Sunday Night Suds - Blue Moon Grand Cru

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Blue Moon's Grand Cru.

When I first saw the Blue Moon Grand Cru I was intrigued by the bottle's shape and presentation. It is made to look like a champagne bottle (although there is no stopper). It also does not have a twist top like all the other Blue Moon products I have seen.

The Grand Cru runs a little more than a six pack of the regular Blue moon ($9-11 a bottle). Yes it is 25 oz and has a little more of a kick (8.2% abv). But is it any different from the standard Blue Moon? The label does not provide any insight as it seems to have the same description as the standard brew. Still, since it was Purim, I decided to spend the money and bring it to our friends down the street for the twilight portion of the seudah.

When I first poured the Grand Cru I could smell the familiar orange aroma. The taste of the beer also had some similarity to the regular Blue Moon, but with more body and a more pronounced yeast flavor. And yes, the beer does give you a greater alcohol bite.

Blue Moon Grand Cru is under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Union, although there is no OU on the bottle. I was able to obtain an LOC which confirms that the OU gives hashgacha for the brew - if you would like a copy please send me an email.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Grand Cru, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/54083 .

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

Finally, 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).

Melave Malka and Enter Purim Post

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur on Thursday 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.

Towards the end of the megillah, there is a phrase which is read by the congregation before being repeated by the ba'al koreh. The same line is repeated in the havdalah - "Layehudim Haisa Orah V'Simcha V'Sasson V'Yikar" - to the Jews there was light and happiness and rejoicing and goodness. The gemara in Megillah explains that Orah means Torah, Simcha means Yom Tov, Sasson means Bris Milah and Yikar means Tefillin.

Rabbi Frand asked the following question - did the Jews not have Torah, Yom Tov, Bris Milah or Tefillin prior to the miracle of Purim?

Rabbi Frand answered by quoting the Chasam Sofer who discusses the pasuk in Vayikra 32:22 "V'lo Sichallilu es shem Kadshi V'Nikdashti B'soch Bnei Yisrael" - You should not profane My holy name and make Me holy within the Jewish people. This pasuk is unique in that it discusses both chillul Hashem and Kiddush Hashem. This concept can be illustrated by a gemara in Sanhedrin. The gemara asks what happened to Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah after they were saved from the fiery furnace? The gemara gives numerous answers including that they drowned in the spit of the other nations.

The Chasam Sofer explains that the nations of the world were incredulous that the Jews were continuing to worship idols. Hashem had just performed an open miracle in saving Chanayah, Mishael and Azaryah from certain death in the furnace. How could the Jews continue to worship idols? The nations then spat on the Jews to show their disgust. This was a clear example of how an event could cause a chillul or kiddush Hashem. Had the Jews strengthened their emunah in Hashem as a result of seeing the miracle, they would have been lauded for their devotion. But alas they did not and were looked down on by the nations.

The Jews of Shushan did take note of the miracle which occurred in their midst and they changed their ways. Although they previously had Torah, Tefillin, Bris and Yom Tov, they were more enthusiastic in their actions. Torah was learned with greater inspiration, Yom Tov and brissim were celebrated with greater fervor. The tefillin was worn with greater pride. As a result of their greater devotion, the miracle of Purim became a great Kiddush Hashem.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Tezaveh Zachor

The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his shiur 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.

Parshas Tezaveh discusses the various garments which the kohanim wore while performing their priestly duties. Rabbi Frand linked this to a vort by the sefer Akeidas Yitzchak (author unknown to me) on the use of clothing.

The Akeidas Yitzchak stated that clothing covers a person's body like middos cover a person's soul. He explains that the end of a garment has a hem and it is tailored so as to not cover the hand or foot. In the same way, middos must be finite as well. A person can have the middah of being patient, but there must be some limit to his level of patience when he must act. Similarly, a person can be a tremendous ba'al tzedakah, but a person cannot give away all of his money to charity.

