Sunday Night Suds - Keystone Ice

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Keystone Ice

I have two general rules when it comes to beer sold in oversized cans. Rule #1 - If the beer comes from from large domestic breweries (such as Coors) don't expect much flavor. Rule #2 - If the beer is priced at less than $2 per can, be prepared for the look you will get from the sales clerk when you buy just one can. When I purchased the Keystone Ice, I avoided Rule #2 by using the self checkout line at the supermarket (although I think that I may still have gotten a look from the kid manning the help desk). The first rule still applied...

When opening the Keystone Ice, I was immediately hit with the aroma of corn or adjunct lager. It brought me back to my early beer drinking days when I used to prefer Bud Ice which came in 12 pack bottles with little penguins that turned blue when the beer was cold enough to drink. At that phase of my beer career, I was not looking for hops, I just wanted something cold to go well with the cholent on shabbos and the Bud Ice fit the bill.

The Keystone Ice poured a pale, almost straw colored yellow. There was some foam on top of my glass from the initial pour, but it quickly dissipated. The taste was macrolager, as could be expected, but not as bland as Budweiser or MGD.

Of note, the beer does have a relatively high alcohol content for a domestic macrolager (5.9% abv according to the can), so drinking a 24 oz bottle would be the equivalent of three standard beers. Of course given the taste, you might need to be tipsy already to even consider drinking the whole can...

Keystone Ice is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union like nearly every beer produced by MillerCoors and there is an OU on the can. For the experts take on the Keystone Ice, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/2947.

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 Shemos

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

The second perek of this week's parsha introduces Moshe as a persona in Jewish history. However, the allusion to Moshe is without fanfare, as the Torah states that a man from the house of Levi went and married a woman from the house of Levi. It is not until Parshas Va'era that we learn that Moshe's father is Amram and his mother is Yocheved.

The Ramban explains that the reason that the Torah does not mention the names of Moshe's parents was pragmatic. Had the Torah written Amram, it would have needed to list his lineage going all the way back to Levi. To avoid having to list the entire genealogy, the Torah merely states that Moshe came from the house of Levi.

R' Frand next quoted R' Sorotzkin in Aznaim L'Torah who explains that the reason that Moshe's parents are not mentioned was to show that anyone can have a son like Moshe. R' Frand explained that the anonymity of Moshe's lineage demonstrates that a person does not need to come from a family of gedolim in order to succeed and become a leader in Klal Yisrael.

R' Frand also quoted an explanation from R' Ya'akov Kaminestky, who explains that the Torah intended to teach that Moshe was a mortal and came from mortals - a regular guy and a regular girl. In so doing, the Torah alludes to the foundation of the Jewish faith -- that the physical and spiritual can be united for a positive purpose. A person has a body which is infused with a soul which can be used for a positive purpose. This stands against other religions which believe that the soul is compartmentalized and the body exists to do evil.

R' Kaminetsky also referred to a pshat in Sefer Bereishis (2:4) about creation. The medrash recites a dispute between R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua as to the nature of things in the heaven and on Earth. R' Eliezer explains that everything in shamayim was created in heaven and everything on Earth was created from the Earth. R' Yehoshua explains that everything (both the physical and in the heavens) was created in shamayim.

R' Kaminetsky explains that the dispute is actually about the nature of humanity in this world. R' Eliezer states that the spiritual is created from above and the physical remains on the Earth. R' Yehoshua disagrees and states that both physical and spiritual aspects of man come from above.

R' Kaminetsky linked this dispute to another dispute recorded in Gemara Beitzah about the proper activities for yom tov. R' Elazar states that yom tov is either for learning Torah and davening or eating and having a good time and enjoying the yom tov. R' Yehoshua states that the day can be split, the first half in davening and the second half enjoying the yom tov. R' Kaminetsky states that the dispute follow the prior dispute as to creation. Since R' Eliezer believes that spiritual and physical are distinct, then on yom tov one must choose one course of activity. R' Yehoshua says that everything came from above and the day can be split so that the physical enjoyment can be elevated to a spiritual level.

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Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Winter Lager

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

As mentioned in the November 27, 2011 edition of Sunday Night Suds (http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2011/11/sunday-night-suds-samuel-adams-black.html), this year's Samuel Adams Winter Collection box included two relative newcomers to the Sam Adams stable of beers (Black and Brew Coffee Stout and the dairy Chocolate Bock) along with some of their usual winter limited editions - Old Fezziwig, Holiday Porter and Winter Lager. As I have been drinking this beer for many years, but inexplicably never reviewed it, the time has come for a review.

