💕「愛台灣，我的選擇」系列第15發：臺虎董事長黃一葦(Peter Huang) 要讓臺虎精釀 Taihu Brewing成為台灣年輕人才發光發熱與實踐夢想的平台
「儘管我有著東方面孔，但我不是台灣人，家族根源也不在台灣。一直到我念大學時 (美國麻薩諸塞州的威廉斯學院，非常棒的學校)，我才透過普林斯頓北京中文培訓班的機會，真正到東亞來闖蕩。
大學畢業之後，我埋首於數字和表格之間，精釀啤酒陪我撐過了這段辛苦的歲月。我的職涯始於紐約，但後來輾轉來到亞洲 (名義上是去新加坡，但主要是在印尼、緬甸和馬來西亞)。
在數字間打轉從來不是我的夢想。身為一個負責任且典型的千禧世代，我一直很想獨立開創自己的事業，如果能將個人興趣和創業機會相結合，那就太完美了。而精釀啤酒就是那完美的交集點！精釀工藝的精神我深有同感，這是一種對未來可能性充滿嚮往、不盲目接受現狀的精神；同時也代表著與一群優秀的人才，一起開發令人驚喜的產品，並打造屬於自己的社群。
成立臺虎精釀的契機出現之後，我立刻想到台灣。之所以選擇這裡，不是因為台灣文化很吸引人 (雖然確實是)，不是因為台灣有著厚實的文化傳統 (雖然確實有)，更不是因為台灣的好山好水。
我選擇台灣的主要原因是這裡遇到的人。很多人會說，人生中有兩個家庭，一個是你的原生家庭，另一個是你自己選擇的家庭。對我來說，那個我自己選擇的家庭，似乎就在台灣。
臺虎精釀的商標 (由台灣傑出設計師Jess Lee設計) 由老虎、啤酒花和葫蘆三個元素組成，葫蘆是古代盛酒的容器。
葫蘆就不需要多加解釋了，但啤酒花是當代精釀啤酒的基石，代表著創新創意的精神。事實上，我們使用的絕大多數啤酒花都來自美國，畢竟美國是精釀啤酒的中心 (過去20年一直都是)。美國的啤酒花產業 (還有麥芽產業) 可以說是世界之最，也難怪經典IPA啤酒中最受歡迎的啤酒花都來自美國。
商標中的老虎是為了向早期台灣作為「亞洲四虎」(亞洲四小龍) 的年代致敬。當年台灣經濟快速起飛，產業朝氣蓬勃，民眾無不對未來充滿樂觀和期待。
老虎代表的正是那樣的生機勃勃、神采煥發。臺虎167名員工幾乎都是台灣人。我們認為，與其說臺虎是一個釀酒廠，不如說臺虎是讓台灣年輕人才發光發熱、實踐夢想的平台。
我們的目標是吸引並培育人才，最終目標希望能夠在台灣發展出欣欣向榮的創業生態圈。Sway是我們成立初期的成員，她一開始是在吧台工作，非常優秀。在小公司工作的好處就是，你可以盡你所能所想去做，Sway後來開始慢慢接觸進口通關業務，現在是我們全球物流的主管 (很不簡單)。
也許有一天，她會開創自己的事業，進而將這份育才的信念在台灣新創圈繼續傳承下去。」— 臺虎董事長黃一葦 Peter Huang
💕Why I chose Taiwan #15 – Taihu Brewing Founder Peter Huang leads Taihu to become a platform for Taiwan young talents to carry out their dreams and express themselves
“Despite appearances, I’m neither Taiwanese nor have roots here. It took college (Williams College in Massachusetts – phenomenal place), to really bring me out to East Asia via Princeton’s immersion program in Beijing.
Post-graduation, I paid my dues shuffling numbers around in a spreadsheet. Craft beer made it bearable-ish. Working life began in New York, but ultimately landed me in Asia (nominally Singapore, primarily Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia).
Shuffling numbers was not the dream. So, as a responsibly stereotypical millennial, I had an urge to venture out on my own. Ideally, to try something at the intersection of opportunity and interest. Craft beer! The craft movement itself struck a chord - a yearning for what could be, rather than blind acceptance of what is. It is about building communities around delightful products and, critically, wonderful people.
When the opportunity to start Taihu appeared, my mind immediately went to Taiwan. Not necessarily because the culture is fantastic (though it is), nor because it has a strong cultural heritage (though it does), and not even because the island itself is a magical composition of mountains meeting oceans.
Ultimately, I chose Taiwan because of the people I met here. There’s a tired trope that you get two families in life, the one you’re born into and the one you choose. For me, that chosen family, well, it seemed like it could be in Taiwan.
Taihu Brewing’s logo (designed by brilliant local artist, Jess Lee) is comprised of a tiger and hops within a hulu (traditional Chinese alcohol vessel).
The hulu needs no explanation, but hops are the cornerstone of modern craft beer. They represent the innovation inherent in the space. In fact, the vast majority of the hops that we use are from the United States. Since the US is the epicenter of craft brewing (and has been over the last twenty years), the American hop industry (malt too, actually) is arguably the best in the world. It is for good reason that the most popular hops in category-defining IPAs are American.
The tiger is a nod to an earlier era when Taiwan was one of the “Four Asian Tigers.” Taiwan’s meteoric economic rise was accompanied by deterministic optimism, vibrancy, and general excitement about the future.
The tiger represents that energy. That sense of opportunity, positivity, and hope. Taihu’s 167 employees are almost entirely Taiwanese. Internally, we think of Taihu as more of a platform for young Taiwanese talent than as a brewery, a medium for that energy to express itself.
Our goal to attract and develop talent with the ultimate goal of developing the burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Taiwan. One of our earliest team members, Sway, came on board as a bartender -- a fantastic bartender. At a small company, you do what you can, where you can, and Sway ended up taking up some of the slack in our logistics. Now she runs all of Taihu’s international supply chain (no small feat).
With luck, one day she’ll be running her own successful Taiwanese business, and, in doing so, perpetuate the cycle.” — Peter Huang, founder of Taihu Brewing
