Sunday Night Suds - Uinta Hoodoo Kolsch Style Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta's Hoodoo Kolsch Style Ale.

Uinta is a Utah based craft brewery which produces some outstanding brews. One of my favorite IPAs is the Uinta Hop Notch IPA (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunday-night-suds-uinta-hop-notch-ipa.html) while their Wyld APA (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2011/09/sunday-night-suds-uinta-wyld.html) is one of Mrs KB's favorites.

Over the last few weeks, I have been asked in numerous forums (via email, in shul, by phone, etc...) why the various kashrus agencies have been taking a closer look at craft breweries and why there is a need for breweries such as Uinta (certified kosher by the OU) to obtain kosher certification. 

While the some of the issues with flavorings are obvious, there are other more intricate issues which have been explored by the mashgichim which touch more on questions related to other beers being produced at the brewery. These issues become more complicated because the plants do not want to have any down time and often a brewery will contract brew (or bottle) products for other breweries.

Recently, I came across a great summary of the issues related to the kashruth of beer. The article was written by Rabbi Akiva Niehaus of the CRC and can be found here http://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/Beer.php. Although the CRC does not currently give hashgacha for any craft breweries, I have been advised that they are presently in talks with some breweries. Here's hoping that they are successful in their attempts to add more kosher certified beer to the marketplace.

So what does the Hoodoo Kolsch Style Ale taste like? It packs more hop bite than any kolsch I have tried before. The hops are prominent in the beginning of the sip and there is a nice amount of citrus - almost grapefruit like bite in the back end. The resulting beer is more complex than the average kolsch and would be a nice accompaniment to savory meat dishes.

Uinta Hoodoo Kolsch Style Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the label. For the experts' take on the Uinta Hoodoo Kolsch Style Ale please click here www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/74437. 

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 www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com / to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Monday's Musings on Sports - Are the Mets the End of Western Civilization?

Mets fans have not had much to cheer about lately. The team reached its peak in 2006 when the Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Mets fans will remember that Carlos Beltran stood with the bat on his shoulder and looked at a called strike three when he had a chance to win the series for the Mets with one swing of the bat.

The following two years, Mets fans suffered through collapses as the Mets blew Division and Wildcard leads late in 2007 and 2008. These were not just blown leads of a game or two, these were epic collapses where the team just could not seem to get out of its own way.

And then there were the lean years... From 2009 to the present, ownership has made bad investments (in more ways than one) and headlines about the team have usually been negative. From Omar Minaya challenging players to a fight, to K-Rod beating up his father-in-law, to Johan Santana blowing out his shoulder (twice), the Mets have been a train wreck that their loyal fans just can't look away from.

The 2013 version of the Mets is not a world beating team. Given ownership's lack of desire to spend any money on this team, the only thing that fans can cheer about is the development of young talent which the Mets have either drafted or traded established players for. Other than David Wright and Daniel Murphy (both home grown) the Mets do not have any hitters that an opposing pitcher needs to worry about. In one game against the Braves last week, the Mets started four position players who were hitting below the Mendoza line.

But while the Mets ownership refuses to spend money on the team, they have no problem tacking hidden fees onto the tickets they just can't give away. As detailed in Big League Stew (click here for the article sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/baseball-ticket-fees-charging-much-215635991.html) and the Hardball Times (which can be found here www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/when-a-9-ticket-costs-20), "a $20 ticket might seem like a good deal, until it becomes a $30 ticket thanks to "convenience fees," and "order processing" and other fees that don't get names." In the Mets' case, there is an adjusted convenience fee which ranges from $1.00 to $23.00 per ticket depending on the price of the ticket. And then there is an order processing fee of $6.00 which is added to each order. The net result is that four $15.00 seats for the Mets game on July 4th game will cost you $75 dollars instead of the ticket's face price of $60.00 and that's if you want to sit in the cheap seats. And if you went for the field box seats special deal at $50.00 per seat, four seats would run $232 instead of $200.

But even with Mets ownership's utter disdain for its fans and refusal to invest in the team, the players have not thrown in the towel. Over the last week, the Mets have played a number of close games against good teams and remarkably won six out of nine games during the stretch. These games included a near no-hitter from Matt Harvey in which he struck out 13 batters, the debut of Zack Wheeler in which he threw six innings of shutout ball, another six innings of shutout ball from Matt Harvey and back to back 4-3 wins over the Braves and Phillies where the bullpen uncharacteristically shut the door on the opposition. 

