Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Latitude 48 Deconstructed Vol I plus Bonus Nine Days Havdalah Guide



This week's Sunday Night Suds begins a survey of the Samuel Adams Latitude 48 Deconstructed Box and also includes a Nine Days Havdalah guide.

As mentioned in last week's SNS post, I have been in touch with the Star-K and have been advised that all five of the limited editions of the Latitude 48 IPA are in fact kosher. I'yh I will be reviewing them in various SNS columns over the next month or so.

One of the best new IPAs introduced during the last few years is the Samuel Adams Latitude 48. The name of the beer draws from the five types of hops used in the brew process which all grow along the 48th latitude within the "hop belt" of the Northern Hemisphere. Earlier this year, Samuel Adams introduced its limited edition Deconstructed Box which features beers brewed with just one of the five hop varieties used in the Latitude 48.

For this week's post I sampled the Hallertau Mitterfrueh version of the Latitude 48. As noted on the back of the bottle, the Hallertau Mitterfrueh is a traditional variety of Bavaria's Hallertau hops. These hops are added at three points during the brew process - bittering, late kettle and dry hopping. Hallertau Mitterfrueh hops contribute a soft bitterness, along with delicate lemony citrus and resinous pine notes, balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the five different malts.

From the moment that I opened the bottle and well before I poured it into my Samuel Adams glass, I could smell the hops in this brew. However, the dark amber beer was not as bitter as I expected and was quite drinkable. The beer held its lacing for a long time and the aftertaste lingered, even after I snuck a piece of Sarah's chocolate cake.

As discussed above, Samuel Adams Latitude 48 Hallertau Mittelfrueh Kolsch is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. Like many other Samuel Adams brews, this bottle does not have the Star-K certification mark on the label.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this version of Latitude 48, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/68396.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

Bonus section - 9 days Havdalah Guide

In years past, my email and cell phone have begun receiving messages prior to shabbos chazon (the Saturday within the summer nine days mourning period) with questions as to what would be a good choice to make havdalah on. By way of introduction, on Saturday nights after the evening prayer is said, Jews have a special set of blessings that are said by which we separate between the holy shabbos and the rest of the week. There is a custom to say this prayer on a cup of wine, however this custom needs modification when the Saturday falls during the nine days of mourning.

As noted by the Orthodox Union on their website:

Meat and wine are prohibited during the Nine Days, except on Shabbat. Meat and wine are associated both with joy AND with Temple service. Both reasons combine to explain this prohibition.Even though havdala is officially after Shabbat, one is permitted to drink wine. It is preferable to give the wine to a child who is old enough to understand brachot but not yet old enough to understand the concept of "mourning for Jerusalem". Alternately, some authorities recommend the use of a substitute beverage for havdala such as fruit juice, beer, etc. Other authorities insist on wine as usual.

Should your local Rabbi direct you to utilize non-wine in your havdalah, there are multiple options to use to fulfill the havdalah requirement. Indeed, my father in law will use diet soda (or as he says "diet pop"). I recall as a child seeing my father on one occasion use hard alcohol for havdalah (and then burn the decorative plate my sibling made when he tried to put out the candle).

To me, the simplest answer to the havdalah dilemma (and one that is widely recommended by rabbinic authorities) is to use beer, which in the time of the talmud was called chamra d'medina - the wine of the masses. This brings us to the reason I get more summer phone calls and email around this time every year - which beer would I recommend?

The number one problem with the question is that most people who ask it don't generally drink beer, so they need to have something to use for havdalah that won't have them making faces in their attempt to drink the halachic minimum level for the blessing. The second problem is that since the havdalah cup is imbibed on its own (i.e. without the benefit of food) people who might be inclined to have a beer with a meal will still have problems finishing their cup when the beer is consumed on its own.

The easiest solution is not to have beer, but instead to make havdalah on what is commonly called alcopop. These are malt beverage drinks with some similarities to beer and a beer-like 5% alcohol content by volume, but do not have the beer taste. Some examples are the Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) Twisted Teas or the Smirnoff Twisted V/Twisted Ice line. Please be aware that not every flavor of Smirnoff is certified Kosher. Indeed, the last time I looked at the CRC list, only the following flavors were certified kosher: Green Apple, Mango, Passionfruit, Raspberry Burst, Watermelon and Wild Grape (I am unaware of whether there is actual grape in this beverage). For the complete list of those Smirnoff products and other alcopops approved by the CRC, please click here http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/consumer/liquorList.html#Beer .

If you do like beer, or would like to drink something that is more manly than alcopop, the next step up would be an American wheat beer or some of the better Summer Ales. Many of these beers have been reviewed on the pages of this blog and you can search through prior Sunday Night Suds reviews to find one that might appeal to you.

If you are a beer aficionado, you obviously won't need this post to tell you which ale or lager you should crack open for havdalah.