Rabbi Frand brought a proof to this from the Haftorah of Parshas Zachor. The Haftorah tells the story of Shaul and Shmuel when Shmuel chastised Shaul for not wiping out Amalek as he had been instructed. In response to Shmuel's rebuke, Shaul states that he has sinned because he was afraid of the people and listened to their voices.

Shmuel's message to Shaul was that being the king sometimes involves taking unpopular steps and standing up to others. While it is nice to be patient or the nice guy, there are times when you must act, even if the act was unpopular.

The connection of middos and clothing can be seen a few pesukim later when Shmuel takes leave of Shaul. Shaul grabs the corner of Shmuel's garment in an attempt to prevent him from leaving and the garment tears. The corner of the garment is symbolic that there is an end to the covering much like there must be a limit to the middah of patience. The corner tears off and Shaul learns that his monarchy will be cut off as well.

IYH I will post R' Frand's vort on the megillah in a special Motzei Shabbos post.

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Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Sanhedrin 11

Sanhedrin 11 is one of those dapim which are truly enjoyable to learn. There are many topics which branch off the main theme of the rules for making a year into a leap year (aka intercalating). I would like to briefly touch on two points from the daf.

Sanhedrin 11 begins with a discussion of how the judges who determine whether to make a leap year must be chosen by the Nasi for this task. It then digresses into the issue of preventing another person from being embarrassed by telling the following story. R' Gamliel once asked that seven judges assemble in his attic the following day so that they could decide whether to make the year a leap year. The following morning he found that there were eight people present. R' Gamliel then said - whoever came up without permission (thus demonstrating that the judge must be appointed by the Nasi) should go out. Shmuel HaKatan got up and said, I was the one who was not invited. However, I am not here to judge as I merely came to observe the proceedings so that I could understand the process of determining whether a leap year would occur. R' Gamliel responded to him - all years would be worthy of being determined by you as to whether they are leap years, but only those chosen by the Nasi may make the decision.

The gemara then gives the punchline - Shmuel HaKatan was actually invited to be a judge. However, since he did not want the outsider to be embarrassed, Shmuel got up and claimed that he himself was the uninvited guest.

Later in the daf, the gemara brings a beraisa which states that after the death of Chaggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the power of prophecy (Ru'ach HaKodesh) left the Jewish people, but they still were able to use the power of Bas Kol.

I must have heard the term Bas Kol thousands of times in my life, but I never stopped to think about what it means. Literally, the words mean the "daughter voice" or "daughter of voice." Still, I always thought it was just a heavenly voice which was heard by a select person.

Tosafos d'h Bas Kol gives a better understanding of where the term comes from. Tosafos writes "yesh omrim" that the Bas Kol was not a voice coming from the sky. Instead, the voice was a voice within another sound. Tosafos gives the example of when a person hits an object and besides the bang there is another sound (a vibration or concussive sound). The person who hears the Bas Kol is hearing the same outer sound that others are hearing (like the bang on the wall) but he also hears and understands the underlying sound as well.

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Monday's Musings on Sports - Tennis, Rachel and Being Prepared

As regular readers of this blog are aware, the Monday post was usually devoted to sports with highlights and analysis of the Max Kellerman show which formerly aired on 1050 ESPN Radio. As Max has resigned from 1050 and has not yet resurfaced on the NY area radio waves, I have decided to continue the tradition of linking sports to Torah which I believe was an undercurrent of the Max Kellerman show.

Last week there was an international sports story which went virtually ignored by the sports media due to the Olympics and the Tiger "press conference." One year ago, Shahar Peer was denied an entry visa by Dubai to play in a WTA tournament because she was from Israel and Dubai did not feel that it could "provide adequate security." This was a farce as Peer was clearly excluded because Dubai did not want to admit that Israel existed as there are no ties between the countries.

The Peer exclusion created attention in 2009 as Dubai was fined $300,000 by the WTA and several top players boycotted tournaments there in protest.

