Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Smoked Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Samuel Adams Smoked Lager.

The Smoked Lager is one of the three new beers in the American Craft Lagers Variety Pack, which also includes Kellerbier (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/01/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams.html ), Coffee Black Lager as well as old friends Boston Lager, Fresh as Helles and Noble Pils.

The Smoked Lager is not the first smoked beer that I have tried, but its miles ahead of the first that I ever tried. About nine years ago I sampled the Shiner Smokehaus (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/11/belated-sunday-night-suds-shiner.html) which tasted like a barbecue in a bottle, and not in a good way.

In contrast, the Smoked Lager tasted like a cross between a Laphroag and a lager. There was definitely some smoke, but it was also refined and reminded me of a fine, peaty, single malt scotch. Not that the beer was especially high in alcohol as the alcohol level was only 5.00% abv, but there were notes that made me think scotch.

I had this beer with meatballs and spaghetti and the smokiness of the beer matched well with the smokiness of the browned meatballs. I could see having this with other rich smoky meat dishes and would suspect that it go well with the tongue that Mom of KB used to make.

The Smoked Lager is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the bottle. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/304490.

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 are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

Speaking of the beer list, I hope to Iyh post the newest version of the list tomorrow.

Lastly, 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 Tezaveh

The following is a brief summary of some 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 the vort by quoting the famous Ba'al HaTurim which observes that from the time of Moshe's birth until Sefer Devarim, Moshe appears in every parsha in the Torah except for Tezaveh.  R' Frand offered three unique explanations for why.

The first explanation was said in the name of the Ba'al HaTurim himself, albeit with an interesting twist. The Ba'al HaTurim explains that this results from Moshe having said in Parshas KiSissa (Shemos 32:32) that he should be wiped out of the Torah if Hashem were to destroy the Jews. Although Moshe's conditional request did not come to fruition, the words of a Tzaddik have power and he was omitted from this parsha.

But why was it specifically Parshas Tezaveh? R' Frand quoted the Sefer Ateres Dudaim which quotes R' Moshe Einstader who linked this to Moshe's initial conversation with Hashem about leading the Jews out of Egypt. Over the course of seven days, Moshe and Hashem had a discourse where Hashem attempted to convince Moshe that he was the man who lead the Jews out of Egypt and Moshe tried to turn the job down. At one point during the conversation Hashem became angry with Moshe and it states at Shemos 4:14 "Vayichar Af" that Hashem became angry and then said --is this your brother Aharon the Levi and Moshe was happy when he saw him.

R' Frand quoted Rashi which cites a Gemara in Zevachim which states that every time the words "Vayichar Af" are used, there is a punishment. R' Yehoshua Ben Carcha says there that this is the one time that there was no punishment, but R' Yosi disagrees and states that Moshe is punished. Since the pasuk calls Aharon "the Levi" it is a sign that Aharon was meant to be a Levi and Moshe would be a Cohen. However, due to Moshe's resistance to taking the role of leader, he lost the Kehuna.

R' Einstader explained that this is why Moshe is not mentioned in Tezaveh. Because this parsha contains extensive discussions of the clothing of the Cohanim and is irrelevant to Moshe because he is not one.

R' Frand also quoted the Klei Yakar who also notes that Parshas Tezaveh is about the clothing of the Kehuna and that since Moshe was so happy for his brother Aharon who received this role, he took himself out of the picture (so to speak). He connects it with the pasuk in Tehillim - Hinei Ma Tov U'Manayim Sheves Achim Gam Yachad - which is emblematic of Moshe's relationship with his brother.

The last explanation came from the Ba'al HaTurim who writes that the reason that Moshe was omitted from Tezaveh was because of Hashem's sensitivity to Moshe's feelings. Since Moshe was no longer destined to be a Kohain, Hashem was sensitive to Moshe and did not address Moshe "laimor" -- to teach others as to things which he could not receive.

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 - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA

This week's Sunday Night suds looks a New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA.