May the world have a tikkun from our three weeks/nine days observances and may tisha b'av soon be transformed to the holiday that the gemara tells it will be in the times of moshiach bimheira biyamenu.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Masei

Normally, the Thursday night parsha post on this blog slot contains a thought said over by R' Frand in his satellite shiur. Since the shiur is now on hiatus through Elul, I will be substituting with divrei torah found in other sources. This week I have attempted to summarize a vort from R' Mansour which can be found at www.learntorah.com and have tied it into a thought I wrote on years ago. As always, if the p'shat appears to be incorrect, it is a result of my efforts to convey the thought that I found in the sefer or shiur.

R' Mansour noted that there are 42 stops which are enumerated in Parshas Masei. He explained that each of the stops has significance and gave the classic example that the 25th stop was in Chashmona. Hundreds of years later, the Chashmonaim would lead the Jews in a rebellion against the Yevanim and miracles would occur on the 25th of Kislev.

R' Mansour then began a fascinating discussion wherein he connected the Jews travails in Egypt and the desert to the four exiles. R' Mansour tied each of the exiles to the first four words of the parsha - Eleh Masei B'nei Yisrael: Eleh begins with an Alef which signifies Edom; Masei begins with a Mem which signifies Maddai; B'nei begins with a Bet which signifies Bavel and Yisrael begins with a Yud which ties to Yavan.

R' Mansour then explored this concept more deeply by looking at the trup on the first pasuk. The word Eleh has an (azla) geresh - showing that the Jews would be exiled. The word Yisrael has a revi'i, signifying that the Jews would be exiled four times. However, the Jews also pray for the redemption from galus on a daily basis in shmoneh esreh. We say three (and sometimes four or five) times per day - u'mavi goel l'vnei b'neihem - mavi is spelled Mem Bet Yud Alef - Hashem, the goel will redeem us from the galuyos of Madai, Bavel, Yavan and Edom.

R' Mansour also tied his discussion into the exile of Egypt. We mention yitzias mitzrayim in our prayers in the morning and evening and have many mitzvos to remember the leaving of Egypt. Although Egypt is not listed among the four exiles, it actually was the paradigm of exile and each of the four exiles are an offshoot of the exile in Egypt. R' Mansour explained that on the night of the seder we drink four cups, to signify one of the four exiles. It is well known that the four cups connect with the four languages of redemption which appear in chumash. On the surface the words all appear to be similar - you took us out, you saved us, you redeemed us from Egypt and you brought us. However, these l'shonos are not merely redundant - they are symbolic of the four exiles that we will be in - each very different and the four times that we will be saved from exile (bsd).

R' Mansour quoted the Belzer Rebbi who noted that we went down to Egypt four times and we left four times. The brothers of Yosef went to Egypt to get food, then they went back to get Binyamin, they then came down again with Binyamin and left again to get Ya'akov, they went down a third time with Ya'akov and left to bury Ya'akov. They came back from burying Ya'akov (the fourth trip down) and left the fourth and final time when Hashem redeemed the Jews from Egypt.

Leaving the vort said by R' Mansur, it is worth noting that Masei also discussed personal exile which is required by an unintentional killing. In Masei 35:9-34, the Torah discusses the establishment of "Arei Miklat" - cities of refuge where people who killed b'shogeg (translated for our purposes as unintentionally) would travel to escape the goel hadam - the avenger of the blood of the deceased. The Torah devotes a great deal of time to the discussion of the establishment of the cities and to which types of acts would qualify as unintentional and allow for the killer to seek refuge.

Prior to actually detailing the laws of the Arei Miklat, the Torah alludes to their establishment. In Masei 35:6, the Torah indicates that Hashem directed the Jews to set up six cities which will be Arei Miklat and that the levi'im will have an additional forty-two cities in addition to those six cities. The sefer Ohev Yisrael (as brought in the Ma'ayana Shel Torah) teaches that the six cities are in accordance with the six words which comprise the Shma Yisrael. The Ohev Yisrael then says that the words "V'aleihem Titnu" that on those six cities you should provide an additional forty-two cities (totalling 48 cities) are in accordance with the forty-eight words of the V'ahavta portion of the Shma. The Ohev Yisroel explains that the six words of the Shma and the forty-eight words of the V'ahavta are our cities of refuge, providing a place for all the Jews to seek protection, even if they committed an evil deed. By accepting Hashem through the recitation of the shma, the Jew will gain the protection from the goel hadam - the negative angels that are created as a result of his act.

The Chidushei Harim (also brought down in the Ma'ayana Shel Torah) explains the manner in which the city of refuge functioned. He states that if a person killed unintentionally and is so guilt wracked that there is nowhere that he feels comfortable due to his bitterness and self loathing over the killing, then Hashem says to the person - I have a place for you, the city of refuge will take you in. On the other hand, if the person is not distraught over the killing and is comfortable where he resides, the city of refuge will not take him in and he will not have a place in the ir miklat.