The Winter Lager is truly a spiced beer as the bottle label (and the radio commercials flooding the airwaves in the NY area) proclaims that the beer is spiced with ground cinnamon, ginger and orange zest. When drinking the beer, I don't pick up any of the individual flavors, but it does make for an interesting brew. The beer pours a very dark orange with little to no lacing. The first taste is a bit dry, but the beer grows on you quickly and the malt starts to come through. After a few sips, the flavors start to hit and even the hops come through. I could drink a few of these and thankfully, SA has cooperated and releases these in six and twelve packs. Now if they could only do the same with some of the other winter classics like Old Fezziwg and Black and Brew...

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

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Winter Lager, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/101.

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 Vayechi

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

In this week's Parsha, Yaakov gives the brocha to Ephraim and Menashe and used the words "v'yidgu larov b'kerev ha'aretz." Rashi comments that this means that Ephraim and Menashe should be like fish who are not influenced by the ayin hara. The gemara in Berachos explains that fish which are under the sea are not seen by the eyes and therefore they are not subject to the ayin hara. As such, Yaakov's brocha to Ephraim and Menashe was that they should be like the fish - uninfluenced by the ayin hara.

R' Frand then said that there was another aspect to why fish are not subject to ayin hara. The Chizkuni states that there are no names of fish mentioned in the Torah. The Paneach Raza explains that various animals have names mentioned, be they kosher or non kosher and even the shratzim have names. Meanwhile, the fish are not named at all. The Paneach Raza explains that because the fish are anonymous, they are not subject to ayin hara.

R' Frand extrapolated this to people by quoting a Rashi in Sanhedrin. He explains that yes, it is true that people have names. However, Rashi in Sanhedrin writes that if a person has the ability to stay out of the public eye and not put himself in front of others and draw attention to himself, he can avoid the impact of ayin hara. He further explained that humility can be a protection against ayin hara. The Chida writes that a person who truly has humility is protected from the ayin hara. The gematria of ayin is 120, the gematria of anava (humility) is 121. The Chizkuni writes that if a person has humility, the person is above the ayin hara and will not be subject to its impact.

R' Frand next discussed the brachos that Yaakov gave to his sons. He quoted a mehalech of R' Yaakov Kaminetsky about the brachos given to Shimon and Levi. Yaakov tells them that they will be scattered among the shevatim. Rashi explains that Levi was not given any land and they had to be dependent on others for their livelihood. The tribe of Shimon were given the jobs of being itinerant teachers.

R' Kaminetsky asked - if these people are the melamdei tinokos and the sofrim which are very important jobs, how can this be a curse? R' Kaminetsky answers that it is not a curse - it is a very special kind of person who can be a teacher or sofer. Shimon and Levi were very special people and showed this through their kannaus. Everyone was aware of what happened to their sister, but Shimon and Levi were the only ones who acted.

But what happened to their kannaus? Levi refined their zealotry and perfected it, so they were able to act after the cheyt ha'egel. This is why they are given great brochos from Moshe in V'Zos Habrocha.

Shimon never refined or channeled their zealotry, which is what allowed them to be involved in the Zimri/Cuzbi story. R' Kamientsky explains that kannaus which is not tempered or directed by halacha will end up eradicating the people from the world. Only the gedolei yisroel can determine when its right to use this middah.

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Monday's Musings on Sports - Santonio, Larry and Ryan (Not that Ryan)

At the tail end of the Jets final game of the season, the cameras focused on WR Santonio Holmes who was sitting on the bench while the rest of the starting offense was trying to salvage the game. Soon thereafter, CBS showed a replay of what appeared to be a fight in the huddle between Holmes and some other player, but the camera angle did not reveal who he had been fighting with. As the game wound down, CBS continued to cut away to Holmes, looking as if he was pouting while he was sitting on the bench. However, the announcers did not have much information as to why Holmes was relegated to the bench.

Today, more of the story about Santonio's activities were revealed. ESPN Radio reported that last week Mark Sanchez held meetings with the wide receivers to try to work through problems with the passing game. According to the report, Holmes was uninterested in attending the meeting. Additional reports indicated that Holmes had been expressing his displeasure over the last few weeks and had called out his coaches and teammates in various meetings. All of this childish behavior culminated with the fight on Sunday, after which the offensive coordinator had Holmes pulled from the game.