This year Peer (who was ranked 22nd in the world prior to the tournament) was allowed to play in Dubai. Even so, she was only allowed limit travel in Dubai as she could only be in the stadium or the hotel and could not visit any other location.

Despite all of these "distractions" Peer managed to advance at the tournament, beating the 15th seed, the 24th seed, the top seed and the eight seed before losing to eventual champion Venus Williams in the semi-finals. Yet this story was virtually ignored by the media.

At the same time that the media was ignoring Peer's romp through the tournament, it was making a major story about Israel's addition of Rachel's Tomb and Ma'aras Hamachpeilah to a list of protected historical sites. This was viewed by the media as a provocation since the locations are "holy" to Muslims. Indeed, a recent article quoted a Palestinian leader who stated that Israel was trying to raise tensions by making the "fight" about religion.

It never ceases to amaze me how the media ignores the fact that the main goal of the Palestinians are to eradicate the Jewish presence in Israel. Palestinian talk about how the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is their "third holiest site" - this despite the fact that it is not mentioned in the Koran. Meanwhile, our second and third holiest sites - Rachel's Tomb and Ma'aras Hamachpeilah are in cities which are controlled by the Palestinians (Bethlehem and Hebron). The international media does not seem to have a problem with Jews needing an armed escort to visit these sites or that the cities which house them have been ceded to the Palestinians due to international pressure. Instead, the media just portrays any Jewish presence at these sites as a provocation, without divulging that the Palestinian connection to the locations is less than twelve hundred years old (at most).

The Palestinian focus on erasing the Jewish presence, either in our cities or by the identity of our athletes, reminds me of the Rashi on the first pasuk in the Torah. Rashi asks - why did the Torah have to include the stories in Genesis - couldn't it just have started with the first mitzva related to the Month of Nissan (found in Exodus). Rashi answers that the stories are told so that the world will know that the Jews have been promised the land of Israel.

Imagine how tenuous our hold on Israel would be if the stories were not written in the Torah? Of course the media would be deprived of calling our holy places "biblical sites", but I am sure they would find something else to write about.

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Sunday Night Suds - Samuel Adams Noble Pils and Bonus Pre Purim Beer Guide

This week's Sunday Night Suds presents a review of one of Samuel Adams' newest seasonal beer - Samuel Adams Noble Pils. Also, following the review is this year's Pre-Purim beer guide.

The Noble Pils draws its name from the use of five Noble hops varieties which are used in the brew process. For those of you keeping score at home, the varieities are Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalter, Saaz and Hersbrucker.

The five Noble hops come together to make one of the finest Pilsner beers which I have ever tasted. This is the kind of beer that you can drink with almost any meal or even on its own. The beer has a great hop flavor and smell, with some bitterness. The beer also has good carbonation which almost gives the beer a creamy delivery - similar to the European nitro delivered brews.

Samuel Adams Noble Pils is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K. However, this is yet another Samuel Adams brew which does not have the certification mark on the label. If you would like to verify that the Noble Pils is on the LOC issued by the Star-K, please click here http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the Noble Pils, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/47317 .

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

Finally, 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).

*****BONUS PRE-PURIM BEER GUIDE*****
As a community service, Kosher Beers is proud to provide a Purim Beer Guide for those who choose brews for their seudah.

This post will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. There also may be an update after the AKO conference later this week.

Please note that there is no mitzvah to get stone drunk on Purim. The mitzvah is "ad d'lo yadah" which can even be accomplished through sleep (since while one is sleeping they do not know the difference between Haman and Mordechai).

Still, for those who do utilize alcohol as part of their seudah, the following is a brief guide to beers:

Does beer require a hashgacha? The major kashruth organizations utilize the chazakah that unflavored beer does not require a hashgacha as unflavored beers are made only from four ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast. For a great article by Rabbi Tzvi Rosen on kashruth in alcohol, including an in depth analysis of beer making please click here http://www.star-k.com/kashrus/kk-thirst-highspirits.htm .