The Ma'ayana Shel Torah then brings the Sfas Emes who analogizes this concept taught by the Chidushei Harim to the high holidays. If a person feels true guilt over his misdeeds during the year and pours out his heart on Yom Kippur and accepts on himself to repent from his sins which cause him to feel that he has no place in this world, then Hashem says to the person - I have a place that can take you in -- the walls of the Sukkah will envelop you and protect you from evil.

I once heard a similar thought from R' Zev Cohen of the Adas Yeshurun in Chicago. He talked about how after the person has gone through Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and poured out his heart, he enters the Sukkah which is Hashem's way of giving the Jews a big reassuring hug.

I would like to discuss one additional point. The Rambam in Hilchos Rotzeach 8:5 writes that the Beis Din must prepare paths to the ir miklat and widen them as required. They must also smooth out the path and prepare bridges. If the way to the ir miklat requires one to take a road that forks, the Beis Din must set up a clear sign so that the person can swiftly get to the ir miklat and escape the goel hadam.

I feel that the acts that the Beis Din does are precisely like what Hashem does for us before the High Holidays. The chazal teach us "Haba Litaher Misayin Oso" - one who wants to repent, Hashem helps him to do so. The same way that the Beis Din set up the road to allow access to one who truly agonizes over his acts and wants to seek refuge in the ir miklat, so too Hashem makes our way to teshuva accessible before Yom Kippur so that we can be enveloped in the protective hug of the sukkah.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday's Musings on Sports - Of Men, Motivation and Memories - Baseball Hall of Fame Edition

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

While driving home from Camp M, I heard an interesting discussion on the Mike and Mike program on ESPN Radio. As this past weekend was induction weekend at the Baseball Hall of Fame, the guys were discussing the players who were inducted, including Bert Blyleven, who had waited many years before he received the 75% of the vote required for induction. The guys then began to speculate as to who might make it into the HOF next year, based on the percentage of votes they had received this year.

As any discussion of the Baseball HOF always includes players who are either banned or blackballed, the guys began to discuss whether accused/confirmed steroid users who will become HOF eligible in 2012 and 2013 will be voted into the HOF. As part of this discussion, the hosts interviewed former players and voting members of the media and inquired as to whether they thought that steroid tainted players would be voted into the HOF. Predictably, the answer to the question was no. But what was more intriguing to me was the discussion about whether players who were on the ballot over the last few years would be more likely to be voted into the HOF in 2012 and 2013 because so many players who will be on the ballot during those years will be steroid tainted players. The hosts speculated that players who might have languished through their period of eligibility before needing assistance from the Veterans' Committee might get voted into the HOF because voters would have no one else to vote for.

The speculation about whether players would get voted into the HOF based on the motivation to exclude others reminded me of a vort that I had heard from R' Mansour about the actions of the tribes of Gad and Reuven in Parshas Matos. The chumash explains that these tribes approached Moshe and asked him whether they could stay on the eastern bank of the Jordan River and not inherit portions in the Land Of Israel. The Torah spells out the conversation between the tribes and Moshe, wherein the tribes said that they wished to stay on the Eastern side so that they could build pens for their sheep and homes for their children. Moshe then responds to the tribes and corrects their priorities by emphasizing that they should worry about their children before their sheep.

R' Mansour asked the following question about the episode - if the tribes had experienced Moshe as a leader for forty years and knew that they would not be able to keep the laws which only apply in Israel, why would they voluntarily forfeit their place in the land? R' Mansour explained that the tribes knew the halacha that small animals should not be raised there as they tend to steal from others by eating their grass/hay without permission. As the tribes were concerned that their sheep might come to steal from others, they asked Moshe to stay on the other side of the Jordan so as to avoid the danger of theft. This explained why the tribes were willing to give up the mitzvos hateluyos b'aretz, because they were motivated to avoid causing damage/loss to their fellow Jews.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams - East-West Kolsch

This week's belated Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams' East-West Kolsch.

[I would like to apologize to the loyal kosher beers fanatics for my inability to post the Sunday Night Suds column in its regular slot. Although there are weeks where I will miss some posts, I have been endeavoring to always post a weekly Sunday Night Suds column so as to broaden the kosher market's understanding and appreciation of good beer. Unfortunately, due to some travel and technology restrictions, I am unable to post the SNS column on Sunday. Rather than skipping the post for the duration of the summer, I will be posting it on Mondays instead. I hope to return to the regular format of Sunday posting by late August].

Although I have reviewed a Kolsch twice before (to see my July 2010 review of Joseph's Brau Summer Brew click here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/07/sunday-night-suds-josephs-brau-summer.html; to see the August 2008 review of the Saranac Kolsch, click here - http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-kolsch-ale.html), I have never defined the Kolsch style. As such, I reproduce below the definition of the style from the gurus at BA:

First only brewed in Köln, Germany, now many American brewpubs and a hand full of breweries have created their own version of this obscure style. Light to medium in body with a very pale color, hop bitterness is medium to slightly assertive. A somewhat vinous (grape-y from malts) and dry flavor make up the rest.
The Samuel Adams Kolsch poured the characteristic pale yellow, with a small amount of foam which stayed with the beer for a long period of time. The beer had some hop bite, but also a very interesting flavor and scent from the Jasmine Sambac - a Southeast Asian flower which was added to the brew process.

