Hagibor Brewery: A short introduction

Eran Grunwald has been brewing beer since 2012 -- not a very long time in home-brewers' years.  Yet he was sure enough of himself and his beers to start brewing commercially about two years ago.

"We brought in our new equipment to the Meadan Brewery in Carmiel and started to brew our beers there.  Meadan recently ceased operations and the brewery is now used solely for our brand -- HaGibor."

That means "The Hero" in Hebrew and I asked Eran whom that refers to.

"That's my van, whose drawing is on all of our labels," he laughs.  "When we started brewing, it really was our hero, bringing in supplies and delivering beer non-stop."

Today, HaGibor Brewmaster Yoni Batash produces around 25,000 liters a month, including beer which is contract brewed for others.

"We have 14 fermenters of 2,000 liters each," Eran explains, "plus we have a cooling system for lagering beer.  This is not very common in Israel and several other brewers also use this facility."

The brewery recently opened a Visitors' Center and Beer Garden that is a popular venue for locals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

HaGibor brews five core beers:

A section of the HaGibor Brewery in Carmiel.
(Photo: Mike Horton)

Blondie -- A Blond Ale (5.6% alcohol by volume), brewed with spices, yeasty and spicy with orange the most recognizable aroma and flavor.

Bavarian Wheat -- A classic weissbier (5.2% ABV), with aromas of wheat, sweet spice, cloves and citrus.

Brown Ale -- Yeasty and toasty, with bitterness and flavors not associated with brown ale. 5.3% ABV.

Extra Stout -- On the drier side of the stouts scale (5.5% ABV), with roasted malt, chocolate and coffee aromas and flavors.

IPA -- One of my favorite Israeli IPAs. Very well balanced with citrusy hops, malt, and yeast flavors. 7.3% ABV.
Eran says that the Bavarian Wheat is the best seller, followed by the IPA.

Eran Grunwald (the big guy), owner of the
HaGibor Brewery, "donates" some of
his beers to the old blogger.

In addition, HaGibor has just introduced its first seasonal beer -- a Winter Ale, a high-spiced, high-alcohol (9.7%) beer in the style of the many "Holiday" or "Christmas" ales brewed in other countries.  It's amber colored and spiced with orange peel, cinnamon, star anise, and "other good things."

The Winter Ale is still not available in Jerusalem (our eternal capital) so I haven't had a chance to taste it.  But I'm working on it and will certainly give you my report as soon as the beer and I can get together.