Sunday Night Suds - Kirkland Pilsner

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Kirkland Pilsner.

I can't believe that its been ten (10!) years since I reviewed a Kirkland Signature beer, but when I looked back over my beer reviews, its really been that long. Back in 2010 I reviewed the Hefeweizen (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/06/sunday-night-suds-kirkland-signature.html); German Style Lager (https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/04/sunday-night-suds-kirkland-signature.html); Amber Ale (https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-night-suds-kirkland-signature_21.html) and Pale Ale (https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-night-suds-kirkland-signature.html). Now, more than ten years later, Costco is selling a new 24 pack of mixed beers and I will IYH review them in this spot.

The first Kirkland beer I chose for review was the Pilsner, which is generally not one of my preferred styles, but this Pilsner was pretty good. The beer poured a darker yellow than I was expecting with some decent head retention and lacing. The first sip was malt (as to be expected) but there was also some unexpected, but not unpleasant, hop bite. This is not a macrolager and the abv of 4.7% seemed accurate based on the alcohol flavor as well. This is a decent cholent beer - better than a Stella Artois and light years above a Heineken.

The Kirkland beers are brewed by Gordon Biersch which also brews the Trader Joe's beers which are under kosher supervision All of the Gordon Biersch kosher certified beers are under the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Kirkland Signature Pilsner, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/353889.

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 Ki Tzeitzei

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 parsha vort by noting that the parsha has two laws which are difficult to comprehend - the law of Aishes Yifas To'ar and later in the same aliyah, the law of the Ben Sorer U'Moreh ("BSU"). 

R' Frand prefaced the vort by stating that he had spoken many times in previous years on Aishes Yifas To'ar and would be focusing on the BSU. He gave a brief overview of the law, including that the BSU must first be warned and receive malkos for sinning from his parents and then if he does so a second time, his parents bring him for capital punishment. And even though he has not committed an act which is so horrible, better that he dies without having killed someone else.

R' Frand then quoted the Gemara in Sanhedrin which contains the qualifications for a BSU, including that the parents must both have the same height and speak with the same voice. (The Bach explains why it could never have happened). He noted that there is an opinion in the Gemara that there never was a BSU and that the law exists solely for the reward of learning about it.

But R' Frand also quoted a Gemara in Sanhedrin which states that if the parents forgive him, even if he already received malkos for the first violation, he does not receive the death penalty. Furthermore, even if one parent forgives him, he is not killed.

R' Frand remarked that there is no criminal punishment in halacha which can be waived by the victim. Civilly, a person can waive a fine or payment, but a crime is a crime.

R' Frand quoted R' Elya Svei who explains that the reason that the BSU is not punished is because if one parent is willing to forgive him, it shows that someone still believes in him. And if someone believes in him, then in fact he can turn around. When the child sees that the parents were willing to have this occur and now changed their mind, the child himself has hope that he can change.

R' Frand noted that R' Elya connected this to the concept of Teshuva. What the Torah is telling us indirectly, is that any time that a person believes in himself, there is also hope. He quoted a Medrash in Vayikra Rabbah about a sharecropper who had a miserable year and the crops fail. He goes to the landowner and is asking for a handout. If the sharecropper comes well dressed and with a smile on his face, and he tells the landowner that the land was great, the year was great, the animals were great (all not true) and he asks for a loan of 10 dinarim - the landowner will give him 20.

On the other hand, if the sharecropper shows up and he looks downtrodden, with unkempt hair and ripped clothes and when asked by the landowner how the year was and he tells him the land was lousy and the animals were weak, then when he asks the landowner for a loan of 10 dinarim, the landowner will throw him out, saying - I am not throwing more money away!

So why was the landowner reward the one who is lying, while ignoring the honest one? The lesson is that the landowner saw that this one has confidence and if he trusts in himself and believes in himself, then I will have trust in you. But if you are hopeless, I am not going to trust you - its a bad bet.