The beer is quite drinkable and one would be hard pressed to identify that the beer is around 5% abv (its actually 5.1%) as the alcohol is hardly noticeable. The beer would go well with spicy poultry dishes and if they ever sold this in a sixer, might go very well all by itself. Unfortunately, it is only sold as part of the Beers of Summer mix box so there is no chance of that at the moment.

Samuel Adams East-West Kolsch is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. Like many other Samuel Adams brews, this bottle does not have the Star-K certification mark on the label. The kashruth can be confirmed by clicking on the link to the Star-K LOC here - http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the East-West Kolsch, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/67040.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

***NOTE*** I have been in touch with the Star-K in relation to the Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed Special Edition Box and have been advised that all five varieties in the Deconstructed Series are kosher. It is my understanding that an updated LOC will be issued by the Star-K which will explicitly mention each of the five new versions. I hope iyh to review them over the next few months.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!






Thursday, July 21, 2011

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Matos

Normally, the Thursday night parsha post on this blog slot contains a thought said over by R' Frand in his satellite shiur. Since the shiur is now on hiatus through Elul, I will be substituting with divrei torah found in other sources. As always, if the p'shat appears to be incorrect, it is a result of my efforts to convey the thought that I found in the sefer.

In Matos 31:2, Moshe is told by Hashem to take revenge against the people of Midyan. Rashi brings the Sifri who explains the reason the Jews were told to take revenge against the people of Midyan and not the people of Moab. The Sifri explains that the people of Moab had a reason to go to war against the Jews, since they were concerned that the Jews were going to make life difficult for them. Meanwhile, the people of Midyan got involved in a feud that had nothing to do with them, so Hashem instructed the Jews to go to war against them.

The Yalkut Lekach Tov cites the Orchos Chayim (by way of the sefer Zichron Mayir) to explain the lowliness of of someone who gets involved in someone else's argument. When people fight, it is usually in relation to a specific item or problem. If down the road they resolve the issue, the relationship can be similarly mended. On the other hand, if there was never a basis for involvement in the feud there is no easy way to resolve the dispute, as we cannot say that now that the problem is solved, go back to the way things were.

This problem of fighting or hating for no reason (sinas chinam) is viewed as a destructive force. The gemara in Shabbos 32a writes that because one hates for no reason, a person will then have feuds within their own home, one's wife will have miscarriages and children will die.

The Yalkut Lekach Tov brings another proof to how seriously sinas chinam is viewed. In the Yom Kippur davening, after Modim we say a prayer that begins "Avinu Malkeinu Z'chor Rachamecha" (our father, our king, remember your mercy). As part of this prayer, we ask Hashem to remove an exhaustive list of problems from our midst, including pestilence, war, destruction... The last item in the list is sinas chinam. It is known from the gemara in Bava Basra 8b that lists generally go from light to heavy - thus showing how seriously sinas chinam is viewed.

In order to remedy the problem of sinas chinam, the sages instruct us to engage in ahavas chinam, to love one's neighbor - not because you admire any one of his qualities, just because he is a fellow Jew. Occasionally, you will meet people who radiate ahavas chinam - the person that comes to mind as the modern day icon of ahavas chinam is R' Meir Schuster of the Heritage House, who should have refuah sheleimah. (To read more about R' Schuster, click here http://rebmeirschuster.org )

The interplay of sinas chinam and ahavas chinam can be seen in the Shoshanas Ya'acov prayer read after the megilla on Purim. The Yalkut Lecach Tov discusses how the prayer contrasts opposites - but in so doing seems to be terse. Within the prayer we say cursed is Haman who sought to destroy us, blessed is Mordechai the Jew. Why does the prayer augment Haman while merely praising Mordechai for being jewish? The answer is that even to hate a Haman (like the Midyanites in the parsha) there needs to be a reason - because he sought to destroy us. On the other hand there is no specific reason needed to justify blessing Mordechai - we should do so simply because he is a Jew, notwithstanding his admirable feats.

In this time of sorrow (as we have commenced the three weeks of mourning) we can learn from the way that Midyanites are treated and try to engage in ahavas chinam.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Monday's Musings on Sports - The Strike is Over, But What Happens Next?

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

As the NFL strike works it way back from the feared "labor Armageddon" towards the inevitable start of the NFL season, there has been an interesting story line developing among the NFL players. It is self evident that when two warring factions reach a truce, there will always be a few hard liners who maintain ill will towards the other side and will not want to compromise. On the owners' side, there has been speculation that some of the owners will not approve the draft labor agreement. However, if the pundits are to be believed, the number of owners who will vote against the new deal is less than the 25% required to defeat the vote.

