Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Holiday Cheer

This week's Sunday Night Suds cheers the shiny new couple - Mr and Mrs P, whose beautiful wedding I was zoche to attend with Mrs KB this evening.

Earlier this summer I found a bottle of Shiner Holiday Cheer in the mix your own six pack section of the Big M supermarket in Walton, NY. Having never seen this variety before, I tossed it into the six pack holder with some other new beer and shortly thereafter put it in the fridge and forgot about it.

A few weeks later, I was looking through the fridge for a beer to share with Mrs KB on a warm Shabbos afternoon and came across the Shiner Holiday Cheer. We opened the beer and were immediately struck by the fruitiness. However, this was not citrus or spice - it was real fruit, more specifically a strong peach flavor. At that point I examined the bottle label more carefully and noticed that the beer was flavored with pecans and peaches. Yes, these are "holiday" fruits, but one would expect them to be found in a fruitcake, not beer. Yet strangely, these flavors really worked in this fruit infused Bavarian style dark wheat beer. The fruit was oddly refreshing and was not cloying nor medicinal. (Unfortunately the bottle went out with the trash before I could take a picture of it, hence the stock photo above).

The Shiner Holiday Cheer is generally available during the winter in mixed 6 and 12 packs, It is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit although there is no symbol on the the bottle. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Shiner Holiday Cheer (spoiler alert - they like it too!), please follow this link beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143/45591.

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!

Sunday Night Suds - Uinta Detour Double IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta's Detour Double IPA.

Like the artwork on the front label of the bottle, this is the last weekend of trips to visit Mrs KB and the kids at Camp M. To celebrate the end of the camp season (or maybe just because) we opened the Detour Double IPA and shared this premium Uinta beer with some of our friends as a melava malka.

As a Double IPA, this beer is not for those who dislike bitters. RL who joined us for the tasting quickly asked for something sugary to take away the bite (his loss). However the rest of us enjoyed the hop bite and the complex flavors which includes pine, citrus and a not too subtle reminder that the beer has a high alcohol content (9.5% abv).

The Detour Double IPA is sold in four packs and averages $10-12 per four pack. I found mine at the DeCicco's in Brewster which features six refrigerated cases of singles with only a slight mark up over the pack price (I believe I paid $3.49 for the bottle).

Uinta Detour Double IPA is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the label. For the experts' take on the Uinta Detour Double IPA please click here www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/58754. 

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 Eikev

As mentioned in prior summer posts, since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim until Chodesh Elul, I would like to substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos. This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from R' Eli Mansour as recorded on www.learntorah.com, Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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 the maggidei shiur.

The parsha begins with a statement "V'haya Eikev" - that in the event that you keep all of Hashem's mitzvos, there will be great blessings in both this world and the world to come,

R' Mansour quoted the Mishna in Pirkei Avos (1:15) which states that a person should have a fixed time for learning. R' Mansour mentioned a personal story which illustrated this point. When R' Mansour was in high school he had a set night for mishmar - after school learning of Torah. One week there was a "very important baseball game" and he had obtained tickets for the game. R' Mansour said to his principal that he knows that he was supposed to go to mishmar but he wanted to go to the game. So he proposed that he would skip recess, lunch and gym and in so doing would have more learning time than had he gone to mishmar.

The principal responded to R' Mansour that he appreciated how respectful he was in asking for permission, rather than just skipping out on school. The principal also said that the analysis of the learning time was also thoughtful. However he added that it is very important to have a fixed time for learning and that Hashem comes to listen to a person learn when the person has a daily fixed time to learn.

The principal concluded - I am not telling you what to do, just keep in mind that one who has a fixed time for learning will not lose out as a result.

R' Mansour decided to stay and learn, while his friends went to the game. However they did not wind up seeing a game as it poured that night and the game was cancelled after they had sat in the stadium in the rain.

R' Mansour concluded by citing back to the first pasuk of the parsha which states "V'haya Eikev." But the letters of Eikev can be rearranged to read Keva - fixed. Hashem promises that if a person makes his observance of the laws of Hashem "fixed" he will gain, both in this world and the world to come.

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 - Stewart was not Stewing and the Genie has Gone

Two stories broke over the last two days about tragic deaths. The first story involved a dirt track racer who was struck and killed in upstate New York. The second involved a legendary comedian who took his own life. Both deaths were tragic but for entirely different reasons. 

The first story broke early Sunday morning and related to a sprint car race (not a NASCAR event) on a dirt track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. As has been reported in numerous media outlets, about halfway through the race, a car driven by veteran NASCAR driver Tony Stewart bumped another car which was being driven by 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. Ward's car hit a wall and spun out, and the race officials displayed the yellow caution flag, which is a signal to drivers to be careful and which carries certain other rules related to race positions.

 

The news outlets further reported that after the accident, Ward got out of his car and walked onto the track, while Stewart continued around the half-mile course. As Stewart's car approached on its next lap, Ward was reportedly "pointing and gesturing, apparently toward Stewart". One car swerved to avoid Ward, but he was struck by Stewart's car and was severely injured. Ward died a short time later, of  "massive blunt trauma."

In the days following the race, speculation was rampant that Stewart had intentionally struck Ward, but it was simply just that - speculation. The The following day, Philip Povero, sheriff of the local county told reporters, "[a]t this very moment, there are no facts in hand that would substantiate or support a criminal charge, or indicate criminal intent on the part of any individual."

