This year was one of them.
The chalkboard at the Kapow Bar and Pub. |
In the days before we went to Kapow, I had the chance to taste two different American craft beers.
The aroma was slightly indistinct fruity, but the taste was unmistakably bitter blueberry. Rather nice. The fruit blended very well with the malt, and then faded into a strong alcohol taste -- not surprising for a beer with 8% alcohol by volume.
Fruit-flavored beers are not my cup of tea, but this Wild Blue Lager was not at all bad.

(My friend Jaime Jurado, Director of Brewing Operations at the Abita Brewing Company in Louisiana, informed me that both Blue Dawg and Goose Island Breweries are now owned by big beer, in this case the biggest, Anhauser-Busch InBev. The Wild Blue, he says, is made with blueberry flavor and color, which are added to the beer. Jaime said that there is a world of difference between beers which add fruit flavor and color this way, and those which use real fruit in the brewing process.)
Our visit to the Kapow Bar and Pub took place on the night before Passover, when we had our final meal containing leavened grain. This is what is prohibited during the seven-day holiday, and it includes all bread, pastries, pasta, etc. -- and, of course, beer.
Danny Murphy served the old blogger his last beer before Passover. |
I asked Danny if there were any local craft beers on tap which warrant being my last beer before Passover. He offered me two to taste.


The other beer was the OP Porter, an American milk porter from the Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park, Florida. This one came to my table full black with no head and very little carbonation. Although I am not a great porter fan, I loved this beer's taste combo of coffee, chocolate and sour cherry, along with the full roasty body of a strong porter. OP Porter is brewed with added milk sugar and has a 6.3% alcoholic content. This is the beer I chose to have with my spicy rice and vegetables.
I discovered that instead of extinguishing the fire of my food, the OP Porter was spreading it. The burning sensation rippled across my sensitized tongue. I don't recommend this for everybody, but I found that this heightened pain actually intensified the taste of the food. Maybe I'm just a foodie masochist!
After wishing Danny a Happy Passover, I left Kapow feeling ready for the seven-day beer fast.
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Wine replaces beer for a week: with my mom before the Passover seder. |
Trudy and I also enjoyed being in southern Florida for the holiday: the days were sunny and pleasant and we visited the magnificent Everglades National Park and Key Largo.
But we also missed being in Jerusalem, where you really feel the holiday everywhere and at all time: in the stores and restaurants, on TV and radio, on the streets full of kids off from school, tourists visiting the Holy Land, and Israeli families enjoying a week-long vacation.
It was good to get back home and catch up with our excellent Israeli craft beers. They definitely hold their own against the beers I tasted in the U.S. -- including those from a local Miami brewery we visited.
But more on that later.