Shapiro's Purim Beer

 

My neighbor mentioned to me that she had received a couple of beers among the Mishloach Manot-Purim Food Gifts and wanted to know if I was interested in receiving them. She's not a beer drinker. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say, so I didn't ask for details, just said "yes, thankyou." 

This morning she brought them to me, and one had me almost jumping for joy-- Shapiro Purim Pale Ale. Maybe some of you remember that I wrote about the Shapiro IPA seven, yes, 7 years ago. Over the years, my taste buds have changed, and now I prefer a good IPA to wine. Once she saw how enthusiastic I was about it being a Shapiro Beer, she was happy to join me drinking it.

She was even impressed that I knew how to pour beer... then I checked the aroma. Lovely fruity, natural fruit for sure. And it tasted wonderful. Even my non-beerdrinking neighbor liked it. 

Just one thing to mention... The bottle says it's a 5% alcohol beer, contrary to what I read on the Shapiro site, but that's OK, especially in the morning. During a war, it's especially nice to find small treats, like a good Israeli IPA. Thanks, Shapiro...

Visit to Yekev Shiloh Winery

Yesterday afternoon some of my kids and I walked down the hill from my house to the Yekev Shiloh Winery at the entrance to our industrial zone/shopping area. I correctly guessed that they'd enjoy the visit before taking the bus back to Jerusalem. 

We got there close to "closing time," so we didn't ask for a full tour and tasting. But they all agreed that they'd be back for the full "show." They found the public part of the Yekev very impressive and then bought a few bottles of wine, one of which was opened for us. We sat on their terrace enjoying the view and the wine.

The Chenin Blanc was perfect to drink on a spring afternoon. My wine maven kids described it as fruity, citrus taste. I just liked it. It was light and fine without food.

 

The Yekev also serves meat meals (strictly kosher of course) with wine. No doubt for meat I'd recommend, or prefer, a strong red wine.

If you want a tour, tasting and/or meal, it's best to make reservations: 

Amichai +972-50-342-2268,  Ami@shilohwinery.com, ​ Main office: Office@shilohwinery.com ​, Shiloh Industrial Zone Israel ​

Israeli Craft Beer Festival in Jerusalem First Station

It's rather embarrassing to admit that it has taken me so long to blog about the Israeli Craft Beer Festival in Jerusalem First Station. Considering that I really enjoy attending that beer festival. It offers a great choice of small Israeli craft beers. You're not going to find any of the larger companies, like Shapiro, Jem's, Malka, Shevet or Beer Bazaar.

Considering that it's much more difficult to find these smaller and newer craft beers commercially, versus the beers I've mentioned, I didn't miss the big ones at this venue. 

For those of us who like beer and are adventurous, enjoy tasting relatively unknown craft beers, this festival is like a gift from Gd.

It may be hard to believe, and even I'm very surprised, but besides one beer which I found rather tasteless, they were all drinkable to excellent.

How did I manage to sample a very large percentage of the beers?

On the right you can see me in my "beer tasters T-shirt." At various Israeli beer events, you'll probably see Doug Greener of Israel Brews and Views in a similar shirt. I'm one of the crew. Some of you may be familiar with his beer reviews in the Jerusalem Post.

Doug and the beer tasters at the 
Israeli Craft Beer Festival, Jerusalem First Station

At last year's Israeli Craft Beer Festival in Jerusalem First Station, the odd man out was an Israeli Whiskey, which we had also sampled. This year I was disappointed when I couldn't find them at the fair. It was excellent, so no surprise that soon after the festival we heard that it had won first prize in an international contest. Milk & Honey (M&H) has been awarded the title of ‘world’s best single malt’ by The World Drinks Awards.

In the end there was something VERY different. This year there was mead. What's mead? You may ask; I sure did. It's a liquor made from honey. It's a traditional alcoholic drink in areas where honey is much more common than grape vines. Here in the Land of Israel, grapes are much more common; even I have a mini-vineyard in my garden. They are that easy to grow. But in other parts of the world there are many bee hives for honey. They make and drink mead, while wine is our traditional drink. 

If you have the opportunity to drink/buy mead, go for it. I prefer those I tasted at the festival to many wines.

I'll repeat that this year's selection of Israeli craft beer provided lots of tasty beers of all types. I'm not going to list a favorite or say which was the one disappointing beer, since the same brewery also had a really good one.

Don't be afraid to try the various Israeli craft beers if you have an opportunity, and if you can make it to next year's craft beer festival, go.

Following are more photos from the festival.

Very Good Red Wine

A neighbor brought us this wine on Shabbat. היוצר Hayotzer, VIRTUOSO, and it was really good. It had a great smooth taste, very fruity. This is one of the best red wines I can remember. It was very pleasant to drink.

I must admit that frequently I don't like red wines, even or especially, the "good ones." I sometimes feel a strange sticky after-taste. But I really liked this VIRTUOSO from Hayotzer. I searched for its site on the internet but couldn't find one.

I usually end up buying whites and roses, not many reds. This wine does make nice gifts. I'll have to remember for the future if I ever see it.

Growing Grapes, Report

Our grapes are growing but still far from edible. The neighbor who shares them with us for making wine has now covered them with netting and added some wasp traps.

I've also been asked to water them periodically, every few weeks, which I've done. Now we still have a couple of months to wait until they are ripe, delicious for eating and winemaking.  Further reports to follow, Gd willing.

