beer

Plenary Indulgence | a cocktail for the All Saints Octave

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Recipe

  • 1.5 oz Brandy
  • .5 oz Fig Syrup
  • .5 oz Dry Curacao
  • 1 Whole Egg
  • 3 oz Oktoberfest Beer
  • Garnish: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

Add all ingredients except beer to a shaker without ice. Vigorously shake longer than normal to emulsify the egg and get everything frothy. Add some ice and briefly shake again just until it’s cold. Double strain into a goblet and top with the beer. Drink alongside a peanut butter cup.

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Okay, this cocktail is just for fun. Just this year, I found out that Catholics extend the official observance of the All Souls’ and All Saints’ holidays to a full eight days to form the “All Saints Octave“. This is a time for Catholics to earn extra indulgences to help those in Purgatory.

Now, being a good, Reformation-steeped Protestant myself, and knowing that Luther specifically kicked off the Reformation this week partly to protest these very indulgences, I thought it’d be a good opportunity to celebrate my spiritual heritage in this by crafting a cocktail.

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“Semper Reformanda” | A Reformation Day Cocktail

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

Recipe

  • 1.5 oz Rye Whiskey
  • 1 oz Grenadine
  • .5 oz All Spice Dram
  • .25 Lemon Juice
  • 2 dashes Orange Bitters
  • top with 4 oz of Oktoberfest

Add all ingredients (except the beer) to a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a collins glass. Top with the Oktoberfest beer.

* * * *

For Protestant Christians, it is Reformation Day, celebrating when Martin Luther kicked off the Reformation by posting his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. The cocktail’s name comes from one of the mottoes of this movement: ecclesia reformata semper reformanda (“the church reformed is always reforming”).

Is this a “holy day” in the proper sense of the word? No. And I know many would see this as a day to mourn, not celebrate. But even someone as ecumenical as myself who loves Catholics can enjoy this day in a good-natured, light-hearted way. And for that, we deserve a drink!

This is my first beer cocktail, and it is really good. It’s a tweaked version of the “Lumberjack in Love” by the always-fantastic Anders Erikson. Like the Reformation itself, this drink is bitter and sweet. Rye embodies Luther’s own spice and bite. The All Spice captures the Reformation truth that all of God’s people are priests and saints in his kingdom. And lastly, of course, we top it all off with that most German of autumnal beers: the Oktoberfest. Prost!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy (multi-header!) [casual fri]

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

Art
Autumn, Pipes, & Whiskey
Coffee
My City
Beer
Jesus & The Cross
Books/Writing
My Classy Lady (and some PBR)

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme is “Happy“. The prompt they have offered us is to make a collage of those things that make us happy. So…here’s mine. Click on any of the pictures to bring up the full-size gallery.

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Philly Beer Lovers: get very, very excited.

/ Paul Burkhart / 3 Comments

From the article “Pennsylvania debates new beer flow” in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:

States have adopted various strategies in the 79-year effort to prevent pre-Prohibition alcohol abuses, but Pennsylvania has been particularly idiosyncratic, said Eric Shepard, longtime editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights in Suffern, N.Y.

“Pennsylvania is unique,” he said. “You are by far the weirdest state.”

The bill under consideration, introduced by state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) with Gov. Corbett’s backing, is just the latest effort to get the state out of the liquor business. But Turzai’s new twist would permit beer distributors and other businesses that could afford a license to sell beer in any quantity, along with wine and liquor.

In short, one-stop shopping for alcohol buyers, a la New Jersey.

Read more…

Also, be sure to contact your local representative to support this bill.

Posted from WordPress for Android on my Droid X

Untappd: Beer lovers unite! [casual fri]

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Today, as people embark on the weekend, I want to plug an amazing app that has made beer a little more fun for me, and I’m confident it’d be even more fun if more of my friends were on it.

It’s called Untappd. [Website] [Android] [iTunes]

It’s fairly straightforward. When enjoying a beer, simply open the app (or the web app for you Blackberry or Palm users), search for your beer, and “check-in” to it. At the bare minimum, this is it. But there’s much more you can do, if you like.

  • Share your beer check-in on Facebook and Twitter as well, so your friends there can comment on your beer taste and such.
  • Check-in on Foursquare wherever you’re enjoying the beer, so others can keep track of what bars have what beer available.
  • Add tasting notes, reviews, and ratings along with your beer check-in so you can keep track of what you like and what you don’t. You the app will also keep a running list of your highest rated beers.
  • Get full profiles for each beer and see where else in the world people are drinking that beer.
  • The app will suggest other beers that taste similar.
  • You can “follow” breweries to see what other beers they make, what new beers are coming out, and where you can find their beers.
  • Add pictures to the check-in. This can sometimes lead to fun contests.
  • You can keep a running Wishlist of beers you want to try.
  • And.. you can get badges. If that’s your thing.

So go download the app, make an account, follow me, and start drinking!

Weekly Must-Reads {08.30.11}

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Admittedly, this week’s Must-Reads are a bit random, but I think you all will enjoy them. There are no consistent themes this time around, just a little hodge-podge of humor, politics, theology, etc.. As usual, feel free to add your own links for myself and others to read in the comments section, as well as comment on these articles.

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Things Organized Neatly

This site is starting to make its rounds amongst our crew here in Philly. We’re obsessed, but it’s so worth it. I’ve taken some of the pictures and have them rotating as my laptop background to reflect my interest in books, writing, coffee and breakfast, history, my favorite board game, dressing nicely, being cool, facial hair, and shaving.

God, Math & the Multiverse | the Veritas Forum

I haven’t actually watched/listened to it yet, but it should be pretty phenomenal. Thanks for the link, Colin.

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Weekly Must-Reads {03.07.11}

/ Paul Burkhart / 4 Comments

This week’s weekly must-reads contain some links to articles I was reading a couple of weeks ago but didn’t end up doing one of these reading lists in order to share. They include articles on singleness, economics, foreign policy and art. I hope you find these intriguing, thought provoking, and discussion-causing. As usual, feel free to add your own links for myself and others to read in the comments section, as well as comment on these articles.

Tree of Failure – NYTimes.com

I know this is a few weeks old, but it’s amazing and I wasn’t able to post it when it came out. It’s a beautiful, substantive article on the necessity of weakness, sin, and failure in our search for civility and grace.  Anybody know the religious leanings of David Brooks?

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