青島啤酒節(jié)：德國根，中國酒

QINGDAO, China — Music. Tourists. Traditional food. Long tables crammed inside huge tents. And beer — lots and lots of beer.

中國青島——音樂、游客、傳統(tǒng)食物、大帳篷里滿滿的長桌。還有啤酒——很多很多啤酒。

It’s not Oktoberfest. It’s the Qingdao International Beer Festival, China’s largest celebration of lager.

這不是慕尼黑啤酒節(jié)，這里是青島國際啤酒節(jié)——中國最大的啤酒節(jié)。

If the festival looks like a certain German tradition, there’s a good reason. The city of Qingdao is home to the similarly pronounced Tsingtao Brewery, which was founded by German settlers in this corner of Shandong Province more than a century ago.

如果說這個節(jié)日很像德國傳統(tǒng)，也是有道理的。位于山東一隅的青島市是青島啤酒的產(chǎn)地，一個世紀(jì)之前，德國移民在這里創(chuàng)建了這個品牌。

Since the festival started in 1991, the crowds have steadily increased. This summer’s celebration, which ran for much of August, drew nearly 40,000 people on its busiest weekends.

青島國際啤酒節(jié)始于1991年，此后參與者群體一直穩(wěn)步增長。今年夏天的慶典幾乎持續(xù)了整個八月，最繁忙的幾個周末吸引了將近4萬人。

A small army of bartenders and servers kept steins full and glasses clean and at the ready.

一小群調(diào)酒師和侍者隨時斟滿啤酒杯，并把玻璃杯擦拭干凈，方便人們?nèi)∮谩?/p>

In addition to Tsingtao, foreign producers like Budweiser and Carlsberg set up their own tents. Inside, the scene was raucous: Performers lip-synced to patriotic Chinese songs, women in skimpy outfits auctioned off traditional Chinese calligraphy, and more than one man felt the need to remove his shirt.

除了青島啤酒之外，外國生產(chǎn)商百威啤酒和嘉士伯啤酒也各自搭起了帳篷。里面的場面分外喧鬧：表演者對口型唱著中文愛國歌曲，穿著暴露衣服的女人拍賣傳統(tǒng)中國書法，不少男人脫掉了上衣。

Locals come to enjoy the “re nao” atmosphere, a Mandarin term for “hustle and bustle” or “loud and chaotic.”

本地人都來享受這“熱鬧”的氣氛。熱鬧這個中文詞，指的是“擁擠繁忙”或“喧鬧嘈雜”。

Qingdao’s festival may be of fairly recent vintage, but its beer-making tradition goes back more than 100 years.

青島啤酒節(jié)或許算是近期出品，但它的啤酒釀造傳統(tǒng)可以追溯到100年前。

At the turn of the last century, the city was a German naval outpost. The Germans brought beer and an architectural style that can still be seen in the buildings of the city’s Old Town.

在上世紀(jì)之交，青島還是德國海軍基地。德國人帶來了啤酒，以及如今在青島老城區(qū)內(nèi)依舊可見的建筑風(fēng)格。

The British who arrived later were suspicious of the local water and turned to drinking beer instead. In 1903, British and German settlers created the Anglo-German Brewing Company and began producing Tsingtao.

隨后到來的英國人對當(dāng)?shù)厮|(zhì)不放心，用喝啤酒代替喝水。1903年，英國和德國的移民建造了英德啤酒廠，開始生產(chǎn)青島啤酒。

Through two world wars, foreign occupations and civil war, the brewery changed hands several times.

歷經(jīng)了兩次世界大戰(zhàn)、外國占領(lǐng)和內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，啤酒廠幾經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)手。

Tsingtao was nationalized in 1949, and despite the purges, starvation and displacement that accompanied the Cultural Revolution, it never stopped producing beer.

青島啤酒在1949年被國有化，盡管經(jīng)歷了肅反、饑荒、以及隨文化大革命而來的權(quán)力更替，啤酒廠從未停止生產(chǎn)。

“Without beer, we don’t have life in Qingdao,” said Zhao Chen, a local who brought his extended family to the festival. For an audience of young and old, electric floats circled the grounds at sunset.

“在青島，沒有啤酒就過不下去，”舉家參加啤酒節(jié)的當(dāng)?shù)厝粟w晨(音)說。為了方便年幼觀眾和老年觀眾，日落后會有電瓶車在場地里環(huán)繞。

In addition to all that beer, there was plenty of food at the festival.

除了大量啤酒，啤酒節(jié)上還有很多美食。

Attendees had their fill of chicken’s feet, sausage, dumplings and grilled skewers of spiced meat and squid.

到場者可以飽餐雞爪、香腸、餃子，以及加了香料的烤肉串或者魷魚烤串。

At night, the scene became even louder and livelier, as patriotic anthems turned to techno and rock.

到了晚上，愛國歌曲又換成了電音和搖滾，場面更加熱鬧活躍。

Deafening music and the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke did little to dampen spirits as festivalgoers toasted one another from giant glasses.

音樂震耳欲聾，空氣里彌漫著不新鮮的啤酒和香煙混雜的味道，然而這些并沒有敗壞人們的興致，他們舉著大大的玻璃杯彼此干杯。

Amid the never-ending toasts, I asked Mr. Chen whether he came to the festival every year.

在沒完沒了的干杯間隙，我問趙晨是不是每年都來。

“Are you kidding? This is more important than Chinese New Year,” he said, before sending his brother off to order us all another round.

“你開玩笑?這比春節(jié)還重要呢。”他說，接著又讓他的兄弟去給我們再買一輪啤酒。