This week I tried the Widmer Brothers Broken Halo IPA. I have to say that I like it for an IPA. I’m not a big fan of really hoppy beers, but when I want to get my bitter on I always go for an IPA. The Widmer Brothers is a good choice. I would recommend it if you like hoppy beers.

by Jacob Cates

I’m not a Lutheran. Not that I have anything against Lutherans, but I go to Mars Hill Church and we just aren’t Lutherans. But Martin Luther freaking rocks and we all know it.

Obviously we love Jesus.  TheBeerean.com cites Jesus and the rest of the Bible tirelessly because Jesus rocks harder than Luther ever could, and Luther would say the same thing.  But you know what, I’m going to give some web time to an imperfect man who loved the Perfect Man and also agreed with him – and us – on our fifth favorite topic: beer.

Martin Luther was the man God used to instigate the Protestant Reformation; not only was God using him to call the Church to task on its ideas on justification by any means other than the free gift of grace from God (Ephesians 2:5-8), but he also called out the papacy for its – ironic – corruption and debauchery.

Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Wittenburg Chapel on October 31^st, 1517, calling for a debate per his rights as an Augustinian monk and professor of theology at University of Wittenberg.  What he got was an inquisition that he knew would result in his death. Standing by his convictions – and possessing a pair – Luther showed up. He was a dead man but for God’s favor in using a local prince to kidnap him and hide him long enough to translate the Bible into German.

Luther suffered a lot for the idea of grace. It was kind of a big deal to him. After Jesus saved him he wasn’t motivated by the prevailing legalism of the time. And one of the graces he enjoyed was beer. The man wrote love letters to his wife Katie telling her how much he missed the beer she brewed to help support the family when he encountered terrible beer – probably American pilsner, but I’ll have to check my facts.

Luther was quick to point out that the “Turks” or Muslims forbid the drinking of beer because the Quran is a demonic book used to imprison and manipulate. But the Bible permits almost anything as long as it honors and pleases God because it is a godly book which seeks to save and liberate by preaching Christ on the Cross. Beer: good. Drunken foolishness that unfortunately is the popular perception of how beer should be used: not so good.

What is also not so good is the way Christians, especially Protestants, stamp on the freedom given to us by Jesus and embraced by our fathers in the faith and try to turn the Bible into another Quran. Why are we so quick to stamp around like a bunch of children saying, “That’s not good enough!”

Do we want to go back to the captivity in Egypt that bad? Have some humility and learn from Jesus and if you can do that, maybe you can muster the humility to listen to some of the guys he used in big ways, like Luther and his beer brewing wife.

If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. (1 Corinthians 10:27 ESV)

I’ve been on a few mission trips in my life. Therefore I’ve had the joy of eating rubbery chicken hearts and having a shot of homemade Russian vodka that tasted like gasoline (which it could have been).  Which makes me wonder if the occasional twitch in my left eye might have a connection.  There was also a summer mission trip to Mexico where each of us was given a little white pill by the veterinarian in the group to keep the food down.  But I digress.  The point is that almost anyone would do some crazy things when you’re on a mission “trip.”

You always hear people giving the advice (or scriptural mandate) to eat whatever is put in front of you.  ”You will insult your host if you don’t eat it.”  But there seems to be a double standard with this rule.  As long as you’re outside of the country, do whatever is necessary to progress the gospel…but if you’re at home…well that really isn’t mission.

But Paul tells us differently.  When he tells us in Corinthians to eat whatever is put in front of us, we are to do it “without raising any question on the ground of conscience.”  There is no question of geography.  There is only a heart of putting the other person before ourself.  Paul goes on to say:

just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:33 ESV)

Paul’s heart in the matter is to see people come to salvation. The mission field to him is the dinner table.  He will do anything but sin to be able to bring someone to know Jesus.  So this makes me raise the question.  Are we doing what is possible to reach unbelievers?  Or are we throwing up the white flag of surrender?  Is there a moment when you should ignore your conscience and have a cold one with your lost friend anyways?

This has got to be one of my favorite beer infographics to date.  I like it so much, you can see a copy of it on the wall of my beer fridge every week on Beer Tip of the Week.    This infographic gives you a breakdown of the different styles of beer and their family tree.  It also gives you a brand of beer for each style that you could go out and try.  While doing all that, it still has a simple beauty that makes you want to buy a signed number original copy of it to put up in your living room in place of your 50″ plasma TV (or 27″ CRT in my place).  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Click to Enlarge
Via: That’s Nerdalicious

by Jacob Cates

Greg and I would argue that the Bible is cool with responsible consumption of alcohol including Shiner Bock. (I am biased; know that now.)  If time avails I will write examples of great beer drinkers in Christian history in order to show you that if you are a Lutheran and like beer, you are no heretic since so did Luther.  But this begs the question: Where did the idea that alcohol was a sin come from? Whose bright idea was this?

