Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium's Saison Harvest Ale.

The New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale falls within the category of Saison/Farmhouse Ale. The experts at BA explain that Saison Ales are:

are sturdy farmhouse ale that was traditionally brewed in the winter, to be consumed throughout the summer months. Not so long ago it was close to being an endangered style, but over recent years there's been a massive revival; especially in the US.

This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness.

The Saison Harvest Ale poured a pale yellow with phenols that made me think more of a hefeweisen than an ale. There was some hop bitterness, but the yeast masked much of the bite.

I would pair this beer with complex salads (like Mrs KB's baby spinach, arugala with pomegranate and hearts of palm). I could not see this beer standing up or working well with strong meat or poultry dishes.

New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Scroll-K of Colorado. Although the beer does not bear the kosher symbol on the label, the Scroll-K kosher symbol can be found on the bottom of the "folly pack" box.

Please note that not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision. For a list of the New Belgium brews currently under supervision, please click on the link on the left side of my home page for my latest Kosher Beer List.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale, please follow this link beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/32282. 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayigash

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 Bereishis 45:3 the Torah recounts how Yosef finally revealed his identity to his brothers and that they could not respond to him.

The Medrash Rabbah cites Abba Kohain Bardela who states that the brothers were unable to respond as Yosef's revelation was a rebuke to them. He further stated that how much more so, when a person dies he will come before the Kisaih HaKavod and he will be unable to respond after hearing the Heavenly rebuke.

Although it is understandable that once a person is rebuked by Hashem and sees all of his errors that he will be unable to respond, but the question is - how was Yosef's revelation of his identity a rebuke to the brothers?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Sefer Nachal Eliyahu who refers to a Ramban on Parshas Vayeshev. The Ramban observes that the entire story of Yosef is counter intuitive. How is it that Yaakov makes the mistake of overtly favoring Yosef over his brothers, without being concerned for their reaction? Why is is that Yosef mistakenly believes that his brothers are sinning and even eating from live animals? Why do the brothers believe that Yosef wants to kill them, when he is not planning to do so?

The Ramban answers that the key is that Hashem has made his decree and the efforts taken to combat it are false as Hashem's decision will prevail.

The Nachal Eliyahu explained that when Yosef revealed himself to the brothers he was in effect saying to them, you thought that you could get rid of me and sell me down to Egypt as a slave. However, all of your thoughts and plans are of little consequence, as I Yosef have succeeded and am the second in command in Egypt. This was the ultimate rebuke.

R' Frand then tied this into a parallel vort by the Nachal Eliyahu on a later incident in the parsha. When the brothers tell Yaakov that Yosef is still alive (Bereishis 45:26) he rejected them. But why should he do so? He had mourned Yosef for more than twenty years and was inconsolable. Did he think that his sons were pranking him? 

The Nachal Eliyahu quoted the Midrash Tanchuma which writes that a rasha while alive is called dead because he is incapable of recognizing Hashem's role in his every day life. The person may see a sunrise but will not acknowledge Hashem's role in creating the world that sustains him.

Yaakov's rejection of the brothers statement was not because he did not believe that Yosef was alive, it was based on a sense that Yosef was not Yosef anymore, due to his years of living in the den of sin known as Egypt. 

However, when Yaakov saw the wagons and was reminded that Yosef had learned the topic of Eglah Arufa with him before their separation, Yaakov able to believe that Yosef was in fact Yosef. At this point, Yaakov knew that this was all part of Hashem's plan and that Yosef could be reunited with him.

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 - Stegmaier Amber Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Stegmaier Amber Lager.

The last of the Lion/Stegmaier beers which I brought back from North East Pennsylvania is Stegmaier's version of an American Amber lager. These beers are generally the "mutts" of the beer world as the class is muddied and borrows heavily from other beer styles. An American Amber Lager has a stronger malt presence than a traditional lager, with almost no bitterness.

The Stegmaier Amber Lager pours a rich copper with better than average lacing. The beer has the characteristic breadiness and the slightest hint of hops. Successive sips made me think more of macrolagers than Amber or Vienna lagers and had me doubting that this beer was 5.2% abv. 

This beer would go well with burgers or other basic meat dishes. I would not pair this with a smoky or rich meat dish as the beer lacks the depth of flavor to stand up to heavy and complex meat dishes.

Stegmaier IPA is certified kosher by the OU, and there is an OU on the label. For the experts take on the Stegmaier IPA, please click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/150/47413

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 Mikeitz

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 writes in Mikeitz (Bereishis 44-16) that Yehuda said to Yosef after Binyamin was found with the cup - what can I say, Hashem is behind this and we have sinned to Hashem.

