2019 BEERS Exhibit -- Tel Aviv, April 29-30

After trying the "festival" format for several years, BEERS is returning this year as a true exhibit.  No rowdy visitors out to get drunk quickly and cheaply (I hope!).  Just stands upon stands of breweries, retailers and importers offering their beers to a public that appreciates them. 

BEERS is taking place in Tel Aviv's Heichal Tarbut (the Charles Bronfman Auditorium), this Monday and Tuesday, April 29 and 30.  Opening hours for the general public are 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  Tickets are 95 shekels (good for one of the days), which includes free tastings of all the beers at the exhibit, and coupons worth 30 shekels for buying bottles to bring home.

The organizers promise that "tens" of beer brands will be on display, both Israeli and foreign.  In the past, BEERS has always been the preferred venue for importers to introduce new brands they are bringing into Israel, and for Israeli craft breweries to introduce new beers.

This year the new offerings are said to include a spicy chili beer from HaDubim ("The Bears"), Israel's first "wild" yeast sour beer from Shapiro, a new single-malt, single-hop IPA from Six-Pack Brewery, and the first public introduction of beers from the new Shevet Brewery. 

If you're anywhere in Israel, and if craft beer is your passion (or one of them), you don't want to miss being at the BEERS Exhibit.                  

For more information (in Hebrew) on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/261706231396255/

For ordering tickets online:  www.eventbuzz.co.il/lp/event/beers2019

The first BeerYamina Home-Brew Competition

If every country has a pyramid of beer brewing, then the peak represents the few macro-brewers, the industrialized giants which account for the vast (if not the best) share of the country's beer.

Lower down the pyramid are the craft-micro-boutique breweries -- counted in the tens, hundreds or, in America's case, thousands.

The BeerYamina home-brew
competition logo.

But at the broad base of the pyramid are the home-brewers, basically uncountable, brewing beer in their kitchens or dedicated rooms, serious about every step in the process or just having fun, strictly amateur or thinking ahead to maybe monetize their hobby.  These are the brewers, ignoring the demands of the marketplace, who are pushing the envelope, expanding the boundaries, taking chances with new and hybrid beer styles which may someday become our standard.

Gil Sonnenreich receiving his Best-of-Show
Certificate at the BeerYamina awards ceremony,
held at the new Shevet Brewery.
Left to right: Rotem Zin, Assaf Friedman,
Omer Basha, Gil, Sahar Nevo
and Na'ama Ashkenazi. 
(Photo: Tal Alfandary)

In Israel, the season has begun for home-brewing competitions, giving home-brewers a chance to pit their creations against others and have their brief moments in the spotlight.

This year, the first competition was the brand-new BeerYamina, which received 122 entries from 69 home-brewers around the country, instantly making it the largest home-brewing contest in the country.

The idea for BeerYamina was hatched by three friends who were studying to qualify for the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), an internationally recognized course for preparing beer judges: Assaf Friedman, Sahar Nevo and Gal Valency.  They wanted a competition in Israel which was based on the BJCP standards. 

They enlisted the aid of Na'ama Ashkenazi, the Israeli "Queen of Beer," Shai Ben Ishay, and Rotem Zin and Dar Attar of Biguns, the Center for Culinary Hobbies.  (Biguns today sells equipment and supplies for home-brewers, cheese makers and meat lovers.  They also host a beer club in association with Na'ama Ashkenazi, and transform into a beer garden every Thursday night with craft beer from Israel and around the world.)  The new Shevet Brewery in Pardes Hanna, represented by Yotam Baras, head of sales and marketing, agreed to sponsor the competition and host the judging sessions and awards ceremony.

In the middle of a judging session at the
BeerYamina home-brew competition.
(Photo: Tal Alfandary)

Together, the organizing team took the following steps to ensure maximum participation and professionalism:

* Set up a website and a Facebook page to publicize the competition.
* Made a video demonstrating to all contestants how the beer should be presented for entry.
* Held meetings with contestants to explain the contest guidelines, different beer styles, etc.
* Established locations in different cities where contestants could enter their beers.