But what started this chain of events was a come from behind win against the Cubs where the Mets seemed all but dead. When the Mets won on a walk off home run by light hitting Kirk Nieuwenhuis (currently hitting a robust .119), the team mobbed him at the plate. This prompted an overly sarcastic comment from usually reserved Bob Costas who remarked that this was another sign of the end of Western Civilization.

While Costas apologized for his remark the following day, I wonder whether his comment was unintentionally prophetic in more than one day. The gemara in Sotah states that in the end of days, chutzpah will run rampant. Given people's attitudes towards one and another and the flaming retorts which seem to come from everywhere, you can definitely say that chutzpah runs rampant. Even from sportscasters who cynically critique the joyful enthusiasm of a team which was starving for something to cheer about.

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!

Sunday Night Suds - Leinenkugel Canoe Paddler

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler.

Although I am not a big fan of the Kolsch style of beers, I am a kayak enthusiast. A number of years ago I took my oldest three out kayaking at Empire Kayaks in Island Park. It reminded me how much I loved to kayak as a kid, so I went out and bought a two man kayak. A few years later, our tax refund was spent on his and hers anniversary presents, a large freezer for Mrs KB and a second (single) kayak for me. These were easily one of the best investments that I made, since they are instant entertainment for the kids and other than sometimes paying a park entrance fee, they are are a great source of free fun.

Once the weather gets nice out and before the kids take off for Camp M, every Sunday can be a kayak Sunday and the exercise and water are great. A few weeks back, Yael & I took off out of Milburn in Baldwin/Freeport and went all the way out to the Waterfront Park at the entrance of the bay. The waves were really kicking up and it was a great and rewarding row. I had promised Moshe that he could row back with me to Milburn, but with the waves the way they were we probably could have it made it back to the boat launch without paddling.

But enough about kayaking, as the purpose of the post is to discuss the Leinenkugel Canoe Paddler. The beer is a kolsch style brew which like last week's Little White Rye (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/06/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-little.html) is brewed with a little bit of rye.

The resulting beer is still true to the kolsch style - medium body and low on the hop bitterness. I had this beer with my daf this evening and it was refreshing, albeit not very complex in its flavor profile. If you are looking for something slightly above macrolager, this would be the beer for you. But if you want a kolsch with more complexity, look elsewhere...

Leinenkugel Canoe Paddler is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, and is the first Leinenkugel brew I have seen with an OU on the label. 

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Leinenkugel Canoe Paddler, please follow this link beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/89102.

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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Balak

The following is a brief summary of 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.

In Bamidbar 22:29, Bilaam says to the donkey - you are making fun of me? If I had a sword, I would kill you.

Rashi comments that this conversation was an embarrassment for Bilaam. Bilaam was coming to curse the Jews, why did he need a sword to kill the donkey? Rabbi Frand followed with a colloquialism - couldn't he just tell the donkey to drop dead? He was coming to curse the Jews, why not curse the donkey?

Before answering the question, R' Frand gave a long introduction which began with a citation to a second pasuk in the parsha. Bilaam's first beracha to the Jews includes the pasuk in Bamidbar 23:9 - Ki Meirosh Tsurim Erenu U'migvaos Ashurenu. Literally, the pasuk is translated as "from its origins I see it rock like and from hills, I do see it." However, R' Frand offered a deeper explanation from R' Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, which is derived from a pasuk in the haftorah.

It states in the haftorah (quoted from Micha) - remember what Hashem did for you from Sheetim to Gilgal. We know that Sheetim was where they were in the desert, but Gilgal was in Israel. What is the connection?

R' Frand answered that a person who is effective at cursing causes Shamayim to look at the person closely. What Bilaam was interested in doing was mentioning things which showed that the Jews had failed and that it would evoke close review in the Heavens.

Bilaam realized that the entire time the Jews were in the desert they did not perform bris millah because it was a danger due to the conditions. Bilaam says to Hashem - look 40 years they did not do it. Hashem responds - they could not do it because of danger. But the proof is --what happens when the danger is not there?

The answer is found in the Haftorah for Pesach where it states that as soon as the Jews entered Israel they gave bris millah to all the men. This took place in Gilgal. Because as soon as they entered Israel, Yehoshua told the Jews make swords to do bris millah and there were mountains of orlahs. 

This was Bilaam's observation - I can't the curse the Jews over this because they went from Sheetim to Gilgal and immediately used their Tsurim - swords, to create Givaos - mountains of orlahs. So I must leave them alone.

This was also the reason that Bilaam was unable to curse the donkey. A donkey is a dumb animal which is not responsible for its own acts. There was no examination of the donkey that Bilaam could cause in Shamayim. Thus, he needed a sword to hurt the donkey.

