Sunday Night Suds - Badenbrau South Side Pride Lager

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Baderbrau's South Side Pride lager.

I picked this up at the Binny's in Lincolnwood (Chicago area) in their vast mix your own six pack rack. Baderbrau is a a local Chicago brewery (the South Side makes reference to the South Side of Chicago) so it was not surprising to find it in the mix section.

The beer indicates on the front of the can that it is "decocted" which was not a term that I was familiar with. The side of the can explains that this "beer flavored beer" is actually "triple decocted Munich Helles" but that does not really explain anything. Searching the web brought me to beer and brewing magazine (www.beerandbrewing.com) which maintains a dictionary of terms (including decoction) for which it explains:

The basic principle of decoction is to remove a part of the mash, boil it, and return it to the main mash, which is held at a constant temperature. There are two different aims in boiling one part of the mash:

1. To use physical pulping, which impacts the cell walls of the malt.

2. To raise the temperature of the bulk mash to a defined higher temperature after mixing both parts. (In the days before thermometers, the decoction method made a multi-temperature mash achievable and repeatable.)

The boiling of the grains helps to destroy the cell walls and makes the starches more accessible to the malt enzymes. This is particularly important for under modified malts where boiling helps to break down the cell walls.

I can't say that this explanation really helped me in understanding how this made the beer unique and the flavor itself was pretty generic for a lager, not watery like a macrolager, but not earning any points for special malt flavor. Overall, the beer is a non-obtrusive brew which would go well with a hot dog or pizza while watching a game.

The Baderbrau South Side Pride lager is under kosher supervision by the CRC of Chicago and has a CRC logo on the side of the can.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Baderbrau South Side Pride Lager, click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29318/239275.

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).

Please Note - if you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

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 Lech Lecha

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 his vort by quoting the gemara in Berachos 7b in which R' Yochanan states in the name of R' Shimon Bar Yochai that until Avraham, no one had called Hashem an Adon (master) until Avraham used this terminology to address Hashem.

R' Frand then quoted the sefer Ishei Yisrael which was written by the Maggid of Vilna who asked --why do we begin davening every day by saying the prayer Adon Olam? He answered his question by quoting a gemara in Tamid which described the process of offering the Tamid sacrifice of the morning. 

The gemara in Tamid states that they would not begin the process until sunrise and since they were indoors, they required someone to go out and relay to them that the sun had in fact risen. As part of the process, there was a question asked to the "outsider" if the skies above Hebron were alight as well. The Maggid of Vilna then asked --if the sacrifice was being offered in Jerusalem, why did the process involve asking whether the sun had risen in Hebron?

The Maggid answered that in beginning the Tamid process, they wanted to invoke z'chus avos. In order to do that, they would mention the city of Hebron which was where our forefathers Yitzchak and Yaakov were born (I would have presumed that it had to do with Ma'aras HaMachpeilah, but that was not the answer he gave). 

R' Frand then tied the vort back to Adon Olam, explaining that the reason that we begin Shacharis with that prayer is to invoke z'chus avos by reminding Hashem that his beloved Avraham was the first person to call him an Adon.

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 Imperial IPA

This week's Sunday Night suds looks a New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA.

This is another of the New Belgium extra hoppy beers in the Voodoo Ranger line. The beer is made with an interesting mix of hops which (according to the NB website) include Delta, Bravo, Centennial, Cascade, Calypso, Mosaic. Some of these are familiar to me, but there are a few varieties (Calypso and Delta) which I have never heard of.

I picked up three of these when in Chicago for Sukkos and enjoyed two with family in the sukkah and brought this one back. The two were consumed with roasts and were not overwhelmed by the rich meats. This is a beer which holds it own with a steak and has complex and deep flavors, slightly reminiscent of a barleywine. This is also not coincidental as the Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA is 9% abv.

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, but not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision. For a list of the New Belgium brews currently under supervision, please click on the link on the left side of my home page for my latest Kosher Beer List.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about The Voodoo Ranger IPA, click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/260043.

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).

Please Note - if you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

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 Noach

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 vort by referencing Bereishis 10:11 in which the Torah states "Min HaAretz Ha Hee Yatza Ashur" -- from that land Ashur went forth. The pasuk states that Ashur built four cities, including the city of Nineveh.

R' Frand quoted the Medrash Rabbah which explains that Ashur went out from the plot against Hashem which was being raised by the people of Babel. Ashur stated to those who were planning their fight that he was not interested in waging war against G-d. To this Hashem stated, since you went out from them, I will reward you with four --the four cities that you will build.

R' Frand next quoted the Chizkuni, who cites a different Medrash which states that the Zchus of Ashur standing up against this plot was the reason that Nineveh merited having a Jewish prophet (Yonah) come and tell them to do teshuva.