The Medrash then discussed how King David came to Hashem and asked Hashem to forgive him. Hashem says - I will be Mochel you. But why? Because Hashem saw in David that he believed in himself and still saw the good. Hashem said if you think you can have a better year and do teshuva, then I believe in you as well. The same way that the landlord will give credit to the one who shows that he has a positive outlook and will do something good with the money, so to Hashem wants to help us if we have a positive outlook on the new year.

R' Frand closed by noting that 2020 has been an "incredible year" but not in a good sense. Many of us feel beaten down and that we have slipped. But what matters is our attitude about the future. If we believe that we can improve in the new year, then IYH, Hashem will have trust in us 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shoftim

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.

[As this was the first live shiur for Rabbi Frand at the Agudah in Baltimore, he began with expressing his HaKaras HaTov for returning and how happy he was to be back for the first time in 22 weeks. He had a great line where he said - "Its nice to see everyone face to face, or miktzas face to face...by the way for those of you who don't recognize me, I'm Yissachar Frand."

R' Frand said two vorts on the parsha, one of which he had said in 2018 on the mitzva of the king not having too many wives or horses and why Shlomo thought he could overcome temptation (see link here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/08/thursdays-parsha-tidbits-parshas-shoftim.html).

The second vort related to the rules which exempt soldiers from Milchemes Rishus as described in Devarim 20:5-8. Rashi discusses a machlokes tan'aim about whether this is shelter for a person who is afraid of battles, or because he is afraid due to the sins in his closet. And in fact, the whole reason these other excuses are given is to not embarrass the person who is afraid of his sins, so that when the people leave, no one will know that the reason that he is leaving is because he is afraid of his sins.

R' Frand quotes R' Boruch Sorotzkin who asks - why are we causing such a reduction in the number of potential soldiers (by way of including battlefield exemptions for the person who has a new house, wife or vineyard), simply to avoid embarrassing the sinner? R' Sorotszkin answers that this shows how serious the issue is of embarrassing someone else and how we will go to great lengths, even to exempt 1000 other soldiers, just to prevent him embarrassment.

R' Frand added to the thought by quoting the Ramban in connection with the law that the king cannot have too many soldiers. The Ramban explains that the reason for this law is so that the king will not become overconfident based on the might of his army and think that the reason for the success is because of the army and not because Hashem is on his side. So depriving him of the extra horses will allow him to have an understanding that it comes from Hashem.

R' Frand also linked this to the story of Gidon in Sefer Shoftim wherein Hashem told him not to go into battle with 32,000 men and instead to bring 300 soldiers. This was meant to reinforce to Gidon that his victory came from Hashem.

But if this was the case there is a basic answer to R' Sorotzkin's question - it does not matter if you have all of these exemptions - because you don't need all these extra soldiers if Hashem is with you.

R' Frand closed the vort by quoting a Rashbam about the person who uses an exemption to avoid battle. He looks at himself as a shelmazel - I have no luck since I have a new vineyard and I can't even harvest it before I get pulled away. If a person looks at himself as ne'er do well and unlucky, he will not have a positive outlook on the prospects in battle. And this can translate into defeat for him as well as the others with him as morale will suffer if he thinks and publicly states that he can't succeed. So we don't send people like this into war.

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 Xperimental IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA.

In one of my most recent trips to the beer store I saw that they had the newest New Belgium Voodoo mix pack which included this new Xperimental IPA. Since my beer stock was running low and many of the other beers in the mix pack were worthwhile, I plunked down 14.99 for the twelve pack.

By my count, this is the ninth Voodoo Ranger that New Belgium has released. Previously reviewed Voodoo Ranger brews include Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/05/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html) Voodoo Ranger American Haze IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/03/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); Voodoo Ranger Hop Avenger IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/12/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); Juicifer IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2019/11/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-juicifer.html); Juicy Haze IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2018/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); Imperial IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-nigh-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); Atomic Pumpkin IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html); and the first - the Voodoo Ranger IPA (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html).