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!

Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Little White Rye

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Little White Rye.

Although this beer appears to be a Rye beer, the actually product is anything but conventional. A rye beer is usually a beer in which malted rye is substituted for some of the malted barley. Rye can also be used to make Roggenbier. However, the Samuel Adams Little White Rye does not fall into any of these categories.

After sampling this brew, I went to Beer Advocate to look how the experts have classified this beer. To my surprise, the beer was defined as a Witbier, but this too did not seem to fit the characteristics of the brew.

So what is this beer? It has some characteristics of an American Wheat Beer, somewhat like a Blue Moon. But the spices in the beer make it much more interesting than a pedestrian American Wheat. The Sam Adams people have added orange peel and coriander, but also sage and it is the final additive which really spices up this brew.

I had this beer on its own after dinner, but I feel like that the brew would be an excellent complement to sushi. Since we don't have sushi very often, I will have to keep the second bottle of this for the next time that we have some.

The Little White Rye is sold only in the Beers of Summer box which also includes Blueberry Hill Lager (reviewed here - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html), Porch Rocker (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/06/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-porch.html) Belgian Session; the flagship Boston Lager (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-boston.html ) and old favorite Summer Ale (reviewed here - http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-night-suds-sam-adams-summer-ale.html).

One other quick piece of news - I was advised via email from the Star-K on Friday that four new Samuel Adams beers will be under kosher supervision: Time Traveller, Strawberry Lager, Tetravis and Honey Queen. Keep an eye open for reviews of these beers in the not too distant future.

The Samuel Adams Little White Rye is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/91733. 

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 www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Chukas

The following is a brief summary of 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.

The Torah states in Bamidbar 19:19 in connection with the procedure of the Parah Adumah that a Tahor must sprinkle on a Tamei on the third day and the seventh day and he will be tahor.

R' Frand quoted a Yerushalmi which stated in the name of R' Yehoshua Ben Kafsa'i that he always understood the pasuk to mean that one Tahor must sprinkle on one Tamei until he saw in the storehouse of Yavne that this is not true, because one person can sprinkle on many people who are tamei.

R' Frand asked the obvious question - what did R' Yehoshua mean that he learned in the storehouse of Yavne?

R' Frand quoted R' Meir Shapiro who cited the famous gemara in Gittin which recites the conversation between R' Yochanan ben Zakai and Aspasyanus wherein R' Yochanan Ben Zakai asked as one of his three wishes that the Beis Medrash of Yavne be saved. We learn from this gemara that if the yeshiva of Yavne had not been saved, then G-d forbid there would not be anyone who could teach Torah. R' Yehoshua was alluding to the thought - I originally believed that one person could teach Torah to one person. But I have seen that one person can teach Torah to hundreds of people - because one person can make a difference in the lives of many.

R' Frand gave numerous examples of this including the icon R' Meir Shapiro himself - he lived less than a hundred of years ago and revolutionized the study of gemara by creating the cycle of Daf Yomi, which tens of thousands of people use to learn every day.

R' Frand also talked about how Ner Israel in Baltimore started with only four students, but it grew and grew and tens of thousands of bochrim have passed through its doors and become rabbanim.

R' Frand closed the vort by saying that everyone can have such an impact by teaching Torah to many people.

R' Frand's second vort discussed the people of Canaan who came and attacked the Jews. Rashi notes that these people were not actually from Canaan, they were from Amalek. However, the people trained themselves to speak Canaan language, thinking that the Jews will pray that they be saved from the people of Canaan, but the prayers will not be useful since they were really from Amalek. 

There was one little problem with their theory. The Canaan/Amalek people dressed like Amalek. The Jews were confused about who their enemies were, so the Jews prayed blankly that they be saved from "this nation"  (Bamidbar 20:2).

R' Frand asked - if these Amalek people were so knowledgeable that they knew that Jews prayed and that their prayers worked, and that Amalek needed to influence the prayers by making them wrong - why do they remain Amalek? 

R' Frand answered that although the people understood these things, their nature did not allow them to abandon their evil ways. Simply put, their desires and agenda just did not allow them to logically follow through on what they knew to be true.

R' Frand gave another example from the story of Moshe hitting the rock. R' Frand quoted the Ramban who cited Rabbeinu Channanel who explained that Moshe asked the people in Bamidbar  20:9, will we be able to take the water from the rock? The Jews could have thought that Moshe was the reason that water was coming from the rock because of him. This according to Rabbeinu Channanel was Moshe's sin. 

R' Frand noted that all the Jews - hundreds of thousands of people were able to stand around this one rock. Furthermore, the Medrash states that all the rocks in the area opened up and water came out.

