Iron Sharpening

There's a verse in scripture that says that iron sharpens iron.  Yesterday I was joined at my watering hole by Rev. John Adams.  He's a good friend and one of the smartest people I know; so, I invited him to get a beer and us swap sermons.  The hope was that we would sharpen each others preaching and both our congregations would benefit. 

While we chatted scripture, inclusion, theology, Jesus, and preaching I sipped on this:

It's the Deschutes Black Butte Porter XXVI.  (Check out the link for some great food pairings.) They make the Black Butte Porter year round, and it is delicious in and its itself.  Every year, however, they do a special anniversary batch that they age.  The 26 is over the moon amazing.  It starts off tasting like dark chocolate when it is first poured.  As it warms up though, the flavor profile transforms into something like Pinot Noir.

Preaching this week is a challenge.  The Gospel passage is the story of Jesus and the Canaanite women from Matthew, which is difficult enough alone.  Added to it, or course, is all the mayhem going on in the world from the Middle East to Ferguson, MO., and from the death of Robin Williams to the Ebola break out.  With all that it is easy to lose sight of the Gospel in all this.  I did my best to point to only place I am always sure there is Good News...you'll have to come to Church of the Resurrection on Sunday to find out where that is.  If that wasn't enough of a teaser, here's a word cloud of my sermon:

Heresy and Dogma

Yesterday was the first time back at my Omaha watering hole, Krug Park, in over two months.  When I went on Sabbatical, I didn't make it over to the Benson much.  It was great to be back, and I wasn't surprised at the great offerings of beers on tap.  I had not found a lot of great beers to try in Philadelphia or New York City; so it was great to get back to a bar that really appreciates beer.

I will wholeheartedly confess that I picked the beers I tried solely by their names.  It seemed only meet and right to balance Heresy and Dogma.

 First up was the Heresy Bourbon Stout by Weyerbacher.  There's so much going on flavor wise with this brew that I couldn't tell it was a bourbon stout.  Oatmeal presents as the main flavor with slight notes of coffee and chocolate.  It's a rich, complex, but nicely balance beer.  It is very smooth with little to no alcohol burn despite its high ABV.

Next up was a bit of Dogma by Brew Dogs, you know just to balance things out.  This one was also delicious though a bit sweeter than the Heresy because it's a Scotch Ale and not a Stout--despite the color.  Anyway, the sweetness comes from an infusion of Heathered Honey.  However, it's just a touch of sweet.  It is far from cloying and is balance by bitterness.

You'll notice how these beers look very similar.  The photos do not do them justice, but the Dogma has a hint more brown hue to it, while the Heresy is solid black.  Thus it is in theology as well.  Heresy and Dogma often look very similar.  One might say on occasion that Heresy is Dogma yet to be accepted.  On other occasions, Dogma carried too far will become Heresy.  Me, I just say that these two beers both taste great and live up their names.

Beer Tourism II

Today was another great day for beer.  The weather has been beautiful and cool; a nice breeze, great food, and delicious beer.  What more could you ask?  While today was good, let's start with last night.

Last night, we went to Monk's Cafe, which has exquisite food in addition to good beer.  The pulled pork sandwich was up to my southern standards, and I had this delectible brew pictured to the right.  It's the Blood Moon from Dogfish Head Brewing.  I had heard about Dogfish Head before heading east, and even tried one of their beers--thanks to John Adams.  Leading with an inciting nutty aroma, this beer draws you in.  The front end taste is woody and smoky followed by a full bodied middle.  The finish is clean and the consistency is full but not thick.  I really enjoyed this beer

 At lunch today, I hit a burger place near the hotel.  It was okay--kinda like five guys, but with a bar.  I ordered an Ommegang Witte and I was not disappointed.  It's a bright wheat beer perfect for midday.  Fresh, crisp, and light it won't way you down for the rest of the day.  However, it was not watery and did possess flavor.  

Tonight, we were walking back to the hotel.  It was so cool and breezy we stopped at an english style pub and sat outside.  As luck would have it, our water was from wales; so his accent really sold the ambiance.  I had the Double Chocolate Stout on Nitro pictured to the right.  Easily the second best beer I have had in Philly (the first was the Blood Moon).  Ironically it is from Wells and Young out of the U.K.  Here I am in the city where we threw off the yoke of English tyranny and the best pint of stout I can find is English.  It's too ironic even for hipsters.  Anyway, this beer is delicious.  It's a lot like guinness but not as heavy and with a dark chocolate finish.  There wasn't a sweetness to it; so it definitely led with a stout flavor.  The chocolate finish rounded off the beer nicely.

I have enjoyed my beer excursions here in Philly, but I have to say the best beers I have had are from out of town.  Philly's got a lot going for it, especially the food here.  But most of the local brews, while okay, I didn't feel were special enough to even picture here.  In other words, you can get a great pint in Philly, but it's likely to be from Delaware.

Beer Tourism Day One

So, I'm in Philadelphia supporting my wife.  She is a Staff Developer for A.V.I.D. and is leading a math strand of their summer institute.  Don't worry if you don't know what A.V.I.D. is or a staff developer or a math strand.  Those things have nothing to do with beer.  The important thing is that we left the kids with grandma in Columbus, OH; so I get to hang around, write music, see friends, and...wait for it...drink BEER.  