Although the New Belgium site claims that the beer is "Our latest IPA experiment", nothing about this beer seems novel. The website also says that the beer is "Exclusively dry hopped with Citra Hops" but the dry hop process is not an experimental one.

That's not to say that the beer is not enjoyable and at 6.6% abv it is slightly kicked up, but I just don't taste anything that wows me as a different kind of beer. This beer poured a dark gold with some foam and lacing and there were plentiful grapefruit and tangerine notes, along with some pine. The beer had some bite, but was not as strong as I hoped.

As far as I am aware, this beer is only available in the mix twelve packs of cans. It fits within the usual rule as New Belgium often produces a seasonal mix box which usually includes one new Voodoo Ranger.

The New Belgium Voodoo Xperimental IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, and their symbol is on the bottom of the six pack can box. However, not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision, so look for the Scroll K on the six pack holder or box when considering purchasing any NBB product. Many of the "sours" such as the Peach Kick which was released over the summer cannot be certified kosher.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA, click here https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/470552.

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 Re'eh

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I have been filling the Thursday's Parsha Tidbits with vorts from other Rabbanim. This week I am writing on something that I saw in the Zera Shimshon. Please feel free to post in the comments if you have any questions or corrections on the vorts.

In Devarim 14:22, the Torah states עַשֵּׂ֣ר תְּעַשֵּׂ֔ר אֵ֖ת כָּל־תְּבוּאַ֣ת זַרְעֶ֑ךָ from which we learn the mitzva of giving ten percent of the produce grown in the land of Israel. 

The Zera Shimshon quotes a Medrash Yalkut on this pasuk which states that if the person "merits" he will go out to plant in his field, but if not, the one who goes out in the field will provoke him. Who is the one who goes out in the field? Esav. But why does Esav attack solely based on the failure to give ma'aser?

The Zera Shimshon notes that Rashi in Bereishis states that Esav used to ask Yitzchak about the mitzva of ma'aser, but in odd ways. He would ask how one gives ma'aser from straw or salt, in order to give the impression of being overly pious. But why did he choose this mitzva? The Zera Shimshon answers that the great gift that Hashem promised to Avraham was to give his children the land of Israel. Yet at that time, the land belonged to the Cannanites.

So to the outsider, it might appear that the Jews stole the land from the Cannanites, but Rashi deals wi this in the first pasuk in the Torah. Rashi writes that if the nations claim that the land of Israel was stolen, then know that all of the land belongs to Hashem. He created the land and He gave it to whomever He saw fit. In order to show that the land belongs to Hashem we were commanded to give ma'aser after we entered the land, to show that we are paying "tax" to Him on His land.

The Zera Shimshon derives from this that a person who wants to be zoche to yield the fruits of the land of Israel, needs to admit that the land belongs to Him and thus give the ma'aser as He commands. Esav wanted to receive this land, so he used the concept of ma'aser to try to appear pious. 

Yitzchak was well aware that all the blessings of the land come from Hashem, thus the beracha that he gave Ya'akov began with "וְיִתֶּן־לְךָ֙ הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים מִטַּ֨ל הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ" - Hashem should give you from the dew of the heavens and the fat of the land. But more than blessing him with the fat of the land, he was reinforcing to Ya'akov that because the goodness of the land comes from Hashem, you need to give ma'aser and if you don't, you will lose the land. The mitzva of ma'aser of produce only applies to the land of Israel, but if you don't give the ma'aser from the produce of the land of Israel, you will be called thieves.

The Zera Shimshon closed the vort by quoting a Medrash Rabbah, which states that when Esav went into the field to catch the animals he intended to bring to Yitzchak, he went with the mindset that if he did not find wild game, he would steal. This caused him to lose the capacity to receive the beracha. But in the same way, if we do not give ma'aser we will be called a thief, and the one who lost the beracha will attack us for it.