Oops! How Can I Fix This?

For the very first time I opened a bottle of wine with a corkscrew. That's the good news. The bad news is that the cork is stuck in the opener/corkscrew.

I'd appreciate suggestions. And even better, if you live nearby, please come and help, thanks.

Instead of The Usual Shabbat Wine... Israeli Beer

A few years ago, my friend Doug, of  Israel Brews and Views, got me hooked on Israeli craft beers. Since then, I've even been a panelist at tastings he has run. And I also attended a beermakers session at Biratenu in downtown Jerusalem. 

Not that long ago, it was very hard to buy Israeli craft beers in stores; you had to find the beermakers by word of mouth. But I've had some from the larger ones in restaurants in the shuq (Machane Yehuda) and now there are quite a few stores selling them.

The big problem is carrying the bottles home. They don't sell brands like these in Rami Levy, Sha'ar Binyamin, sigh. I would love to drink these Israeli beers on Shabbat instead of wine. Someday, Gd willing.

Grape Update- What's New in The Vineyard

As many of you know, I consider the fruitfulness of our little "vineyard" as proof that the Shiloh area is the spot Gd created for grape-growing. With less than minimal care over the years, the three vines planted about twenty-five years ago have produced a very impressive amount of absolutely delicious grapes. The key is patience. They are late-ripening ones.

A few years ago, a neighbor made a deal with us and used our grapes, there were still plenty left for eating, to make a nice white wine. And this year, he plans on doing it again. He even covered the vines with some netting he had.

Gd willing, I'll let you know in a few months what happens. And I've also told the gardener who cleared out the "forest primeval" that I'd like him to hang the vines this coming winter. That should give us a better, larger and easier to harvest crop of grapes. Now a whole section is tangled up in the rose bushes, which also need care, cropping and pruning. And on the other side the vines are slithering on the ground among the weeds.

If We Can Grow Grapes in Shiloh, then it is The Best Place for Vinyards

I must admit that my husband and I are the worst gardeners in the world. I used to do some gardening and even schlepped home and planted gorgeous rose bushes, all shades but red. Way back when, I planted trees and flowers, too. But in recent years, nada, nothing. Our rose bushes are a thorny nightmare, and the rest of the "garden" makes the forest primeval look cultivated and landscaped.

There are two exceptions, a large olive tree planted by the community (Shiloh)before we built our house and our vineyard, which was planned and planted with the help of some neighbors many (about 25) years ago.

Every year we, and some neighbors, enjoy the riches of our fruitful vineyard. And it is 100% clear that this is due to Gd, and Gd only, because we really don't do anything but enjoy it. Our grapes are more than organic; they are Gifts from Gd.

grapes from our vineyard 

Agricultural experts and archaeologists here are discovering how many rich this area once was in terms of grape-growing. At the כנס שילה Kennes Shiloh Conference we saw more newly discovered ancient vats and heard Professor Shivi Drori speak of the numerous ancient grapes that had grown here and are being discovered all over Israel. Local wines were big business, because wine was a daily drink.

And it's very obvious that if we can grow grapes, they must really be growing "wild."

Fizzy, Italian Kosher Wine

One of our Shabbat Chol Hamoed guests brought us a new for my family wine.

It's davka, Italian and fizzy, Bartenura.

Some family members fell in love with the sapphire blue bottle, and one of my grandchildren considered it a tasty sweet soda. I guess we have to keep an eye out for that one.

The bottle's color is very much like the "Hebron blue glass" which is probably still produced and sold in Hebron and Bethlehem. I remember stores full of glass jugs of a similar color in the days before "peace" when Jews could safely and freely walk around those cities. There were tourist glass shops in Bethlehem right next to Kever Rachel. Now the area around Kever Rachel is literally an armed camp, with thick walls and lots of guards and soldiers. Sorry, but I hadn't planned on getting into politics here. I just wanted to blog about the fizzy wine.

Back to the wine. I had first tasted it in Phoenix, AZ, when spending Shabbat there. Honestly, it tasted better in Phoenix than in Shiloh. Maybe because here in Shiloh we have such a wonderful selection of great kosher Israeli wines at reasonable prices, yes, including fizzy ones.

What do you think?

Why The Best Wine is From HERE!

 

When I write "here" or "HERE" I'm referring to the Shiloh area, the genuine Bible Land, Efrayim-Menashe tribal lands.  There's an article in Arutz 7 explaining that famous French wine grapes are actually from here, brought there a millennium ago.

"The grapes used to make Chardonnay are actually grapes that the French Crusaders brought back from here," Harow stated. She said that Israeli wine experts have been explaining that the word Chardonnay actually comes from two Hebrew words meaning "gate of G-d." (Sha'ar Adonoiy)
"We tasted the award-winning wines, but there's something much more then the quality," Harow commented. "We saw the ancient wine presses and the some 2,000 little huts that were found in the regions of Ephraim and Menashe. As good as the wine was its so much more," she said. Further evidence that most French wines are named after the region from where the grapes grow, such as Burgundy and Bordeaux, however there is no such region called Chardonnay in France.

The secret is now out!


 

Chardonnay grapes Wikipedia

more of my grapes

my green grapes before fully ripe


No doubt in the hands of experienced winemakers fantastic wines can be made from my small vineyard.