On the players side, the situation is much more fluid. While the NFL Union (once it recertifies) will undoubtedly ratify the draft proposal, this will not end the lockout related litigation. In addition to challenging the NFL's method of collective bargaining, there were lawsuits filed on behalf of individual players, including Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson, which must be resolved. The media has been reporting that some of these players are looking for cash payouts to settle the lawsuit. Other players reportedly are asking that they be declared immediate free agents, while still others are demanding that the "franchise tag" not be applied to them.

The problem with the position of the players is that they were selected to sue on behalf of the other players and their stubbornness could have an impact on the ending of the labor stalemate. Already, dissension has begun among the players with tweets about how selfish some of the named plaintiffs are acting.

The issue of the players and their individual requests reminded me of a vort that I heard in a Rabbi Mansour shiur (available on http://www.learntorah.com/ ) about who can be a true kan'aee (loosely translated as a zealot). At the end of Parshas Balak we read about Pinchas who stepped up and killed Zimri and Kozbi with a spear and as a result, stopped the plague which had killed 24, 000 Jews. R' Mansour theorized that in order for the actor to be deemed a kan'aee and not criticized or punished for his actions, he must be acting solely for Hashem's glory and not to further or advance any personal goals. R' Mansour contrasted Pinchas with the actions of Shimon and Levi who wiped out the city of Shechem after Dina was violated. When they were confronted by their father about their actions, Shimon and Levi betrayed their emotions by questioning their father as to how this could be allowed to happen to their sister. While Ya'akov does not immediately respond to them, he does take them to task in Parshas Vayechi when he gives the brachos. R' Mansour explained that the brothers' words betrayed their supposedly pure motives as their speech indicated that they acted because Dina was their sister, and not merely to defend the honor of a Jewish girl. Thus they were deprived of the full extent of the brachos that other tribes received, based on their improper motives.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Sunday Night Suds - Redhook Mudslinger Spring Ale



This week's belated Sunday Night Suds looks at Redhook's Mudslinger Spring Ale and at the same time bides farewell to an old friend.

[I again would like to apologize to the loyal kosher beers fanatics for my inability to post the Sunday Night Suds column in its regular slot. Although there are weeks where I will miss some posts, I have been endeavoring to always post a weekly Sunday Night Suds column so as to broaden the kosher market's understanding and appreciation of good beer. Unfortunately, due to Frontier Communications' unreliable service at Camp M, I was again unable to post the SNS column on Sunday. I hope to return to the regular format of Sunday posting by late August].

When I was beginning my journey from macrobreweries to craft brewers, I came across the bi coastal Redhook Brewery. I can still recall being in a beer store on Jericho Turnpike in Bellerose in 2004/2005 when I noticed a beer with an OU on the bottle neck. I picked up a six pack of Redhook ESB and soon thereafter a six pack of Redhook Blonde and my infatuation began to bloom. A few months later I found myself in the walk-in cooler in Walton, NY, trying to figure out how many six packs of different Redhook I could justify bringing back to the car under the watchful eye of Mrs KB. I began to look for Redhook in off the beaten path beer stores and even browsed their website looking for the golden Redhook beers - seasonal limited editions. The fruits of my labors found their way onto the pages of this blog with reviews of Expedition 8-4-1 and my favorite Redhook seasonal - Trippel.

With the above introduction in mind, I regretfully announce that Redhook has been decertified by the Orthodox Union as of March 31, 2011. I have confirmed with the OU that any remaining stock of Redhook which bear the OU is acceptable, however future production runs will not be under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Union.

The Mudslinger Spring Ale pours a light brown with a small amount of foam. The first taste of the ale brings a surprising richness of flavor, reminiscent of the Expedition 8-4-1. The second and third sips revealed some caramel and a bit of chocolate. Sarah and I enjoyed this beer by itself after Friday night supper and truly savored its richness.

Redhook Mudslinger Spring Ale bearing the OU is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union. For the experts' take on the Mudslinger Spring Ale please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18134/55264.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver. If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Pinchas

The following is a brief summary of two thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand began by quoting a pasuk in Tehillim which states Vaya'mod Pinchas Vayipallel. The gemara in Sanhedrin 44 states that the pasuk does not use the term Vayispallel (meaning that he prayed) and instead uses the term Vayipallel which the gemara interprets that Pinchas argued with Hashem and presented legal arguments to save the Jews. In so doing, Pinchas argued to Hashem - why kill 24,000 people because of the acts of these two insignificant people?

R' Frand quoted R' Albo in Sefer Ha'ikrim who asked - how does prayer help us? Indeed, if Hashem has decided that a person should be sick, how does the prayer help him recover? R' Albo explains that prayer changes the person and makes him into another individual. He further explains that while person x may have been the subject of the gezeirah, this person is no longer person x.

R' Frand then noted that the word for prayer - mispallel - is reflexive as it connotes doing an action to one's self. The reason for the conjugation is that a person's prayer works a change in that person and therefore he is doing an action to himself.

