By Hannah Rubin
Sombreros, kegs, and teddy bears surround the gleaming Hanukkah lights, on display in a album on Shmaltz Brewing Company’s Facebook page. But what
distinguish these holiday scenes are not accessories but rather the very menorahs
themselves — they’re made out of beer bottles. They are all entries in Shmaltz’s annual Beer Bottle Menorah Contest, an online holiday contest that is now in its third year.
A beer bottle menorah is exactly what it sounds like: eight brewskis lined in a row, with
Hanukkah candles sticking out of them. The problem is how to get those candles to stay
put. Creative solutions include placing playing cards, tin foil, upturned bottle caps, and even small dreidels on the top of the beer bottle — all in order to hold that candle in place. The guidelines for last year’s contest offer little help: “We realize the traditional candles still will not fit in the top of the bottles, but we are a handy people from tent dwellers to Jewish carpenters to craft brewers. Behold! A second chance to prove yourselves.” They suggest stuffing a matzo ball in the nape, as a way of holding the candle in place.
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By Hannah Rubin
With dancing rabbis, clowns, and unicorns adorning their bottles, and names like Genesis Ale and Funky Jewbelation, Shmaltz Brewing Company’s He’Brew beer commands the attention of the liquor store browser — myself included.
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By Hannah Rubin
Singing alongside a talking dog and nude glittery dancers, Edon Pinchot did it again. Performing to a standing ovation, the ‘Jewish Justin Bieber’ stole the show in the semifinal round of America’s Got Talent.Read More
By Hannah Rubin
With his kosher ice cream (and sprinkles) plus a special jingle, Yaniv Bazel wins over plenty of pint-sized fans in Brooklyn’s Orthodox neighborhoods.
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By Hannah Rubin
With Madonna’s face embroidered onto the back of his white button down, Sperling strutted out onto his bar-mitzvah’s wood paneled dance floor — with his fingers snapping and his tie flung over his shoulder. What followed was a nearly six-minute dance routine to Madonna’s “Vogue” — replete with twirls, shimmying, waving arms, and, of course, voguing.
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