Sunday Night Suds - Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale. What better to toast the Eagles upset of the Patriots in tonight's Super Bowl.

I picked this up this past Friday when I was in Chicago for the Heineken Man's 75th B-day. It was quite a celebration and the family really came through with quite a Shabbos and weekend. But how can I do a trip to a great beer town like Chicago without making a beer run? So I stopped in at the Binnys in Lincolnwood and mixed a six pack, in addition to picking up some better beer for Shabbos.

I did not get a chance to crack this open in Chicago, so I stuck in the freezer and then fridge and then opened it after the end of the "Big Game." The beer poured a dark brown, but was not anything like a porter or stout. Instead it was hoppy and dark at the same time, with a great amount of pine and a little bit of grapefruit. The beer had a 7.5% abv, but the alcohol flavor was not overly strong. There was also a little bit of juniper as well as malt and the beer was an excellent mixture of flavors that had me wishing that I had brought back a six pack.

Uinta Rise & Pine Hoppy Dark Ale is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the can For the experts' take on this brew, please click here www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/247110.

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 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Yisro

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.

In the beginning of the parsha, the Torah discusses the reunion of Moshe and Yisro, before reaching the point in the story where Yisro counsels Moshe as to using a system of appellate courts. Although the parsha begins at the start of Perek 18, the discussion of the judging starts at 18:13 when Yisro observed Moshe judging from morning until night. Later still at 18:21-23, Yisro tells Moshe that if would do this and Hashem would command it, then Moshe and the Jews will arrive at peace.

The gemara teaches that one of the reasons that Yisro had the name Yisro is because he caused the addition of another parsha in the Torah -- the system of appellate courts as laid out commencing at 18:21.

R' Frand quoted R' Menachem Zemba (sp?) who spoke at the Third K'Nessiah in pre-WWII Europe and asked why the gemara states that the additional perek began with 18:21-23. He answered that anyone can ask questions or criticize, such as when Yisro says "Lo Tov" at 18:17. However, if a person wants to make a difference, he can offer a solution to the problem. Since Yisro's actual solution began at 18:21, this is why the "new parsha" begins there.

R' Frand also said a vort related to the differing cantellation notes which apply when a person reads the Torah and when learns the Torah privately. When the Aseres HaDibros are being lained, the Ta'am Elyon is used, in which the dibros are broken up by concepts. When they are privately learned they are broken up by pasuk, often within a dibra.

R' Frand noted that there is another difference in that Lo Tirzach has a Kamatz when read as Elyon and a Patach when read privately. But why should the vowel change?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Gra who cited a gemara in Avodah Zarah 19b that interpreted a pasuk in Mishlei which states "for many victims has she felled" which the gemara teaches as referring to a talmid who is giving psak, but had not reached the level of study to do so. The pasuk ends, "and mighty are all that she has slain" which refers to a student who is ready to give psak, but withholds it.

The Gra tied these two students to the patach and kamatz in Lo Tirzach. Sometimes there is a student who should keep his mouth closed, but instead he opens it and is a victim who is felled for being a patach. And there are others who should open their mouths, but keep them closed -kamatz and this is problematic as well.

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 - Samuel Adams Kellerbier

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

I though the logo on this label had something to do with pretzels, but I was wrong. As explained by BeerAdvocate, it is

A rather old, rare, and unique German beer style, Kellerbiers are unfiltered and unpasteurized lagers that date back to at least the Middle Ages. The beer is matured, unbunged (beer is exposed), in deep vaults. The final product is a smooth, naturally cloudy beer that's rich in vitamins (from the yeast). Hop bitterness can be high and alcohol will vary. Zwickel Bier is similar to a Keller, but not as pronounced.

The Kellerbier was one of the three new beers in the American Craft Lagers Variety Pack, which also includes new lagers (Coffee Black Lager and Smoked Lager) along with the Boston Lager, Fresh as Helles and Noble Pils.

The Kellerbier was interesting to me with some citrus and yeast, but certainly not on the level of a wild or tart ale. The alcohol level was 5.00% abv and not obtrusive. I could see pairing this with fowl or even lightly charred meat, but dont think it would hold up to a stew.

The Kellerbier is under the Kosher Supervision of the Star-K and has a Star-K certification mark on the bottle. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this brew, please follow this link - beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/304491.

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 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Beshalach

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.

In Shemos 16:4-10, the Torah discusses the giving of the Manna and Hashem's pronouncement "Hinnini Mamtir Lachem Lechem Min HaShamayim" which is loosely translated as here I will cause bread to precipitate from the Heavens.

The Medrash ties this into a famously repeated proverb from Koheles in which Shlomo writes that one should "cast his bread upon the waters". The Medrash quotes R' Elchanan who ties the giving of the Manna to Avraham's response to Hashem when he was asked to sacrifice Yitzchak at the Akeidah. When Hashem called out to Avraham, he responded "Hineni" (Bereishis 22:1). R' Elchanan explained that in response to this statement, Hashem said that in the zechus of your having said Hineni, I will give to your children with the same language - Hinnini. The Medrash concluded that this is an example of casting your bread upon the waters ---Avraham did an act which showed faith and which yielded a reward many generations later.

R' Frand then asked --but isn't there more to the connection? Is it simply a play on the same words?

