Sunday Night Suds - Redhook ESB + 9 Days Havdalah Guide

Tonight's Sunday Night Suds beer review looks at the most common Redhook brew that can be found in the Northeast market, the ESB. The post will also provide a little direction for those wondering what to use for havdalah next Saturday night.

Redhook ESB is a bit of a misnomer - while ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, the ESB is not a highly bitter beer and is not even the most bitter of the brews offered by Redhook (that honor is claimed by the Longhammer IPA). Redhook ESB is a medium bodied ale that has a little bit of fruitiness and is quite refreshing. It would partner well with chicken, beef dishes and I have found that it blends well with spicy Chinese or Israeli food.

Redhook ESB is under the Kosher Supervision of the Orthodox Union as are all all beers that I have seen produced by Redhook. For the experts' take on the ESB please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/153/23202 .

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

Bonus section - 9 days havdalah guide

In years past, I have been approached in shul on shabbos chazon (the saturday within the summer nine days mourning period) and asked what would be a good choice to make havdalah on. By way of introduction, on Saturday nights after the evening prayer is said, Jews have a special set of blessings that are said by which we separate between the holy shabbos and the rest of the week. There is a custom to say this prayer on a cup of wine, however this custom needs modification when the Saturday falls during the nine days of mourning. The reason for modification is that during the nine days period, Jews do not eat meat or drink wine under most circumstances unless it is shabbos. As the shabbos has just ended, the wine can not be used for the havdalah blessings. The question then becomes, how does one fulfill the havdalah requirement?

The answer in simple terms is that havdalah can be made on beverages other than wine. Indeed, my father in law will use diet soda (he's from Chicago where they call it pop, so he probably cringed when I wrote soda). I recall as a child seeing my father on one occasion use hard alcohol for havdalah. As long as the alcohol is not grape derived, it is fine for havdalah. The problem of course becomes how do you put out the havdalah candle with the contents of your cup without setting the house on fire.

The simplest answer to the havdalah dilemma (and one that is widely recommended by rabbinic authorities) is to use beer, which in the time of the talmud was called chamra d'medina - the wine of the masses. This brings the question full circle as to what I would recommend?

The number one problem with the question is that most people who ask it don't generally drink beer, so they need to have something to use for havdalah that won't have them making faces in their attempt to drink the halachic minimum level for the blessing. The second problem is that since the havdalah cup is imbibed on its own (i.e. without the benefit of food) people who might be inclined to have a beer with a meal will still have problems finishing their cup when the beer is consumed on its own.

The easiest solution is not to have beer, but instead to make havdalah on what is commonly called alcopop. These are malt beverage drinks with some similarities to beer and a beer-like 5% alcohol content by volume, but do not have the beer taste. Some examples are the Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) Twisted Teas and the Zima beverages produced by Coors. Another example would be the Smirnoff Twisted V/Twisted Ice line. However, caution is urged as not every flavor is certified Kosher. For the complete list of those Smirnoff products approved by the CRC, please click here http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/consumer/liquorList.html#Beer .

If you do like beer, or would like to drink something that is more manly than alcopop, the next step up would be an American wheat beer (such as the Blue Moon line, Saranac's Hefewiezen or Pomegranate Wheat) or some of the better Summer Ales such as Brooklyn Brewery's or Sam Adams' Summer Ale. Many of these beers have been reviewed on the pages of this blog and you can search through prior Sunday Night Suds reviews to find one that might appeal to you.

If you are a beer aficionado, you obviously won't need this post to tell you which ale or lager you should crack open for havdalah.

May the world have a tikkun from our three weeks/nine days observances and may tisha b'av soon be transformed to the holiday that the gemara tells it will be in the times of moshiach bimheira biyamenu.

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