Fill My Cup: Anchor of Hope

Fill My Cup is a weekly Bible and Beer review where I share notes from a Scripture passage and a critical review of a featured beer. May this series spark discourse, reflection, and promote new learning about craft beer and the Bible. I invite you to engage with me--share your thoughts, comments, and your musings!

Good News

"Hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary." Hebrews 6:19

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and an assurance of what we do not see. Hope is the strong an trustworthy anchor of our faith--hope grounds us in Christ. Hope allows us to see past current circumstances because of our belief in Christ and trust in what is yet to come. If you're like me, maybe hope is the very thing that got you through this past election cycle.

While half of the country seems to be living in fear of what is yet to come, Christ-followers have an assurance that God is in control and can, therefore, hope for great things on the horizon despite (or in spite) of whatever the circumstances may be.

Hope transcends fear, worry, doubt. Regardless of whatever you're going through, remember the promise found in Hebrews 6:19-- Hope leads us through the curtain into God's inner Sanctuary. 

Craft Brews

Our Special Ale 2016, Anchor Brewing Co. 6.5% ABV

Our Special Ale is Anchor Brewing's annual seasonal release. Each year, the recipe changes ever so slightly to bring a nuanced flavor to close out the calendar year. This 2016 batch is Anchor's 42nd release of what has now become a seasonal tradition. Just as the recipe changes every year, so does the hand-drawn Christmas tree seen on label in the picture above.

While the craft beer "movement" in America is still fairly young, This California-based brewery brings decades of tradition to the shelves with this holiday release.

"[S]old only from early November to mid-January, the ale's recipe is different every year--as is the tree on the label--but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life." Anchorbrewing.com

Our Special Ale pours a picturesque dark brown, almost black, color with a light head that laces the glass beautifully. The beer gives off a semi-sweet aroma of molasses, caramel, and hints of pine and roasted malt. Spices and sweet molasses lead the initial charge of flavor, followed by caramel, dark fruits, burnt sugar and an earthy hop finish. As the beer warms, the holiday spices and wood notes become more dominate on the palate; the initial sweetness takes a backseat.

The 2016 release of Our Special Ale is one of the better recipes they've released in recent years. Layers of flavor and complex characteristics make this a fun beer to sip and enjoy.

Fill My Cup: Abram and Intuition

Fill My Cup is a weekly Bible and Beer review where I share notes from a Scripture passage and a critical review of a featured beer. May this series spark discourse, reflection, and promote new learning about craft beer and the Bible. I invite you to engage with me--share your thoughts, comments, and your musings!

Good News

Last week, I talked about how much we are a culture of people who value directions and "how-to" instructions. Genesis 12 begins with God telling Abram to leave everything and everyone he knows and go to a place that God will eventually show Abram. Can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place between Abram and every other rational person around? Abram is about to set out towards a destination that hasn't even been revealed to him yet!

God provides a great promise to Abram, but demands faith and obedience in return. It would have been easy for Abram to be talked out of going. He could have easily talked himself out of going! If nothing else, it certainly would have been a whole lot less inconvenient for Abram to simply stay put where he was settled and comfortable.

Stepping out in faith is uncomfortable. It's risky. Yet it's also rewarding. In this scenario, God not only promises Abram a great nation and a blessing upon his name, but God goes as far to say, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." God's promises and His blessings have a broad reach. and often have an overflowing impact that extends beyond us. When we are willing to listen to God's direction for our lives and take steps in our faith, we can be assured that God will honor our faithful obedience.

In what way is God calling you to step out in faith?

Craft Brews

I took a trip back to Jacksonville this past week and picked up a can of Easy on the Eyes from Intuition Ale Works. This is a session IPA which simply mostly means it's a lighter IPA with a lower ABV (4.7%). Often, session IPAs (and session beers in general) are made for easy drinkin'.

There's a big aroma that comes with this beer--bright citrus notes and a slight dankness. Easy on the Eyes is also easy on the palate. There are flavors of bitter orange peel, melon, and a nice tropical juiciness that I enjoyed. It's a medium bodied beer--a bit more than I expected--that ends with a very crisp and slightly cloying finish.

Easy on the Eyes is no chump. While it is a session IPA, Intuition did not skimp on the hop flavors, but it's balanced just enough to make this a nice summer-time IPA. The aroma oversells the beer just a tad and was definitely my favorite part about the beer, but it's still a nice choice and lighter alternative to Intuition's flagship I-10 IPA.

New Weekly Series: Beer and Bible Review

The etymology of Apostle is a Middle English word meaning "one who is sent on a mission." The word has several religious contexts.

Beer Apostle spawned from a conversation over beer at a craft beer pub in Houston, TX in 2009. I was enjoying a couple of locally brewed pints with a good friend. We found ourselves in this situation often: a couple of guys drinking beer together, talking about life, the world, and yes--even religion. The conversations were never heated or disrespectful. We enjoyed talking and, more importantly, listening to each other. No matter how far apart we were on various issues, beer was our common ground and our shared affinity.

Those conversations were the early stages of what would eventually become Beer Apostle, a platform to share Good News and Craft Brews. These two concepts--beer and Bible--have shared an important connection in my adult life. This new weekly series will peel back the proverbial curtain and provide insight into my personal studies and imbibitions.

I'm calling this series, "Fill My Cup: A Weekly Beer and Bible Review." The series will invite readers to share in and engage with my personal review of the Bible and also my critical tasting notes of a beer from the week. The verb, "engage" is important here. One of the most powerful aspects of connecting beer and Bible, in my experience, has been that the walls (literal and figurative) are often torn down and some people are more willing to engage in healthy and authentic conversations around religion, faith, and theology when it happens outside of a church and over a round of some tasty brews. 

The series will kick off on Friday, August 26. My hope for this series is that it will spark discourse, reflection, and an opportunity to learn something new about craft beer and the Bible. I invite you all to engage with me--share your thoughts, comments, and musings along the way! You sign up for the email list and receive this series, and every Beer Apostle post, directly to your inbox. Just look for the "subscribe" box at the top right of the website. Cheers!