KfP "beer"

[cellio]

In the "this is just wrong" category: kosher-for-Passover beer (forwarded to me by ralphmelton). Someone else on my friends list (arib, maybe?) spotted something like this (probably this) in a store but couldn't bring himself to investigate, if I recall correctly. I thought at the time that it was a labelling error or a local thing, but I guess not.

I'm not a big beer drinker and don't feel overly constrained by that aspect of Pesach, but I would buy a single bottle out of curiosity were that an option. Not an entire case, though.

Comments

[jducoeur]

My initial reaction was that the idea was preposterous. What's really going on, though, is that they're simply playing semantic games, calling this "beer" so that it sells better. From the description, it's really just a hopped mead, and nowhere near as unusual as they claim it to be.

The only thing that's new and different about it is that no one has previously had the chutzpah to call such a thing "beer". Indeed, I'd argue that this violates truth-in-advertising laws, not that anyone cares enough to make a big deal about it...

[jducoeur]

All that said, I'm a shade surprised: I thought that anything involving yeast was out during Passover. Is the restriction actually only for grain products?

[cellio]

Yeast itself isn't the problem, else all wines would be out too. (I was confused by that at first too.) It's really about the five grains coming into contact with anything that might produce leavening, and about derivations from that principle (e.g. corn isn't one of the five grains but you still don't eat cornbread).

[goljerp]

I think that I was confused, too, in an earlier discussion... I was reading somewhere that there's kosher for passover baking powder. But baking soda couldn't be. Or something. I am confused...

[cellio]

From the description, it's really just a hopped mead, and nowhere near as unusual as they claim it to be.

Yup. I thought I remembered calling this a mead, but I guess that was in email because it's not here. Now that you mention it, though, our local brewers' guild made a hopped mead some years ago, and it was quite tasty. It was, however, also very strong -- we used the ultra-strong yeasties and I think came out around 13%. So there was a lot of honey in it to start, and that's going to affect the taste.

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I didn't take a good look at the labels, once I realized that a six pack was selling for $25 or something at the Butcherie. :(

[cellio]

That's awfully steep for sampling, yes.