The Best Beers are Not For Sale

rather early in the evening when you could still walk freely and see the lawn

Doug Greener,
Israel Brews and Views

Last week I really enjoyed attending the Jerusalem Beer Festival in Independence Park. It was added fun to find myself with former neighbors from our Jerusalem days, close to four decades ago. Doug Greener introduced me to the wonderful craft beers now available in Israel, if you go to the beer festivals and/or know the right people.

I was also with some of the "beer tasting crew," and we really really enjoyed sampling the beers which sadly can't be found in stores. I stress "sadly," since I did enjoy them more than the beers one can buy and drink any place.

Sorry, but I didn't take notes, so I can't give very specific reviews about the beers I tasted. I did ask most if I could buy a bottle to take home, but the answer was always "No." They are being produced for fairs and special events, but not for small customers like myself.

Tog תוג had some interesting beers, Masala and Kimat Almost 10. Both had nice rich flavors.

Shapira, which is one of the larger commercial "small" companies, joined forces with the Dancing Camel to produce a beer flavored with Mint. And you may know that I absolutely love mint. At first glance, mint doesn't seem to be suited to beer, but it does work. If it's ever produced in commercial enough quantities for me to buy some, then please let me know, thanks.

Soof is a craft beer company from Eilat. They are available there in the bars, from what I understand.  If you're in Eilat, look for their beer. We were very impressed. Maybe the "panel" should take a business trip...

Going from stand to stand, craftbrewer to small Israeli beer brewer... there was a great variety of beers in taste and quality. One company, Herzl Brewery produced both the worst and one of the best IMHO.

I really did not like the one with Cuban tobacco. My tasting partners tasted it first and claimed they didn't taste any tobacco or cigarette in the beer. Then I took a cup of it. First I took a long sniff, to see what aroma came from the innocent looking beer. It smelled like a room in which people had been smoking and had forgotten to open the window.

Afterwards, to both give them another chance and to "clean" my palate, I had their sweet beer which was one of the best in the beer festival.

This Jerusalem Beer Festival was the very first beer festival I've ever attended. The entrance fee only gives you entrance and nothing more. It was clear that some people went for the music and entertainment. The beer cost money, so take that into account. Some brewers even charge for small tastes of the beer. The prices were pretty uniform, NS20 for a third and NS25 for a half, and you drink from plastic cups. There was also food for sale, so you could make a nice evening there with friends.

Even though I left pretty early, the grass was already full of lounging visitors listening to the music, and some were even drinking beer. For me the night out with friends was long enough; I needed to catch a bus, which I did, thank Gd. And I'm looking forward to attending more beer festivals.