R' Frand observed that this was an odd thing to say to Yosef. The brothers thought that Yosef was an Egyptian dictator with no pity, so why say that this came from Hashem?

R' Frand hypothesized - what if a person was charged and brought before Vladmir Putin. Would Putin care that you admit that you did something wrong to Hashem? Putin does not even believe in G-d.

R' Frand also observed that there is a difference between this pasuk and the pasuk in Vayigash (Bereishis 44:18) where Yehuda approaches Yosef. Rashi notes in Yayigash that Yehuda is not deferential and Yehuda lets on that he knows that it is a plant and that Binyamin is being framed.

So what happened in between these two parshios?

R' Frand answered based on the Sefer Nachlas Eliezer from R' Eliezer Cohen the Mashgiach of Gateshead who quoted R' Yisroel Salanter for the concept that in life there is a cause and an effect. People are often blinded as to what is the cause and what is the effect. An outsider viewing this would say that Yosef frames them in order to harass them or keep them. However, this is not the reason that Yosef does this. This happens because Hashem is angry with them and Yosef is just the mechanism, but the reason is because Hashem is upset with them for an act that took place years before.

A G-d fearing Jew realizes that something he perceives as bad is occurring and he identifies Hashem as having a reason to punish him for the act. The actual punishment is only the mechanism, but the reason that it occurs is because Hashem wants it.

R' Frand continued and noted that this is the fundamental difference between Mikeitz and Vayigash. In Mikeitz, Yehuda sees that something has gone wrong and that it is a punishment from Hashem. Then in Vayigash, Yehuda has an understanding that Yosef is the mechanism for the punishment and that he is being too aggressive in framing them.

R' Frand then observed that the same can be seen with positive events. The Medrash says that when Yosef gets his position from Pharaoh - it was all deserved. Since Yosef did not kiss the wife of Potiphar, all that he says will go. Since he did not embrace the wife of Potiphar he was clothed in royal garments. The Medrash tells us that Hashem gives all these things to Yosef, not Pharaoh as Pharaoh was only the mechanism to deliver Hashem's goodness.

R' Frand told a story about R' Yisrael Salanter who met a man who had spent all his money on a special lottery ticket. While waiting for the drawing, the man was unable to pay his bills and he wound up selling the ticket to a friend. Eventually the drawing was held and this was the winning ticket. The man came to R' Salanter and asked why did this happen? R' Salanter said don't you know - its not the number that wins the lottery, its the man that wins the lottery. At least you got your money back, because if you held onto the ticket it would not have been the winning number. If Hashem does not want you to win, you will not win.

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 - Saranac Chai Brown Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Chai Brown Ale.

As has been their habit as of late, the good folks at Saranac have introduced a number of new beers in their winter variety box. In addition to old favorite Pale Ale (reviewed here (kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-night-suds-saranac-pale-ale.html) and more recent offerings 4059 Porter (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-4059-porter.html) and Legacy IPA (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2014/02/sunday-night-suds-saranac-legacy-ipa.html ), the winter box contains the Chai Brown Ale along with Long John Lager and Into the Dark.

The Saranac website indicates that the Chai Brown Ale is made from a blend "of brown ale and chai spices - a lively, balanced brew with hints of coffee, cocoa, and vanilla."

I am not familiar with Chai as a spice (Mrs KB even corrected me that it is not pronounced like the Hebrew word for life). To me this beer taste like a light version of a Brown Ale with some earth and bitter spice. I don't taste any vanilla or cocoa and the bitter is more of traditional bitter and not a coffee note.

I did not find this beer to be an exceptional Brown Ale and would not attempt to pair this with anything other than a stew or similar smoky rich meat dish.

Saranac Chai Brown Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac brews some of its High Peaks series off site and these bottles do not have kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this beer, please follow this link www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/133450.

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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayeshev

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 Bereishis 37:31-36, the Torah recounts the story of the brothers showing Yaakov the coat dipped in goat's blood and Yaakov's reaction to seeing the coat. The Torah writes that Yaakov went into mourning and was inconsolable. Seeing this, Yaakov's sons and daughters attempted to comfort Yaakov, but were unsuccessful.

R' Frand quoted the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh who asked - why was Yaakov not capable of being consoled? This is understandable if a man has only one child or very few children. But Yaakov had many children! 

