This first time around, I would like to share a recipe my friend Greg Mays (gregmays.com) came up with for a Gin and Tonic with Kumquats.  He likes to call a GT and K.  In his words:

Yesterday I made a gin and tonic for a friend and I didn’t have any limes on hand.  I usually like to use lots of lime juice in my G&Ts because I love the combination of citrus with  tonic water.  Searching for an alternative in the fridge, I found a box of these adorable bite-sized Asian fruits:

Now kumquats are like an orange that’s the size of a grape, though they are bitterer than oranges and frankly can be outright sour.  As a snack, you eat the whole thing, skin and all.

So here’s the recipe for my GT and K:

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• top with tonic water (I use Schweppes Diet to avoid high fructose corn syrup)
• 4 juiced kumquats

garnish with a sliced kumquat

For more information on the GT and K, check out the full post at GregMays.com.

This set-up usually leaves a lot of leftovers.

So the question is: Who gets the beer?

If you missed the posts, here is a quick recap.

Clayton Bell reminded us of the need to amplify and centralize Jesus.

CJ Mills gave us a great post on how beer is made.

Ross Middleton posted the question about what to do when a Christian brother is getting wasted.

Once again thanks guys for all your help.  I really enjoyed getting to read posts from the readers.  It was great getting to see views and writing styles other than my own.   If anyone else is ever interested in doing a guest post, the door is always open.  Just shoot me an email with your post to greg [at] thebeerean [dot] com.

I was at a bachelor party about a year ago for a friend of mine who is still currently a Christian seminary student and we were just hanging out at a restaurant/bar type place. Some of the guys started buying him some shots. No biggie. Then some other guys at the place found out it was his bachelor party and they started buying him shots also. He had also had some beer too that night if I remember correctly. He started drinking a lot and getting drunk and people were still bringing him more alcohol. By the end of the night he was totally trashed.

While I don’t have a problem with drinking alcohol, I do have a problem with getting drunk. I believe it is sin and it separates us from God. My dilemma in this moment is that I am not super close with this guy. I have known him for a while and he is a Christian brother but all of his close friends who are Christians were also there and none of them were trying to stop him from drinking any more except for one guy, who got overruled because of majority.

There were also some unbelievers there. So my problem was, I didn’t think that what he was doing was right, but I didn’t necessarily feel like I had the liberty to speak into his life when he had other Christian friends much closer to him than me also there.

I didn’t know if I should be that guy to stop it. If I had felt like I had known what to do, I wouldn’t have had any problem being that guy, so instead I just kind of sat there and did not encourage him to drink anymore. Looking back, I’m not sure I made the right decision. I would love to hear people’s thoughts on a situation like this so that I could learn if I am ever in a situation like this again.

Today’s guest post comes from CJ Mills. CJ is the author of Visual:Trademark::Blog. Take some time and go read about his family’s amazing journey as they had their son, Asher, 2 months early and on vacation away from home.  CJ is an amazing man of faith and a great father and husband.

I want to thank CJ for helping out theBeerean.com this week while I take a break to spend time with my son.  I know all too well now how stressful a new kid can be, but he decided to write a guest post anyways.  Thanks CJ.

Not all of us have the power to turn water into wine, or your favorite lager. So, for those of us who are stuck paying for the drink, let me tell you how this drink is made.

The first step in brewing is called malting. This involves mixing grain with water for several days until it beings to germinate, converting the grain to a type of sugar, eventually creating malt. After a few days, the malt is heated and dried, preventing the malt from further germination – a process called kilning. After kilning, the malt is processed in a mill, which cracks the outer coating of the grain. The cracked malt is then moved to a mash tun and mixed with hot water for one to two hours. This process, called mashing, breaks down the sugars in the grain and releases them in water, producing a liquid known as wort. Temperature and amount of time affects the body and flavor of the beer.

The wort is then transferred to a large brew kettle and boiled, sterilizing the wort and killing any bacteria that could spoil the wort during fermentation. During this stage of the brewing process, hops are added to provide flavor and to balance out the sweetness of the wort.

After brewing, the wort is cooled, strained, and then transferred to a container where it can ferment. Yeast is then added into the wort to allow fermentation. When the yeast has consumed the fermentable sugar, wort officially becomes beer. The beer is then transferred to an airtight container where the beer becomes naturally carbonated through an aging process, lasting a few weeks to several months. To kill any remaining yeast after the aging process, the beer is heated to 180°F after it has been sealed in cans or bottles and then packaged for shipment to a town near you.

For a look into a microbrewery, take a look at the video below:

Clayton recently left his job at Moore Consulting Group to become the Family Pastor at Every Nation, Tallahassee where he will be overseeing Children’s Church, middle school and high school ministries

Clayton has become a good friend and supporter of theBeerean.com and I want to personally say thank you for everything that you do Clayton.

A running joke in Christian music circles is the “Jesus per minute” rule (JPM), a musicians’ term that is derisive of corporate Christian music’s emphasis on happy songs.

It struck me recently that in many Christian blogs, books and sermons any sense of a JPM rule has been thrown out in favor of a CPM (church per minute) rule, SJPM (social justice) rule, PMPM (postmodern) rule, or a ILJBNTCPM (I like Jesus but not the church) rule.

However, when I read through Paul’s letters I’m convicted and challenged by the frequency with which Paul talks about Jesus. Paul doesn’t avoid subjects like morality, service to the poor and the church, but always places Jesus as the motivation, reason and example for all other things. He never lets anything but Jesus be at the center of his thoughts, action, motivations and explanations.

I am so very challenged by this. My tendency is to fall back into rational arguments, formulaic answers, and plug-and-play ideas. I look back on my conversations with my wife, my friends, my family and my coworkers to find the name of Jesus noticeably absent. Not that we should be the crazy Jesus person in the office, but have we gone too far in our attempt to not offend and/or fit in? How can Christ continue to be at the center of our lives if he is continually absent from our conversations?

Perhaps the amplification and centrality of Jesus is the reason churches like Mars Hill Church in Seattle find themselves with over 6,000 people in the most un-churched city in America and some even wondering if they are in the midst of a genuine revival.

Have we become too much about the “How” and not enough about the “Why” in our pulpits and small groups? What’s the last book you read about the person and work of Jesus? When’s the last time you had a conversation where you couldn’t stop talking about Jesus and what He’s done instead of the activities you’ve been participating in?

If I’m honest, it’s been way too long.