For
the past two or three years, some of the established Israeli craft breweries
have been unveiling new beers at the annual BEERS Festival in Tel Aviv. This year, three of them did so, and by now
you can buy them in most stores wherever the brands are sold.
Two
of them are stouts – the dark, heavy, roasty tasting beers made famous by Guinness
of Ireland. There are several different
stout styles: they can be dry or a little sweet (milk stout), full-bodied or
thin, and relatively low in alcohol or high (imperial stout).
Stout
beers are popular all over the world (I hear especially in Africa), and here in
Israel many of the established craft breweries make this style.
Carobbean Stout from Dancing Camel
in Tel Aviv

Many
stouts are, however, made with coffee and/or chocolate added to the brewing
process to give the beer these rich, dark tastes. So why wouldn't carob work just as well.
It
does. This is a strong stout that pours
out a luscious dark brown with a tan creamy head. Carob is noticeable even in the aroma, and
the flavors include carob, chocolate and caramel sugar. Even though this is a strong stout with 7.2%
alcohol by volume, you don't feel the alcohol in the taste.
Choose
this stout when you're eating rich and spicy foods, cheddar cheese or even dark
chocolate desserts.
Mosco Stout from the Mosco Brewery
on Moshav Zanuach

It
pours out very dark, though has a much lower alcohol level than Carobbean, only 4.8%, closer to
the average ABV for stouts. The dominant
aroma and flavor here is coffee, roasted coffee to be exact, with some yeast. Moshe, my trusty drinking buddy, called it "an
aggressive beer, rough," but it has a dry, bitter finish which I
especially liked.
If
you're a lover of classical stouts, this is a good one for you.
"M" from the Alexander Brewery
in Emek Hefer
The
Alexander Brewery in Emek Hefer unveiled their new "M" Beer, a Belgian
saison-style. Not too many Israeli
breweries are making saisons, a beer traditionally brewed in the rural areas of
France and Belgium during the cold months for drinking in the spring and summer
seasons – hence its name. Saisons are
noted for their intense flavors, whether fruity, yeasty or spicy. They are usually highly carbonated and rather
bitter.
Alexander
owner Ori Sagi told me at the BEERS Festival that "M" is named for
the variety of ancient emmer wheat which is used for brewing this beer. But what really gives saison its
distinguishing characteristics is the yeast used. Alexander imports its saison yeast directly
from a Belgian brewery.
The
smell of spicy hops is apparent in this pale orange-colored ale, as is sour
grass. The traditional saison tastes are
also there, like spice, citrus and a light sourness. Moshe, with a bit too much exaggeration,
compared this beer to a "vegetable shake." I appreciated the dry, fruity finish. Alcoholic content is a comfortable 5.2%.
Saisons
are delicious by themselves and also go well with spicy foods like Thai or our
own Middle Eastern dishes such as felafel, hummus and tehina. They are also fine with fatty cheeses like
brie.
These
three beers are welcome additions to Israel's growing craft beer repertoire. Look for them in liquor stores. If they're not there, ask for them.
Wow, these do sound great!!
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