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh notes that the Torah does not recount what the children did to try to comfort Yaakov.  Instead, the Torah writes that all of Yaakov's sons and daughters and his grandchildren came to console him. The thinking was that this gathering would console Yaakov because he would see all the children and grandchildren coming to see him. However, this did not console Yaakov as Yosef was irreplaceable to him.

R' Frand made reference to a story told by R' Oelbaum about this very vort of the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh. There was a Rabbi in Israel who told this vort before Maariv on a Friday Night. The Rabbi explained that the same way that Yaakov could not be consoled, Hashem feels the same way. Hashem sees all the Jews who are learning Torah and keeping the mitzvos. However, Hashem also sees all of the Jews who have left the faith and are not keeping the mitzvos and Hashem cries for them.

When the Rabbi finished the vort, he was approached by a man who had come to shul that night for yahrtzeit. The man was not frum and the Rabbi had occasionally tried to draw him in, but with no success. This night, the man approached the Rabbi and said - do you think Hashem cries for me? The Rabbi replied - absolutely! Hashem is a father much like Yaakov and he cries when he sees that his children have gone astray.

As a result of this conversation, the man began to keep mitzvos and he is now a frum Jew.

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 - Boulevard Pop Up Session IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Boulevard's Pop Up Session IPA.

I picked this up in Binny's (Skokie) during our October trip to Chicago. Whenever I take trips to the Midwest or the Mid-Atlantic, I try to keep an eye out for Boulevard products. For reasons I can't fathom, this quality Kansas City based brewery exports their products to various regions of the United States, but not New York.

Normally a beer which is branded a "Session __" is a lighter version of the particular style and is often meant to be consumed in multiple quantities over a period of hours.

The Boulevard Pop Up Session IPA is somewhat lighter in color than a traditional IPA, but other than that the beer should not be taken lightly. The beer poured with a significant amount of foam and the lacing was present throughout. There is a nice amount of pine which hits you at the beginning of the sip and develops into a full floral after taste. 

Boulevard Pop Up Session IPA is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Kansas City, but the bottle I purchased did not have the certification mark on the label. If you would like the LOC from the Va'ad, please let me know and I will email it to you.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link -http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/97172.

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 Vayishlach

The following is a brief summary of some of the 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 started the vort by quoting the Rabbeinu B'Chaye which mentions a medrash recorded in the Medrash Tanchuma. The medrash recites a conversation which took place between Chamor and Yaakov when Chamor told Yaakov that his son Shechem wished to marry Dina. Chamor said to Yaakov - I am a Nasi and your grandfather Avraham was a Nasi - this would be a great shidduch.

Yaakov of course rejected Chamor's suggestion. In so doing, Yaakov said to him, I am an ox and you are a donkey. You are not allowed to plow with an ox and donkey together, so this cannot be a good shidduch.

The medrash obviously requires explanation. However, prior to beginning the explanation, R' Frand made mention of a Rashi in Parshas Vayishlach (32:5). Rashi explains that when Yaakov told Esav that Yaakov had lived with Lavan, Yaakov told him - I was only a ger when I was in Lavan's house. I did not have a position of power. Look - the berachos of Yitzchak did not come true - so why be mad? You got the better end of the deal!

There are several problems with this Rashi. R' Moshe Feinstein notes that the berachos were a nevuah. Was Yaakov saying that they were a false prophecy and worthless? Also, merely because the berachos had not come true now did not mean that they would never come true. After all, they really only came to fruition in the time of Shlomo HaMelech!

R' Frand answered that Yaakov knew who he was dealing with and how to approach Esav. The Seforno in Parshas Toldos on Bereishis 25:31, explains that where Yaakov says "Michrah Kayom" - Yaakov is saying to Esav - you live for today. You put so much effort into today that you cannot appreciate the bechor. 

R' Frand explained that the difference between a tzaddik and a rasha is that the tzaddik looks to the long term, while the rasha wants instant gratification. The rasha wants the today and does not think about the reward which will come in olam haba.

Yaakov knew that the berachos would come true in the future and was willing to wait. But Yaakov also knew that Esav would not understand this. So he said to Esav - I have nothing now so the berachos must be worthless.

With this introduction, R Frand quoted R' Avraham Bukspan who explains the difference between an ox and a donkey. The ox is used for plowing and planting which is a long term plan. In contrast, the donkey is used for short term deliveries of items.

R' Frand also explained that an ox ruminates and uses the food for a long time, whereas the donkey eats for the present. 

This was the message to Chamor - you are only interested in the short term, whereas we think about the long term. This shidduch just cannot work.

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!