I hit up a brewery, a sports bar, and the hotel restaurant today and had four good beers.  Not bad ratio bay any means.

First up was the Barrel-Aged Bier de Garde from Nodding Head Brewing.  Don't let the little glass fool you, this was not a dainty beer. Since it was aged in Burgundy Barrels it had the aroma of wine.  The front end was sweet; the middle was bright and refreshing, and the end just a hint of bitterness to remind you that you're drinking beer.   It's a very good beer.



This is the Monkey Knife Fight also from Nodding Head.  It is a pale lager spiced with ginger and lemongrass.  I haven't had a beer like this before, and I'm not sure I would drink something like it on a regular basis.  However, it was an interesting flavor and on a warm to hot midday in a city I found it refreshing.

At the sport's bar I had the Yard's just off Walnut: a Belgian Brown collaboration between the Fieldhouse Sportsbar and Yard's Brewing.  I failed to take a picture of it, but it was a decent brown.  I plan to tour yard's before the week is out; so more about it later. In the evening, my wife and I hit the hotel restaurant, and I had this beer to the right.  It's a Lancaster Milk Stout.  I liked it, and I do believe my heart will always belong to stouts (or maybe I should say my liver). Anyway, it had a rich middle and very clean end.  The front end was maybe a little watery, which keeps it as just a good solid stout but not great like the Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout which I have written about before.

All in all, a fine day for beer tourism.  Tomorrow, I am headed up to NYC to see a friend.  I hope to find some tasty brews as well.  I'll let you know what I discover.

Dogfish and Dragon's Milk with a side of Jesus

 So, I'm on sabbatical.  I had the intention of blogging more, but I've been writing music instead.  I haven't even made it to my watering hole.  Despite that failure, I have gotten to try some really great beers.  Even better they were gifts from friends.

The first picture is the Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head in MD.  It is a delicious brown with complex vanilla and caramel flavors.  It starts with a great aroma and finishes with a clean aftertaste.  The amazing thing about this beer is that it is 12% ABV but full of flavor.  Some high alcohol beers just taste like rubbing alcohol.  Not so with this rich brew.  In fact, I didn't realize it was a high ABV beer until I finished it and read the label.  One of Resurrection House alumni, who just got his first gig after seminary back here in Omaha, brought this to me.  It was a gift from his dad because I had turned him onto Stone Brewing's Russian Imperial Stout.  One of the things I most value about the Beer community is the sharing that goes on.  YUM!

Anyway, this is the Dragon's Milk Ale aged in oak barrels from New Holland Brewing company.  This one is also high in alcohol, but it is very full of flavor.  The primary notes are dark chocolate and coffee.  It's kind of like a beer version of a mocha latte.  My good friend Joel Pakan, one half Tangled Blue brought it to me when they were in town for a gig last week.  We had a cook out and split this amongst ten people or so at the end of the evening.

There is a richness to community, a deepening of connection and compassion.  Somehow raising a glass allows us to tap into this sense of community.  Maybe that's why Jesus started a radical table ministry in his day? Just maybe?

Sabbatical Preparations

I am 8 days away from sabbatical and decided to do a little prep work for it at my watering hole.  I have actually been here several times recently, but I haven't had a chance to blog about it.  One of my intentions on Sabbatical is to write more in this blog; therefore, why not start today?

For no particular reason I decided to have a German beer day.  If you are into flavor, you can't go wrong with German beer, especially if it's made by monks (please note my professional bias in that last statement).

Today I had the Ayinger Maibock and the Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel.  Okay so Franziskaner is made by Spaten and not technically monks, but it still holds the tradition.  Also, I'm Irish so I'm not going to let the truth get in the way of a good story.  Both were delicious, however I prefer the Franziskaner.  It is a tad bit darker, creamier, and with more flavor.  The Germans have realized that flavor is more important than just hop level and a high ABV.  So you really can't go wrong with either of these beers.

More importantly, I had a great conversation with my barkeep Alex.  See, he's a Boston Red Sox fan, and I am Yankees fan.  There are two reason why we are able to maintain a really positive bar tender-customer relationship: Boston fans and Yankee fans know they don't exist without each other, and, more to the point, we both love really quality beer.  In an earlier post, I wrote about a good brew's ability to create community.  Therefore, I would like to posit today that if beer can bring a Red Sox fan and a Yankees fan together, does it have the power to bring Michigan and Ohio State fans together.  I believe it does, and that it is a sign of the kingdom of God erupting into and reconciling the world.  You should probably note my professional bias again on that last sentence.

Look forward to more posts on great beers here while I'm on sabbatical.

Green Flash Double Stout

Tonight I has the Green Flash Double Stout and it is perfect for this cold rainy day in Omaha.  The aroma isn't very strong but it starts with a rich dark taste.  The finish is clean with a just light bitterness to it.

I am preaching this week on grief and that in grief God acts, especially the act of the Resurrection.  So a heavy subject needs a heavy beer.