Additionally, for those trying to make sense of the different styles of beer which can be found in your local beer store - please click here for the Beer Advocate beer style list which breaks down the beers both by their type and country of origin: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style.

Assuming that you are looking for a beer with a hashgacha, I have compiled a list of beers along with their certifying agency. Please note that the list below is not meant to be exhaustive as it only reflects the results of my individual research. Finally, to my friends, I have not tried every beer on this kosher beer list and merely because I list them here does not mean I recommend them for your consumption. If you find a beer which looks interesting to you, please feel free to search the archive on the kosherbeers site to see if I have reviewed it.

Samuel Adams - as per Star-K, the following varieties are kosher even without a certification on the label. Please note that not every variety of Sam is on this approved list. To see the Star-K LOC for Samuel Adams, please click here http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_6635_bostonbeercompany.pdf.

Black Lager; Blackberry Wit Beer; Boston Ale; Boston Lager; Brown Ale; Cherry Wheat; Coastal Wheat; Cranberry Lambic; Cream Stout; Double Bock; Hefeweizen; Holiday Porter; Honey Porter; Imperial Stout; Imperial White Ale; Irish Red Ale; Light; Nobel Pils; Octoberfest; Old Fezziwig; Pale Ale; Summer Ale; White Ale; Winter Lager.
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Gordon Biersch - the following beers were listed as certified kosher on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Blonde Bock; Czech Style Pilsner; Dunkelweizen; Festbier; Hefeweizen; Marzen; SommerBrau; WinterBock.
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Josephs Brau - the following beers were listed as certified kosher on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Dunkelweizen; Hopfest; Oktoberfest; Summer Brew; Winterfest.

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Brick Brewery - This Canadian Brewery only sells its fine product in Ontario. However, should you be lucky enough to find some where you are located, the following varieties are approved by the COR on their website - http://www.cor.ca/en/20177 .

Brick - Amber Dry; Anniversary Bock; Premium.
Laker - Honey; Ice; Premium Lager; Premium Light; Red; Strong.
Waterloo - Dark Lager, Wheat.
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Brooklyn Brewery - This beer company brews in multiple locations including Brooklyn, New York and Utica, New York. The following beers which are brewed in Utica and sold in 12 oz bottles were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Brooklyn - American Ale; Black Chocolate Stout; Brown Ale; East India Pale Ale; Lager; Monster Ale; Oktoberfest; Pennant Ale; Pilsner; Summer Ale; Weiss Beer; Winter Ale.
Post Road - Pumpkin Ale.
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Coopers Brewery (Australia) - The following beers are listed on the LOC from Kosher Australia which can be found by clicking here http://www.coopers.com.au/media/54992/kosher_cert.pdf .
Coopers - Best Extra Stout; Dark Ale; Extra Strong Vintage Ale; Mild Ale; Original Pale Ale; Premium Ale; Premium Light Beer; Sparkling Ale; Special Old Stout.
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Coors - To my knowledge, all beers produced by the Coors Brewing Company (including its Blue Moon subsidiary) are under the Orthodox Union. The beers generally have an OU on the label. The following are the varieties which are on the LOC which is subject to renewal on March 31, 2010.

Aspen – Edge.
Blue Moon - Belgian Ale; Full Moon Winter Ale; Grand Cru; Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale; Honey Moon Summer Ale; Pale Moon Pale Ale; Rising Moon Spring Ale.
Coors - Banquet Beer; Golden Ale; Light.
Keystone - Ice; Light; Premium.
Killian's Irish Red.
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Kirkland - the following beers which are sold at Costco under their Kirkland house brand are certified kosher. These beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Kirkland Signature Amber Ale; Signature German Style Lager; Signature Hefeweizen and Signature Pale Ale.
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Lakefront Brewery - also certified by the Star-K. Very difficult to find outside of the Midwest, although some are available in Brooklyn at American Beverage on Court Street in Cobble Hill. The following varieties are found on the Star- K LOC which can be viewed here - http://www.star-k.org/loc/kosher_letter_8197_lakefrontbreweryinc.pdf .

