing its flavor compounds and developing nuances in taste.
這時，配方就很重要，若風味過多，會使冰涼啤酒產生不討喜的苦味與距離感；若風味太少，又會使啤酒失去口感和酒體。在這個「從解渴快感到風味享受」的過渡中，有些啤酒廠乾脆放棄掉第二階段的「享受風味」，反觀麒麟一番搾卻有其獨到之處，其品飲與試驗團隊，花了多年時間精心調整比例，以求達到良好平衡。麒麟一番搾僅使用大麥麥芽，並且細心調控、精選啤酒花的使用，一入口就能展現恰到好處的苦味與干性，讓人享受到最高解渴快感，等入喉後溫度升高，精華逐步釋放，就能盡情享受第二波風味。
Here is where recipes become especially important: too much flavor, and the ice-cold beer may taste unpleasantly bitter and harsh; too little flavor, and the beer will lose texture and body. In this transition—from initial thirst-quenching to lingering temptations for the palate—some producers simply abandon the second experience. But not Kirin; on the contrary, Kirin’s team of brew-masters and expert tasters have spent years achieving unique balance. Using only malted barley and precisely restraining carefully selected aroma hops, Kirin achieves a maximum thirst-quenching in the first mouthful through a perfect balance of bitter and dry; then the second wave of flavor takes over as the beer warms in your mouth and releases its aromatic essence.
因此，麒麟一番搾橫跨於「初始快感」與「悠長風味」兩邊，以高超技藝解決兩者衝突，而我最近才開始了解這個衝突。
Kirin thus seeks to operate in the boundary between an initial rush and sustained aftertaste, resolving the paradox with superlative finesse. I have only recently come to understand this paradox.
對習慣喝葡萄酒的人來說，啤酒品飲有些不同，品葡萄酒時，我們先看酒色與澄淨度，然後聞香，再嘗風味，最後給結論；至於啤酒，請參考自釀啤酒協會的指南（備1）「先喝酒，喝進約1盎司的酒，讓酒液在口腔均勻塗佈，與嘴唇、牙齦、牙齒、上顎、舌上、舌下和舌側都接觸。接著，喝下啤酒，再透過鼻子呼氣。」
For those of you who have come up tasting wine, tasting beer is a little different. With wine, we first assess the color and clarity, then the aromas, then the flavors and then the finish. As for beer, consider these instructions from the homebrew association (Appendix 1) :
「Taste the beer. Take about 1 ounce of beer into your mouth, and coat the inside of your mouth with it. Be sure to allow the beer to make contact with your lips, gums, teeth, palate, and the top, bottom, and sides of your tongue. Swallow the beer, and exhale through your nose.」
發現差別了嗎？啤酒是先喝，喝下去後才聞香。請喝喝看，一起來體會其中的差異吧！
You see the difference? With beer, you taste and swallow it before you assess the aromas. Let’s experience the difference together !
享受KIRIN不同風味特色的啤酒
Enjoying each of the unique Kirin beers
我們和TWA員工一起品飲三款麒麟啤酒，特別觀察初始口感，以及酒喝下去在鼻後嗅覺捕捉到的香氣，同時留意啤酒在倒出幾分鐘後的變化。我們並非科學家，麒麟一定做過更精準的實驗，但我們仍希望從中學到東西，也的確有些驚喜。
We and the staff of TWA tried three new expressions from Kirin, paying especial attention to their initial impact and then how their aromas opened in the retro-nasal impression after swallowing. We also observed how the beers changed minutes after they had been poured. We are not scientists, and I’m sure Kirin does much better-controlled experiments, but we still hoped to learn something. We had a few pleasant surprises.
以下是我們品飲的三款麒麟啤酒，兩款拉格，一款愛爾：
We had three expressions to try from Kirin, which were two Lagers and an Ale:
首先，是拉格 The first Lager
．KIRIN 一番搾鮮摘啤酒花啤酒 KIRIN ICHIBAN「Toretate Hop」
酒溫5度，一開始較為清淡，氣泡較大且溫和，鼻後嗅覺則是充滿果香及啤酒花帶來的清新感，由於特別選用來自岩手縣遠野產的 「IBUKI 啤酒花」，採摘 24 小時內即快速冰凍，將香氣完整鎖住，所以比一般啤酒更能散發華麗芳香。當酒溫超過8度後，口感變得意外圓潤討喜，鼻後嗅覺也更快打開，迎接而來的是葡萄柚和橙花香氣，並附帶啤酒花苦味和一絲海鮮味。相較於散發濃郁麥香的麒麟一番搾，兩者雖使用同樣「一番搾製法」萃取第一道麥汁釀造，鮮摘啤酒則以輕盈水果香氣征服人心，及輕鬆易飲為特色，是一款不常喝啤酒的人也會愛上的特色啤酒。整體而言，大家認為這款酒在溫度稍高，比如 8 度時表現最佳，它十分易飲，適合聊天聚餐飲用。
At 5 degrees, this beer was initially quite light, with a larger carbonation bead and an empty mid-palate. The retro-nasal sensations were fruity and refreshing from the hops, which are Ibuki hops from Tōno in Iwate Prefecture, Japan that were freeze-dried within 24 hours of being harvested in order to lock in the aroma, resulting in a richer bouquet than other beers. When the beer was warmed to 8 degrees, the mouth-feel rounded very pleasingly, and the retro-nasal aromas opened much more quickly with grapefruit and orange blossom backed by hop bitterness and a note of seafood umami.