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 Ekev

Since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, I have been filling the Thursday's Parsha Tidbits with vorts from other Rabbanim. But this week I would like to try something different and say a series of vorts which I gave as part of a parsha chabura in West Hempstead tonight. Please feel free to post in the comments if you have any questions or corrections on the vorts.

In Devarim 8:3, the Torah quotes Moshe as saying "וַיְעַנְּךָ֘ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֔עְתָּ וְלֹ֥א יָֽדְע֖וּן אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ". This is loosely translated as Moshe telling the Jews that Hashem afflicted them and let them go hungry and then gave them the manna that they did not know, nor did their forefathers know.

I saw five different explanations of the first three words of the pasuk which I would like to briefly summarize in this post. The first two came from the Ramban. In his first explanation he states that the words are meant to be read literally - Hashem afflicted and starved us and then gave us the manna to eat. But his second explanation reads all events as being about the manna as its based on the Gemara in Yoma 74 which states that there is no comparison between a person who has bread in his basket and one who does not. The person could have waited the same amount of time from his last meal until now, but if he knows that he has bread waiting for him he will be much less ravenous than the person who does not. Thus the Jews who depended on the manna were the afflicted and starved ones, because every day the leftover manna would liquefy and disappear. The next day, the Jews would be like the person with no bread in his basket and be much hungrier.

The third view I would like to mention is from the Tzror Ha'Mor who explains that the affliction and starvation was meant to wean the Jews from the rich but spiritually damaging foods of Egypt. They cried out that they missed the fish and gourds of  Egypt, but they needed to be starved and cleansed (almost like the people who do juice cleansing lhavdil) from that food so that they could serve Hashem and learn his Torah. Once they got "off" the Egyptian foods, they were able to train their eyes to the Heavens and know that all nourishment, physical and spiritual, comes from Hashem.

The fourth take I found in the Zera Shimshon who quotes a Medrash that these three words are a hint to lighting the Shabbos candles. He connects it to a parable in the Medrash Rabbah on Koheles which states that they were presented with two portions of gourds - one which was whole and one which was comprised of broken pieces and they indicated that the whole gourd was worth twice as much as the broken. But aren't they the same size? The answer was that the same way that a person enjoys the food with his mouth, he also visually enjoys the food as well.

Thus when a person does not see his food, he has less enjoyment of it. A blind person eats but is not satisfied, thus there is an obligation on us to have lit candles on Shabbos so that we can see and enjoy the food. In order to have both the visual and taste of the food we need to have a Shabbos light.

The fifth (and cutest) take on these words comes from the Panna Raza who states that Esther gleaned the idea to have a three day fast before going to Achasverus from these specific words. The first day of the fast was the Inui and the second was the Ra'av as people were more hungry. Only after these had been completed, did Esther feel that it was time for Haman to be swallowed up.

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 - Saranac Juicy Ale

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

As discussed in last week's post, this year Saranac introduced a special summer can pack called the Weekend Warrior variety pack, despite the fact that there is less to do on the weekend this year.

The Weekend Warrior pack includes the Lil Hazy Ale (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunday-night-suds-saranac-lil-hazy-ale.html), along with the new Saranac Juicy Ale and old friend Saranac Session Ale (reviewed here http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2013/07/sunday-night-suds-saranac-session-ale.html).

Although this beer claims to be 4.8% abv, there is no discernible alcohol taste and the beer seems to be a light version of a juicy IPA. That's not to say that the beer lacks hops as there is some citrus bite, but the beer is not a full fledged IPA, or even an American Pale Ale. Still, if you are looking for a lighter juicy beer to ease your way into the style, its not a bad choice.

I have not seen this beer sold in anything but the Weekend Warrior Box and I am unaware of this beer being sold in six or twelve packs, so if you want this beer you need to pick up the mix box.

The Juicy 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 varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, click on https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/485142/ to see the reviews. 

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).

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!