By Harley Zipori. As we move into spring and toward summer, beer events are becoming more frequent. Two events I managed to attend recently were small but worth mentioning.
First, there was a mini-beer “event” at the Sar HaMashka’ot chain of specialty beverage stores. There are 2 branches, one next to Bloomfield stadium in Yaffo and the other near the Diamond Center in Ramat Gan. I went to the Ramat Gan branch for the Thursday evening event. By the way, for those not so much into the subtleties of Hebrew, Sar HaMashka’ot is a bit of a pun. “Sar” is the Hebrew word for minister or lord. “Mashka’ot”, drinks in Hebrew, rhymes with “Taba’ot”, or “the rings”. “Sar HaTaba’ot” is the Hebrew translation of “Lord of the Rings”.
Sar HaMashka’ot has one of the most comprehensive collections of alcoholic beverages I have seen in this country. This store has 2 floors, with the upper floor being dedicated to wine. They have the best selection of beer I have seen. So its natural for them hold beer events which they have in the past. These are primarily marketing events for the major beer importers so they can show off the latest brands they are distributing here in Israel. At previous events there were about 10 tasting tables with several times that many types of beer. This was a more modest event and I was glad that I didn’t have to make a special trip to Tel Aviv to attend.
The only Israeli boutique breweries represented were the Golan Brewery with their Bazelet line of beers and a relatively new brand called Butterfly, brewed somewhere in the Galilee. The Bazelet beers I have tasted before and are quite nice, reflecting the European influences brought by the brewmaster who, if my understanding is correct, is German. Butterfly is a bit of a mystery. I don’t know who brews this but I had previously tasted one of the styles. I find it a bit too sweet for my taste but I certainly wish them luck. Any boutique beer that is out there competing with the big brands deserves our support.
Last Friday, May 20th, there was a food fair at Dizengoff that included Israeli Boutique beers. For all I know the food fair could be a weekly event as it common at many malls but this time there were displays by local brewers that was apparently organized by Reshef, one of the major importers of beer supplies in Israel (http://www.homebrewing.co.il). There were 6 breweries represented, two of which I have not had contact with before.
Moodys brewery is run by a young religious couple in Jerusalem. Ben Moody started brewing beer in the basement of his yeshiva. He and his wife produce 4 different beers, including a Pilsner which is nice, crisp and refreshing as a Pilsner should be. They also make a Belgian Wheat Beer a Pale Ale and an India Pale Ale (a regular Pale Ale on steroids). The Pale Ale was all drunk up by the time I got there but the Wheat and the IPA were very good. They are producing this beer commercially and selling to shops in the Jerusalem area. Of course they have a full Hechsher Kashrut. For more information see their website.
The other brewer I had not met is Ram Gura and his GuBeeRa brewery in Nes Tziona. Ram just recently won a home brewing stout challenge (see a Hebrew blog about that competition) and is brewing a variety of beers in addition to his award winning stout. Its always a pleasure to meet a new brewer contributing talent and energy to the boutique brewing scene.
The brewers I had met before were Alex from Gopher’s, Ofer Ronen from Ronen’s and Gal from Gal’s. Also present were Aram and Batsheva from Moshav Tzafririmin the Emek HaElah region. Since I have friends on Tzafririm we have an extra connection other than just seeing them at festivals. Aram is very creative in making his beers, utilizing a variety of flavors aside from the usual malt-hops-yeast combination. This gives his beer an exoticness that is both surprising and pleasing. Batsheva makes fantastic cheeses that are available from their home in Tzafririm where you can dine al-fresco and enjoy the beer and cheeses and other tasty treats. More info is available at their Facebook page.
Each brewer there has an excellent selection of creative and well crafted handmade beers. These are the kinds of beers that should be tasted and its imperative that these brewers get their beers out there so the general public can get their hands on them. This is what boutique brewing is all about. There were over 20 varieties of beer available at this event. That’s 20 quality, locally produced beers that are not widely available in pubs, restaurants, supermarkets and specialty stores. I realize there are practical challenges to getting boutique beer on the market but am I the only one who sees something wrong with this situation?
Let me know what you think at my new email, [email protected].
