今天在FB版上看到一位網友Yuhang Lin在台灣精釀啤酒俱樂部中提到："我蠻喜歡用熟悉的味道形容酒的, 這樣相似文化背景的朋友也可以很快的瞭解味道" => 這真是講到我心坎裡了~

寫個人品酒心得(Beer Note)至今有超過十年的光景。從一開始也會想看看其他同好對於同一款酒有甚麼印象，會怎麼形容，比對自己的心得，到現在其實是天馬行空地以自己的感官經驗與連結形容味蕾上鼻腔後深深烙印的每一秒風味；腦子裡蹦出來的詞，常常還都是中文範圍裡的印象呢！因為，我就是聞這個、嚐那個這麼長大的啊~

現在隨便一想到的有：仙草、愛玉、可爾必思、養樂多、茶梗、仙楂、南棗核桃糕、黑糖、茶梅、切ㄙㄨㄚ糖、冬瓜糖、龍眼/桂圓、鹽水醃小桃子、甘草、荔枝、陳皮、煮包菜、烤番薯、蒸芋仔、烤板栗、醃芭樂、醃楊桃、甚至『夜市的餿水』！等等，這都是我在嚐千百樣啤酒過程中，曾經經歷過且記錄下的 - 純台灣孩子派的 - 感覺呢...

不才，我中文挺不好，又，開始寫葡萄酒啤酒筆記時都是以英文記錄，所以這幾多年寫的東西還和好一些有興趣詢問的國外朋友得多作說明... 不然，他們聽得ㄇ颯颯，或經過Google Translate後還真是嚇壞了！哈哈... 改天自己也寫個個人味輪，顛覆一下歐美主導的印象。就像，您問『黑醋栗』味道應該是怎樣？誰知道啊？我又不是吃它長大的... 

The Kernel, Pale Ale (Mosaic Simcoe), 5.6%abv. (American Pale Ale)

Purchased at the Kernel Brewery in London, bottle-conditioned in a 500ml brown bottle, bottled on 18/02/13, BB 18/06/13, served lightly chilled in a straight imperial pint glass. Note: as noted in the name, this beer is brewed with Mosaic and Simcoe hop varieties, plus English pale malts and crystal malts (info. shared by one of the brewing staff).

3.5/5 Appearance: pours a murky amber hue, coming with light and constant carbonation, topped with a well-lasting off-white creamy head.

4/5 Smell: sweet orangey-citric hop aroma hand in hand with tropical fruits as of ripe guava and faint passion fruit; the faintly honey-ish pale malts stay behind to render a mild backbone, added with a little caramel-sweetness from crystal malts used in the mash. All in all, very aromatic true to the style.

4/5 Taste: effervescent on the palate, the short-lived foretaste is mainly tropical fruity featuring, again, guava, white grapefruit flash and peels, resinous hops against a very light backbone of gristy pale malts, while the substantial amount of hop bitterness storms the rear of the palate closely, leaving a rather chewy, tangy and dry hop bitter as well as pleasantly sour-bitter yeasty aftertaste to linger. It’s so bitter that one would be forgiven for treating it as an English Bitter if the hop aroma is not so exceptionally exotic.

4/5 Mouthfeel: the mouthfeel is refreshing throughout, against a medium body and a rather high-octave hop-bitter profile.

4.5/5 Overall: This beer is paler than one’s usual American Pale Ale, as normally Kernel uses around 3.3:1 ratio of Pale Malts and Crystal Malts, while the hop-bitter profile befits a rather modern take on a very bitter Blond Bitter or even English IPA (ringing a bell of Thornbridge Hall’s “Kipling”, actually). All in all, very pleasant and this should be the very best Pale Ale that I’ve got the chance to try from the Kernel range, kegged or bottle-conditioned. Highly recommended.

--Yau (25/03/2013)