经济学人240:家庭酿造 一品脱制作精良的好酒

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　　家庭酿造

　　A pint³ well made

　　一品脱制作精良的好酒

　　Britain's home brewers are raising a more palatable⁴ glass

　　英国家庭酿酒者杯中美酒更加可口

　　Mr Nelson's tipple⁵

　　纳尔逊先生的酒

　　HOME brew¹ was once a phrase that struck terror into the heart of the civilised drinker. In the 1970s, a friend offering to crack open a bottle of foul⁶ muck made in a cupboard under the stairs was a common threat and the prelude⁷ to an appalling⁸ hangover. But the fad⁹ took hold because of the dull alternatives and the fact that it was, at least, cheap. Times have changed. The winning entry in a nationwide home-brewing competition went on sale in October in Waitrose, a fancy supermarket, at 2.50 a bottle.

　　家庭酿造曾是令人心生恐惧的一个短语。在20世纪70年代，如果一个朋友提议开一瓶在楼梯底下的碗柜里酿造的劣质酒，这是一个普通的威胁，也是一场可怕宿醉的序曲。但这一时的狂热竟就地生根了，因为当时的选择寥寥无几，而且起码自酿酒很便宜。如今时代变了。全国家庭酿造比赛的优胜酒于10月在名为维特罗斯的高档超市上架，售价为每瓶2.5镑。

　　家庭酿造.jpg

　　Thornbridge Brewery¹⁰, a well-regarded small beermaker and one of the sponsors of the tournament, will produce 10,000 bottles of Graham Nelson's Vienna IPA, which beat over 200 other tipples¹¹ to take the title. Mr Nelson is one of a new batch¹² of home brewers for whom quality rather than parsimony¹³ is a guiding principle. To make top-quality beer home brewers can buy equipment that is like a miniature version of a commercial brewery. Discerning drinkers are buying crateloads of pricey craft ales made on a small scale in a fast-growing collection of microbreweries. And like foodies, who roast their own coffee beans or bake sourdough bread, some want to have a go at making the stuff themselves.

　　索恩桥啤酒厂是一家备受好评的小啤酒制造商，也是该项赛事的赞助商之一，它将生产10，000瓶格雷汉姆·纳尔逊的维也纳IPA，该酒超越了200种其他的酒摘取了桂冠。纳尔逊是新一代家庭酿造者之一，对他们来说，指导原则是质量，而不是省钱。为了酿造质量上乘的啤酒，家庭酿造者们可以购买一整套迷你版的像商业酿造厂一样的设备。有鉴赏能力的饮酒者从快速成长的小型啤酒厂处大量购买小规模生产、价格昂贵的工艺啤酒。就像会自己烘焙咖啡豆或自己烤制酵母面包的美食家一样，有些饮酒者尝试自己动手酿酒。

　　Adventurous¹⁵ amateurs are well served by a homebrewing culture that has spread like yeast¹⁶ in an airing cupboard. In the 1970s most bought a kit¹⁷ containing malt extract and a gloopy brown syrup¹⁸ which merely required the addition of water and a bit of patience. Kits¹⁹ are still popular for the first-time brewers and there are plenty of online stores that will sell you one. But home brewers are progressing to a set-up like a commercial brewery in miniature: mashing²⁰ their own grain and selecting from an international array of malts and hops²¹.

　　敢于尝试的业余者们处于一个良好的氛围中，这种家庭酿造文化已如烘柜里的酵母般蔓延。20世纪70年代多数人购买了小木桶，装入麦精和一种棕色糖浆，只需加水再耐心等待就行了。小木桶在酿酒新手中仍备受欢迎，网上有很多商店贩卖这类小桶。但家庭酿造者们也在进步，置备一整套类似于迷你商业酿造机器的设备：自己磨粮食，在国内外各种麦精和啤酒花中精挑细选。

　　Easier access to information has also helped as beermakers swap²² tips on the internet. Online videos and forums²³ guide the inexperienced. And some brewers will, for a fee, help newcomers. Beer Lab, for example, offers sessions where enthusiasts²⁴ can select and brew a beer of their choice at its site in London under the watchful²⁵ eye of a professional. Microbreweries around the country run similar courses.

　　信息更易获取这一点也起到了帮助作用，酿造者们可以在网上交流经验。在线视频和论坛为缺乏经验的人提供指导。有一些酿造者也会收取一定费用帮助新手。比如说，啤酒实验室就有相应的课程供热衷者选择，并让学习者在专业人士的指导下在伦敦的制作点酿造自己选择的一种啤酒。国内的小啤酒厂也运行类似的课程。

　　The numbers involved in home brewing are unclear but equipment suppliers say that business is booming. One firm that makes unbranded kits for smaller retailers²⁶ says that sales have grown by 25% on average for the past five years and show no sign of slowing. The impact is more obvious. Sales of commercially produced craft beer grew by 8% in 2013 while big brands are drooping²⁷. Overall beer sales grew by just 1.4% in 2013 after eight years of decline. Britain now has 1,285 breweries¹⁴ compared with 200 in the 1970s. According to CAMRA, an organisation²⁸ that promotes good beer, 14 new microbreweries are opening in the country every month. Most of their proprietors²⁹ honed their skills at home.

　　进行家庭酿造的人数并不确定，但器材供应商说该行业正在蓬勃发展。一家为小零售商提供无商标桶具的公司表示销售量在过去五年内平均上涨了25%，这种势头还没有放缓的迹象。影响更是显而易见。2013年，商业生产的工艺啤酒销售量上涨了8%，但大品牌正在衰落。在八年的连续下滑后，2013年整体的啤酒销量仅上涨了1.4%。英国如今拥有1，285家啤酒厂，而在20世纪70年代仅有约200家。据散装鲜啤酒协会（CAMRA），一个推广优质啤酒的组织表示，国内每个月平均有14家新小型啤酒厂开业。大多数业主都在家磨练过技艺。

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