Compared with the classic Kirin ICHIBAN beer, which exudes a rich barley scent, although both lagers are made from the first wort extracted with the patented ICHIBAN process, the freshly squeezed IPL has a light and fruity aroma that is universally loved and easy to drink. Even people who do not usually drink beer will fall in love with the IPL. Overall, we agreed this beer tasted best a little warmer, say at 8 degrees. It was very drinkable, a satisfying session lager.
．Spring Valley 精釀啤酒 豐潤<496> Spring Valley 「Houju 496」
在5度時入口相當清爽純淨，大家先感受到的是「紅茶」，接著是「蜂蜜」和「苦甜」，以及尾韻帶來的成熟蘋果和橙皮香氣。酒溫升高幾度後，開始展現獨有特色，一位品飲者說，這使他想起德國 Freiburg 家鄉的冬季啤酒，真是個美好的懷舊時光。儘管如此，我們仍建議 496 要冰涼飲用，因為麒麟把它的入口感做得非常好，錯過就可惜了！
This beer, drunk at 5 degrees, came through wonderfully refreshing and clean in the first attack. The first comment from our group was ‘Black Tea’ and then ‘Honey’ and ‘Bitter-sweet’. The finish was accented by ripe apples and a touch orange zest. As it warmed up a few degrees, this one came into its own. In a fine moment of nostalgia, one of our tasters said this beer reminded him of winter beers from his home in Freiburg, Germany.
．Spring Valley 精釀啤酒 絲滑白艾爾 Spring Valley 「Silk Ale」
一喝就知道與一番搾拉格大不相同，絲滑白艾爾在5度時入口就令人驚豔，圓潤綿密的口感延伸到喉頭，隨著酒液在口中加溫，浮現蜂蜜甜味和花香，最後以啤酒花苦味做結。稍微升溫後，雖少了入口衝擊感，但依然保有優秀的清爽感和餘韻。
Right away we felt the difference from the Kirin IPL. Silk Ale at 5 degrees had a wonderfully successful attack with round and creamy mouth-feel carrying on to the back of the throat. Honey sweetness and floral aromas emerged as the liquid warmed in our mouths, and a hoppy bitterness extended the finish. A few degrees warmer, it lost that magical attack but managed to retain its wonderful freshness and length.
品飲總結
The conclusion
這次品飲讓我們清楚了解到，麒麟在啤酒光譜中站在一個兩難的位置（指克服技術讓「初始快感」及「悠長風味」兼備），其拉格啤酒不僅入口冰涼爽快，連鼻後的香氣與風味都完整呈現，使愉悅度更上一層，超越入口的滿足感，這是拉格啤酒的一大突破。出人意料的，兩款精釀啤酒在常見的低溫下飲用更為暢快，而創新的鮮摘啤酒則在溫度稍高幾度時飲用較佳。麒麟大膽擴張啤酒風格，讓細緻迷人的鼻後香氣在入口時流暢展現，相信麒麟的雄心已在改變這個全球最普及的酒精飲料市場了。
The tasting demonstrated to us clearly that Kirin occupies a difficult and paradoxical position in the beer spectrum (overcoming the technical challenge of achieving both initial rush and sustained aftertaste). The lager was not only refreshingly ice-cold upon first taste, the pleasure was extended well beyond the first gulp and enhanced by retro-nasal flavors and aromas. A massive breakthrough for lagers! Unexpectedly, the two ales go down more smoothly at lower temperatures, while the innovative IPL prefers to be enjoyed a few degrees warmer. Kirin is pushing boldly to extend the International Style, with delicate and tantalizing retro-nasal fragrances emerging smoothly from the initial thirst-quenching rush. We believe that Kirin’s ambitious strategy is already transforming the market for the world’s most popular beverage.
備註1：參考資料源自 https://reurl.cc/RWdqjG
※ 以上文字、圖片，版權均為台灣麒麟KIRIN所有，嚴禁轉載。