It is difficult to find the exact date that the Temperance Movement began, but I would argue that it was coupled with a Pelagian (for those of you who aren’t up on your heretics, follow this helpful link). In America, where the movement gained its earliest traction in 1789 in a Connecticut Temperance community and gained steam in Jacksonian America.  Separation from the crown had one huge negative impact on the American church. As democracy took root in civil government (which I thank God for) it spilled over into the church. This lead to the abandonment of a sense of godly sovereignty.

As a result the church and a ton of anti-Christian cults (Mormonism, Oneida, the Shakers, and more) began to see our good works as leading to our salvation over and against the grace of God. They insisted on rigorous sexual mores and – too my never ending displeasure – total alcoholic abstinence. That’s why the beer is still weaker in Utah.

Unfortunately the church seemed to think this was a great idea and a Presbyterian pastor named Charles G. Finney who was arguably the most prominent clergyman of the Second Great Awakening advocated total abstinence.  Eventually the Methodists and Baptists adopted as nearly doctrinal distinctive that (more so for the Baptists) persists to this day.

Now Christ died for your sins and never insisted on total abstinence. So why embrace rules invented in America in the 1840s to try to please a God who never said such a thing and bled for your sins freely anyway? You aren’t going to make Jesus love you move because you don’t have a bottle of Shiner now and again.

Light Beer though, that’s a different story, you heathen!

What is Bock beer?  Well other than being one of my favorite styles of beer, it is a dark colored sweet lager that is lightly hopped and high on the ABV (6-7%).  But Bock hasn’t always been as we know it.

The style known now as bock was a dark, malty, lightly-hopped ale first brewed in the 14th century by German brewers in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck. The style from Einbeck was later adopted by Munich brewers in the 17th century and adapted to the new lager style of brewing. The Bavarians of Munich pronounced “Einbeck” as “ein Bock” (“a billy goat”), and thus the beer became known as “bock”. To this day, as a visual pun, a goat often appears on bock labels. – Wikipedia

Apparently the original recipe for the beer was lost over time as their were two fires and a 30-year war in the town of Einbeck.  Therefore the beer we enjoy today is designed in memory of the original.  This beer would eventually evolve into a beer style that would be brewed by Bavarian monks to make it through the linten season.

Doppelbock emerged in the late eighteenth century as a powerful lager variant of the old monastic strong beer, the monks’ “liquid bread,” which they traditionally brewed for the Lenten season. – German Beer Institute

The monks believed that the “liquid bread” would cleanse not only their body during the 46 day fast, but it would also cleanse their soul.  Therefore they would drink excessive amounts during the fast to help purify their soul.  (I knew there was something deeper about my love affair with bock beers.)

Today you can get several different styles of bock beer: Bock, Maibock or Helles Bock, Double Bock and Eisbock.

The Maibock style of beer tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock…Double Bocks or Doppelbocks are huge beers with enough malt packed in them to consider them a meal in its self. Generally having a very full-bodied flavour and darker than other bocks with a higher level of alcohol also, 6.5-8.5%. Eisbocks are basically a form of a Bock or a Double Bock that is concentrated to boost flavour and alcohol by freezing off some of the water. – BeerAdvocate.com

If you’re new to beer, I would highly recommend trying a bock style beer.  It’s light flavor makes it a good introduction beer for those who are wanting to try beer for the first time.  For that reason when my boys are old enough to drink, I’m going to sit down with them and share a nice cold Shiner Bock.

In all honesty, I didn’t realize that this would be theBeerean’s 100th post when I sat down to write.  I had planned on writing some thoughts about the drinks I shared with a lost coworker last week (maybe next week).  But as I opened WordPress, I couldn’t help but see that we were setting at 99 posts.  So what does someone write for their 100th post?

Well I could write about how we’ve gotten this far…but 100 posts in the world of blogs really isn’t that much.

I could write about where we are planning on going…but I’ve already done that.

So instead I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite posts from over the years.  So here you go…the top five favorite posts of theBeerean.com.

5.  My First Beer – Am I alone? – Almost everyone I’ve ever talked to remembers their first beer.  It also amazes me that I’ve never really heard of anyone that has had a great experience.  I’m hoping as we raise our children right we can change that for the next generation of beer drinkers.

4. Did Jesus Get Buzzed? – This random question turned into one of my favorite posts.  It helps you to realize the humanity of Jesus while being able to hold to the divinity of Jesus and the sinlessness of drinking itself.

3. Preaching to the Choir – Why Christians should drink beer and have sex. – The title says it all.

2. What is a Beerean? – This the second post I ever wrote on theBeerean.com.  Some day I plan to produce a video and use this as a script.  I just need to find someone to produce the music.

1. Alcohol Hurts a Christian’s Witness – BULL CRAP! – Still one of the most controversial articles on the site.  Even though my tone is a little harsh, I still stand by my point.  Beer drank to the glory of God helps more than hurts a Christians witness.

So how about you?  Do you agree with the list or would you change some out yourself?