Benji- Honey Red Ale

This year our local Benjamin Regional Council, Mateh Binyamin included something new in its "Rosh Hashanah, New Year's holiday gift package" for us.  We usually get something to thank my husband for the various Hasbara, Information work he does. This year, besides the standard "honey for a sweet year," we got  two bottles of Benji Honey Red Ale Beer. And since beer is one of the things my husband doesn't like, it went to me, for my drinking pleasure.

Doug Greener, the beer mavin, has been mentoring me, so here's the report. When I first opened a bottle and poured myself a glass on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, I discovered that it's a very frothy beer with lots of foam/head. But being that it was Rosh Hashanah, I couldn't take a photo, so you'll have trust me.

Even if you can't read the Hebrew on the label, you should be able to recognize that the 6.5% refers to alcohol content which means that it's relatively high, בירה חזקה, Birah Chazaka, Strong Beer. And, yes, I did feel the alcohol, even a few days later when I opened to bottle to photograph it and drink what was left. But you probably want to know more about the flavor of the beer.

I could taste the honey, and if you can't read Hebrew, you should know that the honey is pretty high up on the list of ingredients. The people who made this beer aren't conning you when they call it a Honey Red Ale.  It is also a "honey brown" color.

There's nothing bitter in the taste of the beer. It's the sweetest beer I can remember tasting, and I was recently at the Jerusalem Beer Festival, where I tasted quite a few. Even though beer generally does not need rabbinical supervision to be kosher, this one does have a Mehadrin Hechsher. I presume that this was ordered and bottled especially for Benjamin Regional Council, Mateh Binyamin, but if you'd like more information, there's a phone number on the label 02-5458856.