As an attorney, I find it difficult to believe that any District Attorney would charge Stewart with an intentional crime, absent significant evidence such as a recording of a contemporaneous statement (or subsequent admission) by Stewart of wanting to teach Ward a lesson. 

The second story involved the death of Robin Williams. The local authorities reported that he had died of self inflicted asphyxiation and that Williams had been battling depression and substance abuse. 

This second story touched me in  greater way than the tragic accidental death on the race track, because I had practically grown up with Robin Williams. One of my favorite TV shows when I was young was Mork & Mindy. As I got older, I saw Williams add to his comedic legacy with roles in Mrs Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and Aladdin,. (to name a few). I also watched him develop more serious roles such as Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society.

Robin Williams' self inflicted death brought to mind a lesson taught by R' Mansour. I heard a shiur from him years ago wherein he stated that clowns have a high rate of suicide. He explained that clowns make their living from always being happy, but that their happiness was artificial and often, superficial and contrived. In order for a person to be truly happy, he must be somaiach b'chelko - happy with his lot. However, when one spends all his time trying to make others happy, without making any introspection as to his own life, he will not be able to appreciate his blessings and he runs the risk of depression.

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 - Lakerfont Brewery IBA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Lakefront's IBA - an India Style Black Ale.

I found this beer in the Big M Supermarket in Walton, NY. I was first drawn to this supermarket years ago by a sign on the outside which claims that it has the "largest walk in beer cooler in the area." I don't know how they define "the area" but I keep coming back because they have a diverse beer selection and are close enough to Camp M that the beer is still cool when I get to our cabin.

More recently, the Big M added a mix your own six pack for 9.99, which is generally a good bargain.  But what makes the Big M mixer a bargain is that they don't just include macros and they even include limited editions and seasonal brews in their pool.

I was intrigued and drawn to the IBA when I saw it in the Big M. I had never seen or heard of an IBA, notwithstanding the fact that so many breweries have been experimenting with black beers such as Black Lagers, Black Ales and even Black IPAs. However, this beer billed itself as an India Style Black Ale and I wondered how that would play out. And I was not disappointed.

The IBA had a decent hop  profile with some pine. But the star of the beer was the earthiness which added whole new dimensions of flavor. There was some lacing and an interesting aftertaste which smacked faintly of peppermint. I can't say that I would ever voluntarily buy a mint flavored beer, but this was just a hint that came at the end of each sip and made me want more.

I have no idea how this beer is sold in the NY area, but the website indicates that it is a seasonal and sold in six or 12 packs. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for it.

Lakefront Brewery IBA is under the kosher supervision of the Star-K (there is even a Star-K on the label). For the experts' take on the IBA, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/741/65076.

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 Vaeschanan

After a week off from blogging due to various work and religious obligations, Kosher Beers returns with Thursday's Parsha Tidbits on Parshas Vaeschanan.

As mentioned in prior summer posts, since there are no Rabbi Frand shiurim until Chodesh Elul, I would like to substitute a vort from other Rabbanim each week, rather than leaving the blog without a vort for shabbos. This week, I am attempting to repeat a vort heard from R' Eli Mansour as recorded on www.learntorah.com, Same rules as usual apply - I have attempted to reproduce the 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 the maggidei shiur.

In Parshas Vaeschanan (Devarim 4:2) Moshe instructs that laws cannot be added or taken away from the Torah. If a person rejects a mitzva because he does not think it is logical or is no longer practical, he is taking away a mitzva from the Torah. Similarly, if a person decides that he wants to add another mitzva to the Torah, he is violating this principle. The Torah has 613 mitzvos and those are the mitzvos which has commanded.

R' Mansour quoted the Ben Ish Chai who explained that the reason that people cannot add or subtract a mitzva is that the Torah is not created by man, it was created by Hashem. If a person has created a set of rules, another person can question or change the rule. (We see this in our government as the Constitution can be amended based on an act of Congress). But the Torah is divine and cannot be amended by man.

R' Mansour noted that the number of mitzvos (613) is represented as Taryag. If a mitzva is removed from the Torah it is 612 which is represented by Tarib - there will be a dispute. Each person will claim that he knows which mitzvos are relevant and should be kept and there will be fights galore.

R' Mansour also talked about adding mitzvos and made reference to a 16 year old boy who came to his Rosh Yeshiva and said that he wanted to wear tefillin all day. The Rav asked the boy why, and the boy explained that the sages of prior centuries wore tefillin all day and he wanted to emulate them. The Rav responded - better that you wear it properly during davening - I am more concerned that you will stop wearing tefillin altogether.

This afternoon, I heard an interesting story from R' Teitelman of the Young Israel of New Hyde Park which ties into R' Mansour's tefillin story/not adding to the Torah. The Vilna Gaon was seen walking in his city by non Jews who wanted to do him harm. When they came upon him face to face, they looked at him and ran away. One of his students came over and asked him what happened. The Vilna Gaon answered that he was wearing tefillin when he was walking and that when they saw the tefillin they ran away - fulfilling the pasuk in Devarim  28:10 - V'rau kol amei ha'aretz ki shem Hashem nikra alecha v'yaru mimeka.

The student decided that he too would wear his tefillin out in public and that they would protect him from the gangs. However the aggressors did not run away from the student when they saw his tefillin and he fell victim to their attacks. 

The student returned to the Vilna Gaon and asked  - why did this not work for me? The Gaon responded - the pasuk states that the the outsiders will see the name of Hashem upon you and fear. You did not reach that level, so the tefillin you wore in the street had no impact on them.

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!