The Mateh Yehuda beer event

There was nothing new at the Mateh Yehuda beer event held March 19-20 on Kibbutz Netiv Halamed Hey.  Seven booths for seven brewers, all from the Mateh Yehuda region, plus a few food vendors selling hot dogs and hummus.  Suitable for this time of year, the booths were indoors, in a kind of warehouse structure.  Not very festive.

But it did give me a chance to renew old acquaintances with the brewers there:

Shapiro and Buster's:
Before the imbibers arrived. 

Itzik Shapiro from Shapiro Brewery (Beit Shemesh)

Itzik told me that his brewery's Purim charity project, with customers buying cases of 24 beer bottles with personal labels, was a big success.  More than 100 cases were sold, with the profits going to the Shekel charitable organization, providing community services for people with special needs.

He also said that Shapiro was bringing out a new, as yet unnamed beer later this year.

Denny Neilson from Isra-Ale and Buster's (Mevasseret Zion and Noham)

It was a great pleasure to taste Denny's double IPA, Chutzpah, which is normally available only at his brewery and store.  (Read more about Denny and his Chutzpah here.)

Amir Lev from Mosco (Moshav Zanoach)

I tried Amir's new Pilsner lager, which will probably not be brought to the market anytime soon.  It's very light and mild, only 3.8% alcohol by volume, and I found it quite taste deficient.  (You can read the story behind Mosco Beers here.)

Home-brewer Mark Markish by the
Hashahar Brewery booth,
with Ronnie Calderon.

Ronnie Calderon from Hashahar (Mevasseret Zion)

I re-acquainted myself with his IPA, a flavorful and refreshing beer, though not as hops-forward as other IPAs.  (Read about Ronnie and Sharon Calderon and their home brewery here.)

Aram Dekel from Abeer Ha'ela (Kibbbutz Tzafririm)

My friends and I paused to sip and savor his "Crispy," a delicious honey-wheat beer that Aram told me would pair well with any strong cheese.


Leon Solomon from Samson (Kibbutz Tzora)

Harriet and Leon Solomon at the
Samson Brewery booth.

Leon and his wife Harriet were pouring beer and selling soft pretzels in what may be Samson's final event.  Leon recently closed his pub on the kibbutz.  The good news is that he's not going to stop
brewing, if only for his family and friends.

I tried his stout, which was missing when I visited him a few months ago (read about it here), and found it creamy and delicious, with a nice roasted malt taste well balanced with the hops.  

Ofer Ronen from Srigim Brewery -- Ronen and Emek Ha'ela (Moshav Srigim)

Ofer told me that the brewery is expanding and that he is looking into the possibility of exporting his beers.  I wish him much luck.  Alexander and Malka are already in the U.S. and selling well in a number of states.

Afterwards, Barak Katz, one of the event's organizers from the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, told me that the local beer festival is usually held twice a year, though there was none this past summer.

"This one was put at the last weekend of our Rural Food Festival, and is intended more for local area residents," he added.  "We are already planning our big beer festival for the end of June or the end of August.  I'll keep you informed.  That's my job."

And I'll keep all of you informed -- on this and all the other 2015 beer festivals that are coming our way.