But with these open miracles, why did people have the impression that it came from him by saying "Notzei Lachem Mayim"? Wasn't it obvious to them that Moshe was not responsible for this? But still, the people's nature did not allow them to recognize this.

R' Frand closed with a story which was said by a gadol, although R' Frand did not know who the gadol was. The gadol was in a cab in Israel and the cab driver who saw he was transporting a great Rav said that he wanted to tell him a story. The cab driver related that he and two friends had gone on an African safari after completing army service. One night they were in a tent and one of the men was attacked by a snake. He began hitting the snake, but it would not release. The other men tried to help but it was no use. They said to the choking man - say Shema Yisrael. The man repeated the first pasuk of Shema and the snake released. As a result, the man went back to Israel and joined a Yeshiva and became frum.

The Rav said to the cab driver, but what about you? The cab driver responded - don't you understand, honored Rabbi, the story happened to my friend.

This is the problem with people's natures - there is a disconnect between the mind and the heart. People can see the miracles and understand the power of tefillah, but still continue on their own course, because that is what they want to do.

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Monday's Musings on Sports - Jason, Mark and the Spies

Two weeks ago, the NY Rangers fired Head Coach John Tortorella. Since this is New York, the firing of a coach (in any sport) immediately sets off wild speculation as to who the replacement will be. Although the Ranger were able to escape the feeding frenzy the last time they fired a coach (since the Ranger already had the former Jack Adams winner in their stable when they replaced the passive Tom Renney) the circus has begun in earnest this time around.

Generally, when a coach gets fired, the media will offer possible replacements coaches, including retreads, up & coming assistant coaches from other organizations, and recently retired marquee coaches. However, unique to New York is the possibility of naming a player who had a golden history with the team, but who has no coaching experience whatsoever. In the case of the Rangers, the possible ex-player is Mark Messier.

[Before moving on to discuss why Messier may or not be the proper replacement coach, I would note that this NY phenomenon is not unique to hockey. Although the Nets fired their coach almost a month ago, rumors have begun to circulate that Jason Kidd (perhaps one of the greatest Nets leaders of all time) is interested in their head coaching vacancy, even though he too has no head coaching experience.]

When Mark Messier first came to the Rangers in 1992, he was hailed as the messiah. He had a sterling resume with five Stanley Cups in Edmonton and a reputation as a hard nosed leader. Less than two years after he arrived, the Rangers had their first Stanley Cup in fifty four years.

Since Messier's retirement, he has been in and out of hockey, but most recently he has served as an assistant to Rangers GM Glen Sather. But he has zero coaching experience on any level.

So what would make Messier a good candidate for Head Coach of the New York Rangers? When looking at the situation objectively, the answer is very little. Messier has a natural ability to lead and a great history as a hockey player. He may be able to inspire his players based on his career and history in the NHL. But he has not demonstrated any ability to coach. There is simply no indication that Messier's innate "hockey smarts" can be transmitted to his players, or that he will be able to match X's and O's with other head coaches.

I sometimes wonder why former players who have zero experience feel that they can be great coaches? Maybe its because the game came so easy to them that they feel that they can teach it to others without the need to work under someone else as an assistant. 

But there is another possibility. Maybe its the spies. In Parshas Shelach we read about how the spies were sent to look at the land of Israel and report back. When they returned, ten of the twelve spies had negative reports and the Jews cried. Hashem punished the Jews for crying for nothing and we remember the event every year on Tisha B'Av.

The motivation for the spies is a hotly contested issue by the meforshim. But one of the main theories is that the spies were the nesi'im (loosely translated as presidents or princes) of their respective tribes. The spies were concerned that once the Jews entered Israel they would lose their roles and the Jews would be led by a King. In order to prolong their role, they made their report a negative one.

Of course, I am not saying that Mark Messier or Jason Kidd have a nefarious plot to wreck the future of their teams. But maybe the reason that they feel that they can become Head Coaches without ever spending time as an assistant is because they can't let go of the feeling left over from their playing days that they can lead a team anywhere.

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!

Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Porch Rocker

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Porch Rocker.

There is just something about beer mixed with lemonade that just does not work for me. I have tried various lemon infused beers with fair to poor results. There was the passable lemon infused beers such as Samuel Adams Summer Ale which was made with lemon zest so it did not go too far over the line for me (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-night-suds-sam-adams-summer-ale.html) the Saranac Summer Ale which also was made with lemon zest (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunday-night-suds-saranac-summer-ale.html). 