Pinchas did not pray for himself as he did not need to change and he himself had not sinned. As such Tehillim states that Pinchas was arguing - Vayipallel - arguing that Hashem should save the Jews.

Another vort said by R' Frand this evening related to Pinchas' lineage. The Torah explains that Pinchas was not a Kohen prior to his actions in killing Zimri and Kozbi. Rashi on Bamidbar 25:13 explains that even though the kehuna had been given to Aharon and his sons, Pinchas did not receive the kehuna because he was already born at the time and could not inherit it by birth. Furthermore, since he was under the age of majority he was too young to be anointed. As such, Pinchas (until the 40th year in the desert) lived his life as a non-kohen, even though his father and brothers were kohanim.

R' Frand quoted R' Gedalyah Shore in the sefer Ohr Gedalyahu who explained that Pinchas' life without kehuna was part of Hashem's master plan. Had Pinchas been a kohen when he killed, he would have lost his capacity to act as a kohen, since (according to the Zohar) a kohen who kills is forbidden to serve as a kohen. Therefore, Hashem did a favor for Pinchas by not giving him kehuna so that when he killed he did not lose his position.

R' Frand then added in the name of R' Shore that if Pinchas was a minor when he lost out on kehuna and was six at the time, he then spent forty years thinking that he had lost out. Indeed, because of an accident of birth he was not a kohen, even though his relatives had the title. Pinchas went around for forty years thinking - what does Hashem have against me?

However, Pinchas learned later that Hashem was doing him a favor by not making him a kohen early in life, thus permitting him to act against Zimri. The lesson he learned was that although he did not understand the reason that he was deprived of kehuna - this happened for a reason. Pinchas was lucky enough to learn the lesson and understand why this occurred while he was still alive.

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Chullin 16

Due to some time pressures, I have been unable to regularly post the Tuesday's daf post, but a story that I heard in a Rabbi Rosner shiur on the daf (available at www.projectsinai.org/dafyomi/) made me feel compelled to write this week's post.

The gemara on Chullin 15b and 16a discusses whether a proper shechita can be accomplished through the use of a machine. As explained in the gemara, there was a mechanism by which a knife could be driven back and forth to cause the cutting the simanim. The gemara originally permitted this when the mechanism was driven by human force (a potter's wheel) but not when the force was the result of water power. The gemara then hypothesized that even when water power was utilized, the shechita still may be permissible if the cut was made by the first release of water by a person.

Following his recitation of the gemara's discussion, R' Rosner took a sidebar to talk about other machines in halacha. One of the machines he discussed was the one used to make machine matzas. R' Rosner then told a story involving the maggid of Yeushalaim who found himself abroad close to Pesach. Since R' Schwadrun was concerned that he would not make it back home in time for Pesach, he had brought some machine matza with him. When it became certain that he would not make it back to Israel for Pesach, he began to look for a place to stay for Yom Tov. As part of these conversations, he mentioned that he had his own matza and that he would be less of a burden to his hosts. As related by R' Rosner, R' Schwadrun was turned down two or three times by people who did not want machine matza in their homes as they deemed it chametz. Finally, R' Schwadrun found a place to stay, but still they wanted him to promise that he would use precautions when eating his machine matza so that the crumbs would not mix with Pesach products.


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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Monday's Musings on Sports - Jeter's 3000th Hit and Whose Ball Is It?

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

Over the course of the last two days, there has been a sports media controversy brewing over the ball struck by Derek Jeter as his 3000th major league hit. The saga of 3000 had its share of twists and turns as Jeter sustained hitting slumps and went on the disabled list last month. Members of the press speculated whether he should be dropped from his traditional lead off spot in the order and even whether the Yankees made a mistake by resigning him last winter.


All of this was forgotten when Jeter went 5 for 5 including a home run which put him at the magical number of 3000. The fact that the 3000th hit was a home run complicated matters for Jeter as the ball left the field of play and landed in the hands of a fan. As regular baseball watchers know, when a player has a momentous hit, the baseball is usually taken out of play and brought to the dugout for the player to add to his trophy case. Had Jeter only gotten a base hit, the ball would have been given to him with no added intrigue. However, since this ball was caught by Mr. Lopez, negotiations were required in order to obtain the ball.

To his credit, the 24 year old cell phone salesman who caught the home run ball did not attempt to sell the ball at auction, or demand a king's ransom in exchange for the ball. The news reports indicate that Lopez said that Jeter deserved the ball as he had earned this feat and that Lopez only wanted to meet him. The Yankees arranged the meeting and "compensated" Lopez by providing him with signed bats, balls and special seats at Yankee Stadium for the remainder of the season.

Lopez' actions were the topic of hot debate following his magnanimous gesture, as pundits and fans argued over whether the ball actually belonged to the player and whether they would have given up the "lottery ticket" ball. I heard an interview with former a big leaguer on the Mike & Mike show (I can't recall his identity) who agreed that the ball belonged to the fan and not the player. Still, Lopez was lauded for his action in giving up his quite valuable souvenir.