R' Frand answered by quoting his son who in turn quoted R' Bukspan from Miami who took a closer look at both incidents. When Avraham was at the Akeidah and Hashem asked him to sacrifice Yitzchak, Avraham could have said --this makes no sense to me. You told me that I would have offspring through Yitzchak and now I am being asked to kill him? However, Avraham responded Hineni - here I am ready to do your wishes, I have no questions.

At the time that Hashem gave the Manna, Hashem could have asked, why am I bothering with this? I just took the Jews out of Egypt after raining the ten plagues on Egypt, splitting the Yam Suf and having the Jews leave with great wealth. Yet the Jews are complaining as seen in Shemos 16:2-3 when the Jews seem to wish to be back in Egypt. At this point, Hashem could have said -- I did all this for the Jews and they are complaining? Instead, Hashem said nothing as He "learned" from Avraham, who could have questioned, but did not. Therefore Hashem gave the Manna without acknowledging or responding to the complaints.

R' Frand also tied this into Moshe's taking of Yosef's bones when the Jews left Egypt. The pasuk states that Moshe took the bones "Imo" which is translated in English as with him. The Maharil Diskin writes that the more grammatically correct word would have been "Ito" which is also translated with him, but which refers to an object. When the word Imo is used it would refer to an equal that a person travels with.

R' Frand concluded the vort by explaining that Moshe learned from Yosef and that was why the Torah uses the word Imo. Yosef was vexed and challenged by his brothers, but in Vayechi he tells them that he bears no grudge for their actions. He never showed any jealousy either and this is the reason that his bones were still intact, as the Gemara teaches that one who is jealous has his bones liquefy post-mortem. Moshe took a lesson from Yosef and said that as much as they may attempt to challenge me, it will not be personal as I will adopt Yosef's persona. 

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 Piggy Back Session Peach IPA

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Uinta's Piggy Back Session Peach IPA.

Although certainly it was not my intention when I stopped in a beer store in Georgia's Golden Isles, it was fortuitous/hashgacha pratis to find a new peach beer when vacationing in the Peach State.

Although  the good folks at BA classify this beer as an American IPA, I would beg to differ. When you flavor a beer with peaches it cannot be a pure IPA. Similarly, when the beer is a "session" it also does not fit neatly within the traditional American IPA category.

Since this is a session beer, it falls a little low on the abv spectrum as the Uinta website indicates that it is 4.0% abv. Speaking of the website, it also indicates that the beer is only available for purchase in Utah, but I found this on St. Simons Island in Georgia.

The beer has a mellow peach flavor and does not overpower the palate. Having said that, the hops are practically non existent and I almost felt like I was trying a saison. Don't get me wrong, it was positive that the beer was not cloyingly sweet and that there was no clash between the peach and the hops, I just wished that there would be a little more depth to the brew.

Uinta Piggy Back Session Peach IPA is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union and bears an OU on the can For the experts' take on this brew, please click here www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/239062.

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 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!

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Bo

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's first vort discussed the interplay between Moshe and Pharaoh during the plague of locusts. In Shemos 10:8, Pharaoh asks Moshe - who will be going when you leave, using the language "Mi V'Mi." Moshe responds to Pharaoh in Shemos 10:9 that our youngsters and elders will go. Two pesukim later, Pharaoh then says to Moshe that only the older men shall go, because this is what you are asking for.

The obvious question is, why does Pharaoh tell Moshe that he only wants the grown men, when Moshe just told him that he wanted everyone to go?

R' Frand answered by first quoting a Medrash which stated that the conversation revolved around a pasuk in Tehillim which "Mi Ya'aleh B'Har Hashem, U'Mi Yakum B'Mkom Kadsho."

The sefer Kobetz HaMinchos gives a little background to the conversation and explains the connection with the Medrash. Apparently, Pharaoh's version of religion involved only the elders and the wizened men. Religion was not for the young or even the proletariat in Egypt. Moshe on the other hand stressed that we need our youngsters to be engaged in religion, because they are our future.

This debate played out in the pesukim. Pharaoh asked who is going, based on his view that only the elders need or should go. Moshe responded - our youngsters and our elders and mentioned the youngsters first to make a point. Pharaoh responded that Moshe did not truly want the youth to go, because they would not appreciate religion.

The second vort tied into a question that R' Frand asked a few weeks back as to why Hashem had to use the word "Na" in instructing Moshe to ask the Jews to please ask the Egyptians for gold and silver (and clothes) before leaving Egypt. The Gemara in Berachos writes that Hashem even said to Moshe - tell them that I am doing this to keep my promise to Avraham that the Jews would leave Egypt with great wealth.

R' Frand answered this time by quoting R' Zalman Sorotzkin who explains that until the post Shoah generation, no one understood this concept. He made reference to his first trip to Israel and seeing all the Mercedes and VWs. He was aghast at how there were so many German cars and how he would never consider buying a German car and giving them money, when they had been responsible for the deaths of six million Jews.

But in Israel, the West German government gave them cars at reduced prices as reparations for the acts of the Nazis. This was the subject of significant debate at the time, as many did not want to take the reparations, saying that the Germans should not have the satisfaction of having "repaid" their debt.

The same misgivings were had in Egypt. The Jews had seen their babies thrown into the water or baked into buildings. They had been abused for generations. And now, why should the Egyptians feel that they had paid the Jews for their troubles?

To this, Hashem said to Moshe, ask them please to take the money and tell them its to keep My promise to Avraham. This is is not about getting back to an even footing, its a favor to me.

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!