The next level down were the OK type beers which had some lemon flavor added. These beers I would drink if I did not have anything better, but were not first choice brews. Some beers in this category were the Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/10/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-coastal.html) and the since discontinued Blue Moon Spring Blonde Ale (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2011/01/blue-moon-spring-blonde-wheat-ale.html).

But there were also the awful shandy beers such as  Saranac Shandy (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-shandy.html) and finally the Leinenkugel Summer Shandy (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/06/sunday-night-suds-leinenkugel-summer.html) which to me tasted like it was brewed with lemonheads and MrsKB thought tasted like Pledge.

This brings us to the Samuel Adams Porch Rocker which looks Ok on the porch of a model palace that my kids built, but should not be served to anyone you might want to see again.

The Porch Rocker is a German Radler style of beer, which goes to show you that even the brewmeisters sometimes get something wrong. (For more on the definition of Radler style, click on the Saranac Shandy post - kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-shandy.html).

I do not intend to finish this brew, nor would I recommend pairing it with anything other than the drain.

The Samuel Adams Porch Rocker is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the label. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/81388. 

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 www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Korach

The following is a brief summary of 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 his parsha vort this evening by making reference to the damage done by machlokes. He first quoted R' Chaim Palagi who writes that from the time that he was a young man, he saw that any person or community or city or country which had a machlokes - neither side came out unscathed - whether physically or monetarily. No side ever wins an argument, there are casualties on both sides. So he suggests that if you are involved in an argument, whether it relates to your money, or honor, or personally- just walk away and you will gain more than you have lost.

 

Similarly, R' Frand quoted R' Shach who says that no one ever lost for being m'vater - for conceding.

 

R' Frand then asked - in the dispute between Moshe and Korach & Co, how could you tell who was right? It was 250 great people who stood with Korach to ask on Moshe. R' Frand answered by quoting R' Schteinman who says - whoever keeps quiet is the one who is right.

 

R' Frand next quoted in the name of the Chasam Sofer on the pasuk in Tehillim 147 - "Hasam Gevuleich Shalom, Cheilev Chittim Yasbe'aich" - every person has their red line which they will not cross. But if your red line is shalom, you will have a bounty of the fat of the wheat - you will win.

 

R' Frand also noted that the parsha begins with a pasuk which explicitly mentions Dasan and Aviram as being part of Korach's band. This is the first time that Dasan and Aviram are actually mentioned, even though they had been alluded to numerous times in the Torah prior to Parshas Korach. They were mentioned was in Parshas Shemos when they said that Moshe had ruined their reputation with Pharaoh. Dasan was also a figure earlier in Shemos as he was the man that Moshe saved from being killed by the Mitzri, before he then turned on Moshe the following day. Another story involving Dasan and Aviram without mentioning their names was the rebellion at Yam Suf where people said - lets turn back. The speakers were Dasan and Aviram. Yet another story involved the people who tried to make it appear as if the manna had fallen on Shabbos (before the birds came and ate the manna). Yes, this was also Dasan and Aviram - but they were never mentioned by name.

 

So why did Dasan and Aviram finally merit being mentioned here? Because here they jumped into a machlokes where they did not even have anything to gain!

 

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Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Blue Moon's Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale.

As mentioned in the Sunday Night Suds post of May 12, the Brewmasters Sampler Box for  Summer 2013 Brewmasters Sampler Box contains five different beers: the flagship Blue Moon Belgian White (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-belgian.html); Rounder Belgian Style Pale Ale; Agave Pale Ale (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/05/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-agave.html); Blackberry Tart Ale (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-night-suds-blue-moon-blackberry.html) and Short Straw Farmhouse Style Red Ale.

Since the Short Straw calls itself a Farmhouse Red Ale, I saved it to review after the Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale which was reviewed in last week's post (kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-night-suds-shiner-fm-966.html). But a funny thing happened after I tasted this purported Saison/Farmhouse Ale. I realized that it was not really a Saison.

Although this style of beer is supposed to be semi-dry with only a hint of sweetness, the Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale bursts with fruit and is anything but semi-dry. This could be due to the fact that it comes from Blue Moon where almost everything they brew tastes like it is made with orange or deserved a fru fru orange garnish. But it also could be due to the spices they add to the brew which they describe as a Flanders Red brewed with hibiscus, coriander and white pepper.

The resulting beer is a refreshing deep red brew with strawberry like fruit and little to no hop bite or bitterness. I could see having this beer with a cold fruit soup or even with a cherry pie (no joke!). It would also be just fine on its own, but why don't you try it out and get back to me with your favorite pairing.

Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union. For the experts take on the beer, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/82098.

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).

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