The conversation made me think about what the Torah perspective would be about the controversy. There is a mitzva in the Torah of hashavas aveidah - returning lost objects to their rightful owner. However, this object never belonged to Derek Jeter, it was a regular major league baseball which had the "luck" of being struck at a particular time. No one would argue that a foul ball should be returned by a fan, yet there is really no difference between the two balls.

So if halacha did not require the return of the ball, was there any reason for Lopez to return it. In my opinion, the answer may lie in the concept of hakaras hatov. There is a general principal of giving recognition for the good done for you by others. If Lopez wanted to show Jeter his appreciation for Jeter's years of service to the Yankees and Lopez' enjoyment of watching Jeter play, he could return the ball as a gesture of hakaras hatov. While this may not have been Lopez' motivation, it can't hurt to imagine that it played a role in his thought processes.

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Monday, July 11, 2011

Belated Sunday Night Suds - Sprecher Hefe Weiss



This week's (belated) Sunday Night Suds looks at Sprecher's Hefe Weiss.

[I would like to apologize to the loyal kosher beers fanatics for my inability to post the Sunday Night Suds column in its regular slot. Although there are weeks where I will miss some posts, I have been endeavoring to always post a weekly Sunday Night Suds column so as to broaden the kosher market's understanding and appreciation of good beer. Unfortunately, due to some travel and technology restrictions, I am unable to post the SNS column on Sunday. Rather than skipping the post for the duration of the summer, I will be posting it on Mondays instead. I hope to return to the regular format of Sunday posting by late August].

As it has been more than a year since I have reviewed a Hefeweizen in this column, I have set forth below the BA definition of what a Hefeweizen should be:


A south German style of wheat beer (weissbier) made with a typical ratio of 50:50, or even higher, wheat. A yeast that produces a unique phenolic flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum or notes of apples. Little hop bitterness, and a moderate level of alcohol. The "Hefe" prefix means "with yeast", hence the beers unfiltered and cloudy appearance. Poured into a traditional Weizen glass...

Often served with a lemon wedge (popularized by Americans), to either cut the wheat or yeast edge, which many either find to be a flavorful snap ... or an insult and something that damages the beer's taste and head retention.

With the above definition in mind, I turn to the Sprecher Hefe Weiss and try to compare it with its class of beer and fall flat on my face. Contrary to every Hefe Weiss that I have ever tasted, this beer poured a clear amber without a single floater anywhere in the glass. I was very surprised by this development and checked the label, but the copywriter has indicated that the Sprecher Hefe Weiss is coarse filtered. Evidently, all the coarse pieces must have gotten stuck in the filter when they bottled the Hefe Weiss that I drank tonight.

Getting past the appearance of the beer, the Sprecher Hefe Weiss did have some banana and clove like flavor, but they were light in comparison with some of the more authentic banana bread like Hefeweizen beers such as Brooklyn Brewery's Weisse Beer or Shiner's Hefeweizen.

I would not generally recommend this beer as it really is rather weak and is not representative of the class of brews whose name it bears. Still, if you are looking for a gentle introduction to Hefeweizens, maybe this beer is for you.

Sprecher Hefe Weiss is certified kosher by the Wisconsin K. There is a logo on the four pack holder as well as the bottle label. For the experts' take on the Sprecher Hefe Weiss please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/144/802.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver. If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Balak

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand noted that Parshas Balak contains the berachos/klallos that Bilam was hired to give the Jewish people. Chazal teach that Bilam was a prophet, and in fact was on the level of Moshe Rabbeinu based on his level of nevius. Rashi explains that the reason why Hashem gave Bilam superior powers of prophecy (without Bilam possessing the qualities which justify receipt of nevuah as listed in the Rambam) was to preempt the other nations' potential claim that if they had nevi'im they would have reached the level of the Jewish people. Therefore, Hashem gave them a navi, but they used Bilaam to allow them to be mafkir their women for znus to seduce the Jews.

The question that remains is - how is this a level playing field? Moshe was a tzaddik, so people listened. Bilam was not on the same level of demanding respect as Moshe as he was on a low moral level. How can Bilam = Moshe to make the situation equal?

R' Frand answered the question by quoting R' Ya'akov Galinsky who theorized that a navi is never greater than the people he preaches to. If there is a high level of society - they will get a high level prophet. However, if the society is depraved, they will get a depraved prophet like Bilam. This can be seen by the sin of the golden calf - Moshe is told to go down and see the Jews. But Rashi explains that this means that Moshe should go down from his high level - because when the people fall, the navi falls. Similarly, by the kohen it says in Vayikra that the one who is annointed will fall if the people fall.

R' Frand next brought a proof by citing to the story of the battle between the Jews and Amalek. The mishna in Rosh Hashana asked on the story - did the fact that Moshe's hands were raised cause the Jews to succeed in battle? The answer is that no, it was not Moshe's hands. Rather, when the Jews were doing Hashem's will, then Moshe was able to raise his hands and they would succeed in battle. When the Jews faltered, then Moshe lost some of his strength.

