web1_108946649-a9849cc34213478283fed5ec0f91ea11.jpg

Academy Awards take on issues beyond #OscarsSoWhite

web1_NWS.jpg

Rain, snow predicted for the Wyoming Valley into the midweek

<p>Every Tuesday night for 36 weeks, I can be found bowling at Chacko&#8217;s Family Bowling Center with the Tuesday Night Chargers League. The Chargers League has been in existence for about 57 years, 31 of which I have been a member. Of course, along with bowling three games, we tip a few beers during league play and after. I, along with fellow bowlers Dave Check, Billy Specht, Paul Thomas and Marty Marcy hold court every week to solve all of the issues that America has one beer at a time.</p><p>This past Tuesday, the topic of the Presidential election came up and, as expected, the debates were intense. Our &#8220;bowling parliament&#8221; is divided between Democrats and Republicans as well as different candidates within the political parties. It&#8217;s kind of like our current congress in Washington. Of course, Donald Trump came up and the wall that he wants to build along the entire U.S. and Mexican border. I could go into my opinion of this plan, but I won&#8217;t right now. Anyway, as the conversation went back and forth across the table, I found that my beer glass was empty. As I stood at the bar perusing the beer cooler I spied a few bottles of Modelo Especial. I figured since we were discussing Trump&#8217;s wall I might as well drink a beer made in Mexico. Deep in the recesses of my mind I must have thought that I was giving it to Trump by drinking a Mexican beer. Well, maybe that thought was not really that deeply embedded in my mind.</p><p><strong>Sight:</strong> As I poured my cold Modelo, I saw a nice clear yellow straw or corn-like color with a slight pure white head no more than a finger thick. The head dissipated quickly and left a highly carbonated beer for the tasting. This looked like a top of the line light beer or possibly a middle of the road American lager.</p><p><strong>Aroma:</strong> As I lifted my glass to take a sniff I could smell light grains along with corn on the cob. After a few additional sniffs, I thought I may have either hallucinated or smelled just a very slight hint of apple or orange blossoms. The aroma is nothing special or should I say Especial.</p><p><strong>Taste:</strong> As I took my first sip I tasted a beer with a good grainy backbone along with something I could not put my finger on right away. The aftertaste was very different from most of the beers I have tasted in my day. It had a somewhat sweet back note to go along with the grains and the barley malts. After I thought about it for a while I came to the conclusion that it was either the poor water quality in Mexico or it was corn. I went with corn.</p><p>Overall, I thought Modelo Especial was an OK and drinkable beer. Nothing great, but not bad either. I would recommend drinking one of these with a hot dog or a burger on the grill or a big bowl of chili. Modelo would also be good for that all day clam bake or family picnic.</p><p>The Modelo brewery opened in Tacuba, Mexico on Oct. 25, 1925, and has been producing beer ever since. On their opening day they served 50,000 bottles of beer as part of their grand celebration. In 1930 during the American Prohibition thousands of U.S. citizens poured across the border to the town of Ciudad Juarez to buy beer for $0.05 a glass. For more information on Grupo Modelo go to www.modeloespecialusa.com. To drink a Modelo Especial take a swing by Chacko&#8217;s Family Bowling Center and the Memory Lane Lounge. You can also pick up a case at one of your local beer distributors. Modelo is easy to find, just look for the gold foil wrapper on the top of the bottle.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_james-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jim McCabe The Beer Meister </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_james-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jim McCabe The Beer Meister </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_modelo.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_modelo.jpg</photo1><caption1></caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Jim McCabe</p><p>The Beer Meister</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>The Beer Meister is a new column that will appear twice a month in the Times Leader</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p style="text-align: left;">Jim McCabe is an avid beer enthusiast and the circulation manager for the Times Leader.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

The Beer Meister: Saving America one beer at a time