This is another of the New Belgium extra hoppy beers in the Voodoo Ranger line. The beer is made with an interesting mix of hops which (according to the NB website) include Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe and Nugget. They then mix in American Hefeweizen yeast which gives this beer the cloudy appearance of store brand mixture of apple and orange juice.

While the description of the appearance may not be appetizing, the beer is delicious. I picked up two of these when in Chicago last month and put one in the fridge with some Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata to serve at lunch for the Heineken Man's 75th B-Day. When I got back to New York later that week I realized that I had forgotten to take that out of the fridge and the worst part is that my SiL who would love that beer can't sample it due to her expecting. But B'H I did remember to bring one back to NY and I sampled it tonight after having chilled it for a few days.

The beer was an interesting variation on an IPA. While this looks the part of a wheat beer, there were no phenols or coriander notes. But the hops were present and the tropical fruity nature which had notes of pineapple, orange and grapefruit had me and Mrs KB doubting the New Belgium webpage which did not divulge any added flavoring.

A final note - this beer is 7.5% abv, but you would never know it. I could see having a few of these (perhaps on Purim) and not realizing what just hit me.

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, but 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 The Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA, click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/302437.

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).

Please Note - if you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

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 Terumah

The following is a brief summary of some 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 Shemos 25:11, the Torah recites the instruction that the Aron be covered on the inside and outside with gold ("M'Bayis U'Michutz"). The Gemara in Yoma 72b quotes Rava who states that we learn from here that any Talmid Chacham who is not the same on the inside as he acts on the outside is not a true Talmid Chacham.

Similarly, the Gemara in Chullin 133 that teaching Torah to a Talmid Chacham who is not the same on the inside as the outside is like throwing a rock at the idol Marculus.

The Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah (4:1) writes that one should not teach Torah to a student who is not the same on the inside as the outside. However, he adds that in this instance the teacher should first teach the student Middos and then he can bring the student into the Beis Medrash.

R' Frand next quoted the famous Gemara in Berachos involving R' Gamliel and R' Yehoshua, wherein they removed R' Gamliel as Rosh Yeshiva and eventually chose R' Elazar Ben Azarya to fill his spot. Before making the actual selection there was some doubt, as even though he was brilliant, wealthy and came from good lineage (10th generation of Ezra), he was unsure whether he should take the position and he said that he needed to ask his wife.

When review this with his wife, she told him that he could not be the Rosh Yeshiva as he was youthful and had a black beard (at the time he was 18). He went to sleep that night and woke up the next morning with a gray beard and they made him the Rosh Yeshiva. He then opened the school to all who wanted to study and removed the gatekeepers who had excluded all potential students who were not the same on the inside as the outside. They needed to bring in extra benches for all the students.

Upon seeing this, R' Gamliel became depressed and he pondered aloud how many potential Talmidei Chachamim he had excluded from the Yeshiva. 

R' Frand quoted the Ben Yehoyada who asked why the change to accept students who were not the same on the inside as the outside? He answered that they learned from the miracle which occurred when R' Elazar Ben Azaryah's beard changed color. In so doing they saw that a person who experiences what begins as a purely external change can internalize it and incorporate it as well. Even if a person only acts a certain way, if he continues to do so it can have an internal impact as well (you are what you do). 

Upon seeing this, they decided to admit those who were not the same on the inside as the outside in the hopes that they would change their manners based on their activities.

R' Frand closed the vort by addressing why R' Gamliel was upset. He quoted the Chiddushei HaRim who explains that R' Gamliel saw that learning Torah can change a person. He had originally thought that what person is or does, defines that person. But upon seeing how R' Elazar had changed, he realized that other people could change as well, if they were exposed to Torah and brought into the Beis Medrash.

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 - Lakefront Organika White Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Lakefront Brewery's Organika White Ale.

This was another of the beers that I picked up when I was at the Binny's in Lincolnwood last week. Its actually been a while since I had seen a new Lakefront product as they don't have a wide distribution network in New York. So when I saw the Lakefront bottle with a star-k on the mix your six pack rack I had to grab one.