A panel of 16 BJCP judges, chaired by Omer Basha of Beersheva, tasted all the entries over a period of three days, and awarded prizes in nine categories.

Here then is the list of winners:     

Best of Show

Gil Sonnenreich -- Smoked Doppelbock

American & Specialty IPA

First:  Eyal Grossman

Second:  Tony Fall

Third:  Raz Mis

English IPA & Bitters

First:  Tony Fall

Second:  Oleg Sokhatchevski

Third:  Avidan Avraham

Classic Europe

First:  Rafi Kent

Second:  Raviv Dolev

Third:  Boaz Lanner

American Amber Ale

First:  Elad Shababo

Second:  Tomer and Aviv Vromen 

Third:  Naveh Lazar
Honorable Mention: Ohad Boxerman (The Excuse Brewery) 

     

American Pale Ale
First:  Alex Filimonov

Second:  Noam Hadar

Third:  Gil Kraus
Honorable Mention: Gal Valency

Wheat & Pale Ales

First:  Omer Laser

Second: Omer Laser

Third: Leonid Margolin and Rick Novokolsky

Belgian & Sour Ales

First:  Philip Levin and Murat Nepesov

Second: Gil Sonnenreich (SonnenBrew)

Third: Philip Levin and Murat Nepesov
Third: Roy Nesher
Honorable Mention: Noam Shalev

Porters & Strong Ales

First:  Gil Sonnenreich (SonnenBrew)

Second: Guy Haimovitz (Dr. Hops Brewing)

Third: Ilia Gaisinsky and Danny Bernshtein

Stouts

First:  Lior Digabli (Baron's Brewing)

Second: Dor Tal

Third: Moti Gonen

Two other prizes were also awarded:

Best Brewer: Omer Laser, for the highest average score of all those who entered three or more beers.

Certificate of Appreciation: Itai Barry, for his technical skill in working with unusual ingredients, in preparing a non-alcoholic Belgian beer spiced with bark of the Cinchona tree.  

The old blogger compares empty beer glasses
with Omer Basha (left) chief judge of the
BeerYamina home-brew competition, and
Gil Sonnenreich (center), winner of the
Best-of-Show Award.
(Photo: Mike Horton)

I wish I could taste all of the winning beers, but that's a logistical nightmare.  I can't even get to all of the first-prize winners.

But your intrepid old blogger was able to contact Gil Sonnenreich of Haifa and get his Best-of-Show Smoked Doppelbock.  Bless Gil's beer-pumping heart for having the foresight to put aside a bottle for me. 

Gil has only been home-brewing for about a year-and-a-half and has already won first prizes in this BeerYamina and last year's IsraBrew competition.  Some beer judges have whispered to me that Gil is a "natural" brewer.  His combination of talent and passion, they say, will take him far in the brewing field.    

"Right now, brewing is a very enjoyable hobby for me," says Gil.  "I love making small quantities of different, sometimes experimental beers.  I almost never repeat a recipe twice.  I've brewed Schwartzbier, Kveik, New England IPA, oak-aged Imperial Stout, American Pale Ale -- and am now working on a gose (salty) style beer.

Omer Laser displays his Best Brewer award
at the BeerYamina home-brew competition. 
(Photo: Tal Alfandary)

"But the style I most love are the sour, wild beers that you don't have much control over.  The trick is to prepare a good wort, put in a lot of good microbes, and give them time to do their work.  It may take a long time, but the results are worth the wait.

"I think brewing will stay my hobby, but I'm not ruling out anything for the future." 

As to the actual tasting, I found the doppelbock to be semi-clear, reddish brown in color, with a slight smokiness in the aroma.  The taste was predominantly spice with some black pepper, garam masala, and sweet malt, including bread and caramel flavors.  Not much bitterness.  The smoke was very understated, which was fine, but I thought that a doppelbock should have been stronger in the malt.

Overall, the beer made a very good impression, but I had a problem making the jump between that and a Best-of-Show.  One of the founders and judges, Assaf Friedman, was kind enough to point out to me that I was tasting the Smoked Doppelbock more than two months after it was judged in the Best-of-Show round.  "The beer you tried wasn't the same that won the BeerYamina competition," he told me.  "Smoked malt tends to turn stronger and sweeter with time."  
  