Big Easy Lager; Bock Dark Lager; Cattail Ale; Cherry Lager; Cream City Pale Ale; East Side Dark Lager; Fuel Coffee Stout; Holiday Spice Lager; Klisch Pilsner; New Grist Beer; Oktoberfest; Organic Barleywine; Organic ESB; Pumpkin Lager; Riverwest Stein; Snake Chaser Stout; White Beer.
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FX Matt Brewing - this company brews many different brands of beer at its Utica factory. The following beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Lake Placid: Ubu Ale; IPA; 46'er Ale.
Saranac: Adirondack Lager; Amber Wheat; Belgian Ale; Belgian White; Big Moose Ale; Black Diamond Bock; Black Forest; Black & Tan; Bock; Brown Ale; Caramel Porter; Chocolate Amber; Dunkel; ESB; Golden Pilsner; Hefewiezen; Helles; High Peaks Imperial IPA; Imperial Stout; India Pale; Irish Red Ale; Kolsch; Light; Maple Porter; Marzenbier; Mocha Stout; Mountain Ale; Nut Brown Ale; Oatmeal Stout; Oktoberfest; Pale Ale; Pale Pale Ale; Pomegranate Wheat; Pumpkin Ale; Rauchbier; Roggen Bock; Rye Pale Ale; Rye Pilsner; Season's Best; Scotch Ale; Single Malt; Stout; Summer Ale; Summer Brew; Traditional Lager; Winter Wassail;
Utica Club : Light, Pilsner.
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Miller - only select beers produced by SAB Miller Brewing Company are under kosher supervision. Although these were formerly under the OK laboratories, they are now under kosher supervision by the Orthodox Union. The following beers are on the LOC which is subject to renewal on March 3, 2010.

Miller Genuine Draft (MGD); Miller Genuine Draft Light; MGD64 and Miller Lite.
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New Belgium -only select beers produced by the New Belgium Brewing Company are certified kosher under the LOC which I received from the Scroll-K. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on June 30, 2010 and included:

1554 Black Beer; 2 Below; Abbey; Blue Paddle; Fat Tire; Frambozen; Mighty Arrow; Mothership Wit; Old Cherry; Skinny Dip; Sunshine; Trippel.
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Pete's Brewing Company - The following beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on March 10, 2010.

Pete's Wicked Ale; Rally Cap Ale; Strawberry Blonde; Wanderlust.
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President's Choice - PC is the private label brand for the Loblaws supermarket chain. The following PC beers are listed as are approved by the COR on their website - http://www.cor.ca/en/20177 :

Choice 2.5, Dry, Genuine Draft, Genuine Lager, Honey Red, Light, Low Carb 2.5, Pilsener, Wheat.
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Redhook Brewery - This brewery produces beer on both the East Coast (New Hampshire) and West Coast (Woodinville, Washington). Both breweries produce beers which are under the kashruth supervision of the OU (all Redhook bottles which I have seen have the OU on the label) including:

Blonde, Copperhook Spring Ale, ESB, Longhammer IPA; Tripel; Winterhook Winter Ale.
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Spoetzel Brewery - This small town Texas brewery has a cult like following among those who have tried its product. The following beers (brewed under the trade name Shiner) were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on December 31, 2009.

Blonde; Bock; Bohemian Black Lager; Hefeweizen; Holiday Cheer; Kolsch; Kosmos Reserve; Light; 99 Helles; 100 Commemorator; Smokehaus; Spezial Leicht.
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Trader Joe's - the following beers which are sold at Trader Joe's under their own label are certified kosher. These beers were listed on an LOC which I received from the Va'ad of Detroit by fax. The LOC indicated that it was subject to renewal on April 26, 2010.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Hefeweizen; Bohemian Lager; Hofbrau Bock and Vienna Lager.
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Note -Merely because a beer is not on this list does not mean that it is not kosher. This list contains the results of my research and is based on what I have been able to independently verify.

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