It may not be PC to admit this, but I don't really prioritize buying organic products. Its not that I don't care about the environment, but I just don't go out of the way to avoid genetically modified products and I dont source ingredients. But while the term organic does not hold any special meaning to me, the beer was a solid White Ale. It poured a lighter orange than I was expecting, but there were nice phenols and the cloves quickly drew me in. Its not a hefeweizen, but its also not a light American Wheat Ale which pretends to be a White Ale either. The coriander and citrus zest were also nice touches and I could see having one of these in the spring or early summer with a salmon dish.

Lakefront Brewery's Organika White Ale is under the kosher supervision of the Star-K (there is even a Star-K on the label). For the experts' take on the brew, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/741/315921.

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

If you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

Lastly, 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 - Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale. What better to toast the Eagles upset of the Patriots in tonight's Super Bowl.

I picked this up this past Friday when I was in Chicago for the Heineken Man's 75th B-day. It was quite a celebration and the family really came through with quite a Shabbos and weekend. But how can I do a trip to a great beer town like Chicago without making a beer run? So I stopped in at the Binnys in Lincolnwood and mixed a six pack, in addition to picking up some better beer for Shabbos.

I did not get a chance to crack this open in Chicago, so I stuck in the freezer and then fridge and then opened it after the end of the "Big Game." The beer poured a dark brown, but was not anything like a porter or stout. Instead it was hoppy and dark at the same time, with a great amount of pine and a little bit of grapefruit. The beer had a 7.5% abv, but the alcohol flavor was not overly strong. There was also a little bit of juniper as well as malt and the beer was an excellent mixture of flavors that had me wishing that I had brought back a six pack.

Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the can For the experts' take on this brew, please click here www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/247110.

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 are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

Lastly, 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 Yisro

The following is a brief summary of some 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 the beginning of the parsha, the Torah discusses the reunion of Moshe and Yisro, before reaching the point in the story where Yisro counsels Moshe as to using a system of appellate courts. Although the parsha begins at the start of Perek 18, the discussion of the judging starts at 18:13 when Yisro observed Moshe judging from morning until night. Later still at 18:21-23, Yisro tells Moshe that if would do this and Hashem would command it, then Moshe and the Jews will arrive at peace.

The gemara teaches that one of the reasons that Yisro had the name Yisro is because he caused the addition of another parsha in the Torah -- the system of appellate courts as laid out commencing at 18:21.

R' Frand quoted R' Menachem Zemba (sp?) who spoke at the Third K'Nessiah in pre-WWII Europe and asked why the gemara states that the additional perek began with 18:21-23. He answered that anyone can ask questions or criticize, such as when Yisro says "Lo Tov" at 18:17. However, if a person wants to make a difference, he can offer a solution to the problem. Since Yisro's actual solution began at 18:21, this is why the "new parsha" begins there.

R' Frand also said a vort related to the differing cantellation notes which apply when a person reads the Torah and when learns the Torah privately. When the Aseres HaDibros are being lained, the Ta'am Elyon is used, in which the dibros are broken up by concepts. When they are privately learned they are broken up by pasuk, often within a dibra.

R' Frand noted that there is another difference in that Lo Tirzach has a Kamatz when read as Elyon and a Patach when read privately. But why should the vowel change?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Gra who cited a gemara in Avodah Zarah 19b that interpreted a pasuk in Mishlei which states "for many victims has she felled" which the gemara teaches as referring to a talmid who is giving psak, but had not reached the level of study to do so. The pasuk ends, "and mighty are all that she has slain" which refers to a student who is ready to give psak, but withholds it.

The Gra tied these two students to the patach and kamatz in Lo Tirzach. Sometimes there is a student who should keep his mouth closed, but instead he opens it and is a victim who is felled for being a patach. And there are others who should open their mouths, but keep them closed -kamatz and this is problematic as well.

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!