More amazingly, the Yalkut Shimoni explains that the teshuva done by Nineveh included acts which we would term as Lifnim M'Shuras HaDin. On the third day of their teshuva, people began returning lost objects which by halacha did not require returning. If a stolen brick was built into the King's palace, they destroyed the palace, even though by halacha the law of Takanas HaMorish would only require the building's owner to pay for the stolen brick and not destroy his own home.

However, in the end, the people of Ashur attacked the Jewish people and were involved in the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. They were criticized for their actions in Tehillim which states "V'Gam Ashur Nilvah Imam". R' Frand quoted the Medrash on this pasuk in Tehillim which analogizes the people of Ashur to the regression of a bird, stating that yesterday you were a chick and today you are an egg. 

R' Frand quoted R' Leib Baktz (sp?) from Detroit who explained the Medrash as saying that they had regressed from doing heroic things and now what are you? You turned from people into inanimate objects. One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to regress and stop growing.

R' Frand remarked that as people get older its harder for them to keep growing. But even worse is to regress.

He also told a story of R' Chaim Ozer visiting the Chofetz Chaim when the Chofetz Chaim was advanced in age. R' Chaim Ozer remarked - look how much he has grown, I don't recognize him from last year. At this time, the Chofetz Chaim was advanced in age, not like a child who returns from being away at school. But this is what we are tasked with.

R' Frand told a second vort based on the end of Bereishis, where the Torah states in Bereishis 6:8 that Noach found "chen" in the eyes of Hashem. This means that Noach was not saved because of his righteousness, but because he found chen.

R' Frand quoted R' Elya Svei (sp?) who tied this into the story of Dina being violated by Shechem. How could this have happened? He quoted the Medrash Rabbah which states that it occurred because Yaakov put her in the box when he met Esav. But that does not explain why she was punished! The Chassam Sofer learns that this had to do with her missing out on the beracha of chen. When Yaakov was asked by Esav who are these people, Yaakov responds in Bereishis 33:5 that they are the children "asher chanan Elokim es avdecha". The Chassam Sofer explains that Dina was vulnerable because she lacked the beracha of chen, while Noach had it.

We see this one other time in Bereishis as when Yosef is thrown in the dungeon, the Torah writes in Bereishis 39:21 that Hashem was with Yosef when he was in prison and Hashem gave him chen in the eyes of the prison warden.

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 - Boulevard 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Boulevard 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat.

This beer is a hybrid in that it combines the phenols of a wheat beer with the hoppiness of a pale ale. The beer poured a warm orange with lots of foam which lasted longer than I expected. There was also a perfect level of carbonation. The first sip was strong cloves from the wheat beer, but successive pours melted in some pine and citrus. 

The experts at BA call this an American Pale Wheat Ale and even though they have more than 3,100 beers in this category, they are mostly summer brews with flavorings and additives. However, this beer's unique taste is not derived from flavorings and I would recommend trying this unique brew if you can find a bottle.

Boulevard 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Kansas City, but the bottle I purchased did not have the certification mark on the label. However, it can be found on the list of kosher certified beers on the Vaad of KC website (http://vaadkc.org/blog).

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/65113.

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).

Important Disclaimer - If you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

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!

Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at another of the New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger series, the Atomic Pumpkin Ale.

The Voodoo Ranger series is New Belgium's new extra hoppy line of beers which was introduced in late 2016. I have previously reviewed the IPA (click here for the review http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2017/02/sunday-night-suds-new-belgium-voodoo.html) but found many other varieties at the Binny's in Lincolnwood, Illinois.

Simply put, the Atomic Pumpkin is unlike any other pumpkin ale you have ever tried. The beer is flavored with cinnamon, pumpkin and habanero chilies. It also has a 6.4% abv which is high for a fruit influence beer. The result is a beer which starts out sweet and then kicks you in the throat with the spicy aftertaste from the chilies. This is not for the faint of the heart or people who can't tolerate maror. But if you do like things which are both sweet and spicy, this is definitely worth trying.

I am unaware of whether this is available in the NYC area, as I only saw it in the mix your own six pack section of Binny's. I bought the only two they had out (the shelf with the seasonal beers had a marker for the Atomic Pumpkin, but was sold out).

The New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin Ale is under kosher supervision by the Scroll-K/Va'ad of Denver, but not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision. For a list of the New Belgium brews currently under supervision, please click on the link on the left side of my home page for my latest Kosher Beer List.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about The Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin Ale, click here beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/277641.

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).

Please Note - if you are reading this post more than six months after it was written, please note that it is possible that the product is no longer still certified kosher. To verify that the product is still certified kosher, please click on the kosher beers list link on the top left corner of the blog.

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!