R' Frand then stated in the name of R Galinsky that Moshe and Bilam had the same potential. Bilam did not need to become a degenerate. Rather, Bilam became what he was as a reflection of the people.

R' Frand then quoted a medrash which states that Hashem showed Moshe all of the generations of the Jews. This included the tzadikim as well as the thieves and criminals of each generation. Why does Moshe need to know this? Because Moshe asked, why were there no prophets after the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash? To this Hashem responded - look at this generation! The navi is dependent on his generation to achieve his potential. In the potential, Bilam could have been Moshe, but he was restrained by his audience.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Monday's Musings on Sports - A Tale of Three Managers

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. Although Max resigned from 1050 more than a year ago (he has recently resurfaced on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles), I have tried to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

Over the last month the New York and national baseball press has been enamored with the stories of three former and/or current managers - Jim Riggelman, Jack McKeon and Joe Torre. A brief introduction is probably in order.

Last month, the news broke that Jim Riggleman had quit as manager of the Washington Nationals. The story had significance because at the time that the manager left the team, the Nationals had been on a hot streak and had won eleven of their previous twelve games under Riggleman. Still, Riggleman felt that he had not been shown the proper respect by management as he was not offered a contract extension and was looking at the possibility of being unemployed at the end of the season.

The second story had to do with Joe Torre, the former Mets, Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers and Yankees manager. When Torre left the NY Yankees it was under less than friendly terms. This left a bad taste in the mouths of many Yankees fans who viewed Torre as an integral part of multiple World Series teams. Years later, the Yankees held an Old Timers game and invited Torre to return. However with years to reflect, some in the press began to wonder about how important Torre truly was to the success of the New York Yankees.

The third story involved Jack McKeon who at the ripe old age returned to baseball to manage the Florida Marlins after six years away from the game. The selection of McKeon to replace manager Edwin Rodriguez was certainly curious, but McKeon appeared ready for the task, stating, "I don't need this job but I love it."

The three stories made me sit back and question as to how truly important a manager is. The manager does not play the field, throw the pitches or stand in and hit at the plate. In most games, the manager is not called on to make decisions more difficult than what is the right time to pull a pitcher or whether to pinch hit lefty/righty. Still there is something to the concept that a manager must earn his players' respect if he wants to succeed as their manager. A young manager will not do well with an older team where the players are close in age to the manager. Occasionally, an older manager will have problems connecting with a younger team. Sometimes the manager's friction with ownership will impact on the team's performance. And finally, there is a danger that a manager who never made it in the major leagues will not be able to earn his players' respect.

I can only toss the above possibilities out to the general audience as there is not a single true answer to any scenario. But the last scenario does link to today's daf yomi. On Chullin 9a, the gemara talks about certain areas of knowledge that a Rav should be competent in. One of the topics was shechita - the Jewish ritual slaughter process. Rashi makes a point that the Rav should have more than an understanding of the laws - he must know how to physically do the acts of shechita with his hands. Contrary to the old adage - "those who can't teach", the gemara is instructing that those who teach must know how to do.

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com/ to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Belated Sunday Night Suds - Milwaukee's Best Premium Beer



This week's belated Sunday Night Suds looks at the Miller Brewing Company's Milwaukee's Best Premium beer.

[As regular readers of this blog are aware, every summer Mrs KB and the kids go away to summer camp at Camp M and I do the drive up and back every weekend. As the local phone company monopoly has still not done the install of Mrs KB's Internet, I am unable to post to the blog until I return to my home. As such, posts such as the instant one can be posted one or even two days late. My apologies for any inconvenience.]

As discussed in last week's Sunday Night Suds, I made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing some of Miller's Milwaukee's Best at a gas station when I chose quantity over quality. Having reviewed the "Best Ice" last week, this week's post examines the second of the two for $2 24 oz cans - Milwaukee's Best Premium beer.

Although the top of the beer can says that this beer is "brewed for freshness and classic taste" I would suggest that much like the rest of the packaging, there is no truth in advertising. The beer does not have a classic taste, unless you are comparing it to other macrolagers such as Budweiser. However there is a bright side as the lack of beer taste/aroma means that if you leave a can of the Milwaukee's Best Premium open, your can won't attract flies.

As I wrote the above paragraph I winced and thought to myself that maybe I was being a little too harsh in my review. Then I took another sip and was reassured in my original assessment.

Milwaukee's Best Premium would be a good beer to have around if you have neighbors who you don't care for who like to hit you up for freebies. However, since I like my neighbors I will not be picking up anymore of this brew.

Milwaukee's Best Premium is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, although like many of the Miller family of beers, there is no kosher certification on the label. If you would like to see the OU's letter of certification, please e-mail me at your convenience.

For the experts take on Milwaukee's Best Premium, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/105/1286.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver. If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click http://www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!