2024/05/30 
英國(guó)十九世紀(jì)著名外交家政治家帕默斯頓說(shuō)，請(qǐng)客吃飯是外交的靈魂。該國(guó)首相卡梅倫顯然深諳此道。今年十月習(xí)近平訪英，他給習(xí)發(fā)出酒吧之邀，滿足了外交需要，還不經(jīng)意成就了一個(gè)生意人的大好“錢”景……
By Simina Mistreanu
When President Xi Jinping went on a state visit to Great Britain this past October, British Prime Minister David Cameron invited him for a swift pint of beer at his local pub in Buckinghamshire.
今年十月，習(xí)近平訪英，在英國(guó)首相卡梅倫的邀請(qǐng)下，去倫敦郊外白金漢郡的一家酒吧品嘗啤酒。
Cameras filmed the two world leaders walking to the counter and Cameron ordering two pints of Greene King beer. Next, the men are pictured having a toast and drinking beer with a snack of fish and chips.
媒體鏡頭里，兩國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人行至吧臺(tái)，卡梅倫點(diǎn)了兩杯啤酒，兩人碰杯后就著薯?xiàng)l下酒。
As in the past, when Xi visited local restaurants in Beijing, Chinese went crazy wanting to replicate the experience. This time, they craved the beer that Xi was drinking.
不出所料，兩人手里的英國(guó)麥啤成了人們趨之若鶩的酒桌“逼格”利器。
For Peter Bloxham, a Beijing-based British businessman who imports Greene King beers into China, it was a windfall.
Peter Bloxham，在北京的英國(guó)商人，專門從事Greene King啤酒的進(jìn)口業(yè)務(wù)。對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一場(chǎng)飛來(lái)橫財(cái)。
“The two days after the event, our phone never stopped ringing,” Bloxham said. “It was ringing day and night. All over China, agents, hotels, restaurants, they wanted IPA. And we haven’t got it because we never knew there was going to be such a demand.”
“新聞出來(lái)兩天后，我們的電話就被打爆了。中國(guó)各地的代理商，賓館，飯店都想要訂購(gòu)。我們從沒(méi)想過(guò)會(huì)有這么大的需求量，所以一直供不應(yīng)求。”
Bloxham started importing British beers into China in 2004 with his company PFB Trading. He brings traditional British brands such as Greene King, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale and Belhaven.
04年開(kāi)始，Bloxham就做起了英國(guó)啤酒的中國(guó)進(jìn)口生意。他引進(jìn)了一系列老牌英國(guó)啤酒，包括Greene King，Old Speckled Hen，Abbot Ale還有Belhaven。
But until now demand hasn’t been so high, as the beer market is dominated by Chinese light lager brands such as Tsingtao, Yanjing and Snow. As for imported beers, German, Belgian and American brands sell much better than British ales in China.
但是這個(gè)市場(chǎng)一直沒(méi)有做大，國(guó)內(nèi)的啤酒市場(chǎng)還是被青島燕京雪花這幾個(gè)國(guó)產(chǎn)品牌占領(lǐng)。至于進(jìn)口啤酒，德國(guó)比利時(shí)和美國(guó)的牌子也比英國(guó)啤酒賣的好得多。
Bloxham used to import about 6,000 bottles of British beers and ciders every month. Now, after the famous Xi-Cameron toast, he’s waiting for three shipments totaling 75,000 bottles of Greene King IPA to reach the Tianjin port this month.
過(guò)去，Bloxham每個(gè)月進(jìn)口6000瓶左右的英國(guó)啤酒和果酒?，F(xiàn)在，一個(gè)月就有75000瓶Greene King啤酒到港。
“We’d become multimillionaires if it went on like this because it’s just crazy, absolutely crazy” Bloxham said. “I think after Spring Festival we’ll get back to normality, but our sales will go up by then.”
“這太瘋狂了，這樣下去我們離千萬(wàn)富翁都不遠(yuǎn)了。春節(jié)后銷量可能會(huì)回歸正常水平，不過(guò)肯定還是會(huì)漲的?！?/FONT>
China’s beer market is the largest in the world in terms of volume. In 2014, it totaled 500 million hectoliters. But this year, the volumes decreased by 5 to 10 percent because the lower end of the market has become saturated, according to research firm Daxue Consulting.
中國(guó)有著全球最大的啤酒市場(chǎng)，2014年的消費(fèi)量就有五百億升。不過(guò)今年的銷量跌了5到10個(gè)百分點(diǎn)，因?yàn)榈投似【剖袌?chǎng)漸漸開(kāi)始飽和。
Out of that market, real ale – known as beer that is unfiltered, unpasteurized and contains live yeast – makes up less than 1 percent.
然而龐大的中國(guó)啤酒市場(chǎng)上，只有不到1%是未過(guò)濾未消毒含活酵母的麥酒。
Importers such as Bloxham have started to bring real ale into China in the early 2000s, selling it in gourmet stores and at some Western restaurants. Later that decade, local microbreweries started opening in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, catering at first to expats.
像Bloxham一樣的進(jìn)口商在世紀(jì)初就把真正的麥芽酒帶到中國(guó)，在美食店和西餐館出售。后來(lái)他們陸續(xù)在北京上海等大城市建起啤酒廠。一開(kāi)始，顧客主要都是外國(guó)人。
Beijing has several popular microbreweries, including Great Leap Brewing, Arrow Factory Brewing, Slow Boat Brewery and Jing-A Brewing. The bitter, thicker beers are not a familiar taste for most Chinese, who are used to lighter beers, which are had to wash off spicy foods.
北京有幾家小有名氣的小啤酒廠，比如Great Leap Brewing，Arrow Factory Brewing，Slow Boat Brewery和Jing-A Brewing。然而習(xí)慣淡啤酒的國(guó)人對(duì)苦澀濃烈的英國(guó)麥啤并不習(xí)慣。
But some analysts believe the real ale market will grow in China, as the middle class is moving toward more premium drinks, and people in their 20s and 30s have travelled more and have encountered these drinks abroad.
不過(guò)一些人分析，國(guó)人對(duì)正宗麥酒的需求會(huì)越來(lái)越大。中產(chǎn)階級(jí)開(kāi)始轉(zhuǎn)而消費(fèi)更優(yōu)質(zhì)的飲品，二三十歲的年輕人也越來(lái)越多出國(guó)旅游，嘗試異國(guó)風(fēng)味的酒類。
In the meantime, Bloxham, who also sells British ciders and ginger beers, hopes President Xi will try out another one of his brands during his next visit to the UK.
Bloxham也做著英國(guó)果酒和姜酒的生意，想著習(xí)近平下一次訪英時(shí)能嘗嘗這些酒。
“I contacted them in the UK and said next time he’s visiting, get him to try one of your Crabbie’s (a ginger beer), and then we’ll have good sales of Crabbie’s in China as well.”
“我聯(lián)系了在英國(guó)的那些人，告訴他們，下次習(xí)近平訪問(wèn)時(shí)，讓他試試姜酒，再拉動(dòng)一下銷量?！?/FONT>