In contrast to Santonio's juvenile behavior, there was a story on Sunday about a different highly paid wide receiver who played for another under performing team. When the season began, there were high expectations for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals had traded for highly regarded QB Kevin Kolb and it was thought that WR Larry Fitzgerald would justify his massive eight year - $120 million contract. Although the Cardinals won their first game of the season, they lost their next six games in a row. Although the streak was partly due to QB injury (twice during the season, the Cards were forced to use Richard Bartel from college juggernaut Tarleton State at QB), the stretch of games was disheartening to a veteran player like Fitzgerald. Rather than publicly complain or sit out games or practices, Fitzgerald continued to work hard and finished the season with 1400+ yards (fourth best in the NFL). However, the most startling contrast was how Fitzgerald approached the final game of his season. Although the Cardinals had been eliminated from possible post season play, Fitzgerald refused to stay out of the game after he was seen coughing up blood on the sidelines. Indeed, it was learned today that Fitzgerald had suffered a bruised lung, yet he played the entire game and made three catches for forty-six yards during the overtime drive that won the game for the Cardinals.

Our third player being contrasted in this post is Ryan Clark, a free safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clark is infected with the genetic defect, sickle cell anemia, which he has been able to overcome when playing at normal altitudes. However, during Clark's last game at Denver, the combination of exertion and the sickle cell trait caused him to become so ill that doctors were forced to remove his spleen and gall bladder. Despite the history of illness and possible dangerous repercussions, Ryan may still play this weekend in the Steelers' road playoff game at Denver.

The contrast of Clark/Fitzgerald's determination and Holmes' juvenile activity was particularly ironic to me. Having read the conclusion of the Joseph story this past shabbos in Parshas Vayigash, we had seen numerous instances where Joseph could have given up and not continued in the path of Torah. Starting from the beginning of the saga, Joseph knew that his brothers hated him and that the errand that his father had sent him on to find his brothers was fraught with danger. Yet Joseph willingly went looking for his brothers and wound up in a pit. In the following parsha, Joseph resisted the advances of Potiphar's wife and wound up in jail. Later, having interpreted the butler's dream, Joseph remained in jail for another two years, until he was summoned to Pharaoh to interpret his dream. In each of these instances, Joseph could have simply given up on life, or at the very least, could have decided that there was no point in staying on the derech. However, Joseph chose not to sulk or abandon hope and ultimately became the second in command in Egypt.

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Sunday Night Suds - Brooklyn Brewery - East India Pale Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Brooklyn Brewery's East India Pale Ale.

The Brooklyn Brewery East India Pale Ale is one of the oldest styles produced by Brooklyn Brewery. It has a well earned reputation as a quality English IPA. As it has been a number of years since I posted on the definition of this style of beer, I have reproduced the BA definition below:

First brewed in England and exported for the British troops in India during the late 1700s. To withstand the voyage, IPA's were basically tweaked Pale Ales that were, in comparison, much more malty, boasted a higher alcohol content and were well-hopped, as hops are a natural preservative. Historians believe that an IPA was then watered down for the troops, while officers and the elite would savor the beer at full strength. The English IPA has a lower alcohol due to taxation over the decades. The leaner the brew the less amount of malt there is and less need for a strong hop presence which would easily put the brew out of balance. Some brewers have tried to recreate the original IPA with strengths close to 8-9% abv.

Although Brooklyn sells this beer in multiple forms including 12 oz bottle, draft and cask, I have only tried this brew in 12 oz bottle.

The beer pours a bright amber, almost brass like in color and the hops and malt are equally present and appreciated. The resulting balance is a beer with some dry hoppiness and some notes of pine and a little citrus.

The English IPA is on the high end of the alcohol spectrum with a reported 6.9% abv. The brewers of the East India IPA recommend pairing it with spicy food such as Chinese, Mexican or Thai. I had mine on its own, but I could see how it would stand up nicely to Chinese or other spicy fare.

Brooklyn Brewery East India Pale Ale is under the kosher supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as are all 12 oz Brooklyn beers which are brewed in the Utica plant.

For the experts' take on the East India Pale Ale please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45/147.

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

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