So thank you, Assaf, for your learned answer.  I'm sure that the competent and certified beer judges made the correct call in choosing Gil's Smoked Doppelbock as the Best-of-Show.  Congratulations to Gil Sonnenreich and all the winners of the first BeerYamina competition.  I have no doubt we'll be hearing more of you in the future.     

My Letter to the Editor: Wine snobs and beer snobs

A few weeks back, The Jerusalem Post's prolific wine writer, Adam Montefiore, wrote an article against the crippling influence of wine snobs.  Though he himself is an excellent wine judge and connoisseur, Montefiore gave many good reasons why wine drinkers should rely on their own tastes in choosing and pairing wine. 

"Put wine in its rightful place," he said.  "Don’t take it too seriously.  Do not feel you have to impress or conform.  Wine is not a straitjacket any more than religion is just ritual."

You can read the whole article here. 

I was so impressed, I wrote a short letter to the editor in which I called on beer drinkers to heed the same advice.  Montefiore thanked me for my kind words.  I'm publishing it here for all my blog readers -- and perhaps beyond.               

Three cheers to Adam Montefiore for his wonderful article, "Power to the People," calling on wine drinkers to free themselves from the opinions of wine snobs and just enjoy wine any way they like it.  As an aspiring beer blogger and writer (in these pages), I wish to add the same message to beer lovers.  Refuse to be intimidated by beer snobs whether they're at your table or behind the bar.  Don't be cowed by beer style names you may not recognize or by beer-geek jargon.  Stand your ground, ask the questions that make sense to you, and choose the beer whose taste makes your mouth happy.  Remember: The best beer in the world is the one you're enjoying right now!

The first "Social Beer Festival" -- April 12

Quietly and gently, the 2019 Israeli beer festival season is opening as we write.  I'll try to keep you informed as I hear of them -- reserving my right to "pass over" those which seem to be more self-promotional than real beer festivals.

The first in sight claims to be Israel's first Social Beer Festival, with all proceeds being contributed to the Latet organization to provide meals for poor families over the Passover holiday.

It's taking place on Kibbutz Revadim, about midway between Ashdod and Jerusalem, on Friday, April 12, between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  Some 20 home-brewers will be selling their beers for 10 shekels each.  There will also be food stands and live music. Entrance is free.

Here are the names (or brands) of the home-brewers who have been publicized:

Ha-Mizbeakh
The Excuse Brewery
Gil Bronstein
Barak Luzon
Alex Fux (The Three-Legged Crow)
Yonatan Turk (Joniz)
Altman Gang-A-Bus
Beeriyot
Peleg Magen (Buah)

Some of them I know; some are new to me.  But I'm sure you'll have a good time tasting their beers.  And the  money you spend is going to a good cause.

You can see the Festival's facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/revadimbeer/

Or call 050-685-9662 (Sagiv) or 054-830-0037 (Shani). 

Two pictures and 200 words

Last week was an opportune time to have beer with friends and to meet up with successful barkeepers. 

First I went with fellow Beer Panel taster Bob Faber to the Bardak pub near the Machane Yehuda market for some vegan pizza and Jem's Amber Ale.  Bardak partner Dor served us, and Bob took this photo:  Dor just does it and I just brews it.

Then I went with Israel Brews and Views photographer Mike Horton to Beerateinu for the Jerusalem launching of six Mikkeller beers from Belgium.  We tasted all six in stylish 200 milliliter glasses.  Fine beers, but four of them -- the two IPAs, the Pale Ale and the Lager -- are already well represented here by Israeli craft brews which are different in degree but not in kind. 

However, two were really different, at least in the Israeli context: A Berliner Weisse, a sour wheat beer in this case made with passion fruit, and a Chipotle Porter, slightly smoky and spicy from the chipotle peppers. 

Of course, Mike had his camera handy and caught Beerateinu partner Shmuel Naky and the old blogger reflecting light from the top of their heads while contemplating the Mikkeller beers, some spicy hummus, and an artistically arranged pickle and olives.