This
has been a productive season for new Israeli craft beers. I'm counting something like nine or ten
within the space of a few months. Here
are my notes on four of them.
Sheeta
Pumpkin Ale
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American pumpkins are not only good
for eating, but can be carved into
Halloween jack o'lanterns.
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The Sheeta Brewery in Arad (eastern Negev) has
introduced a seasonal Pumpkin Ale. As far as I know, the only
other Israeli brewery that makes this style of beer is Galil, which has been
doing it for several years.
Pumpkin
Ales are widely known in the U.S., where pumpkins are pumpkins, not the Middle
East orange squash (British say marrow) known as dla'at. These ales seem to be either loved or
hated. Most of them are highly spiced
and try to imitate the iconic American pumpkin pie, also loved (as by me) or
hated!
We
tasted the Sheeta Pumpkin Ale on tap at Beerateinu in Jerusalem. At the time, it was not available in bottles,
although I understand that it soon will be.
In the glass, it's a hazy, dark copper color with a thin head. It's made with cinnamon, and this is readily
detected in the aroma and taste. It's a
spicy brew, although I would call the taste more of a pumpkin cake than a
pumpkin pie. You get the sweet spice
with a slightly ascetic background. The
finish, though, is dry and refreshing.
Alcohol by volume is 6.1%.
In
short, the Sheeta Pumpkin Ale doesn't have the full oomph of some American
Pumpkin Ales which are liquid pies, but conveys the style in a tasty,
forthright manner.
Shapiro
Double IPA
The Shapiro Brewery in Beit Shemesh has launched a new Double IPA (DIPA) to help keep away the winter chills. At a loud and lovely event at the brewery, the public was introduced to the new beer on tap and in bottles. I got there early and was one of the first tasters outside of the Shapiro family, and got to talk with Head Brewer Ory Sofer about the new beer.
"We
look at this beer as an IPA for the winter," Ory told me. "It's a 'double' because it's made with
more hops – over seven kilograms [15 pounds] of Mosaic and Cascade hops for our
1,000 liter [265 gallon] batch – and is more alcoholic – 8.5% – than regular
IPAs.
"Out
of this batch, we made two kegs, which are being pumped here at the launch, and
the rest we bottled. It's a very limited
edition."
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Head Brewer Ory Sofer in the
Shapiro Brewery in Beit Shemesh. |
Ory
added that Shapiro will continue and expand its program of producing seasonal
beers, supplementing the summertime IPA and the wintertime Jack's Winter Ale.
We
tasted the beer from the tap and from the bottle: no discernible
difference. It's a dark copper color,
clear as a bell, with a thin white head.
Wonderful aromas of grapefruit, lemon and pineapple greet you, along
with the strong malt. The hop flavors
also include pineapple and grapefruit, with perhaps some orange peel. Although the fruit taste is bitter, the
finish actually brings out the sweetness of the fruit. My drinking partner Moshe said it even reminded
him of a "sugary dried date."
For
a DIPA, it's exceptionally well balanced.
Don't drink this beer ice cold to experience the full depth of the
different flavors. In fact, the Shapiro
DIPA an extraordinary beer that Ory and his team – and all of us Israeli
dwellers – can be proud of.
Bazelet
Porter
After
many years without introducing a new beer, the Bazelet Brewery on the Golan
Heights (Katzrin), has brought out a Porter, at 4.7% ABV.
Porters
have a famous history of going back to London in the 18th century when,
it was said, a new kind of heavier, darker beer with a roasted taste found
favor with the river and street laborers – the porters. It gave them a nice boost of alcohol and
carbohydrates at the end of the day, and was tastier than the other beers being
served at the time.
Be
that as it may, the Bazelet Porter is a very dark brown with reddish flecks,
and has a tan head. The aroma includes
strong roasted malt and chocolate, with some yeasty bread notes. The flavors are pretty mild, including bitter
chocolate and caramel against a semi-sweet background. To get better flavors, let the beer warm up a
bit before you drink it.
The
body is thin for a porter, but the finish is dry and bitter as it should
be. In total, not a bad beer, but a
porter should have room for stronger tastes and a fuller body.
BeerBazaar
OMG (2020)
For
the third year in a row, the BeerBazaar Brewery in Kiryat Gat has brought out a
new version of its winter super-beer, OMG (Oh My Goodness). This year it's an Imperial Stout, 8.5% alcohol, aged for five months in
barrels which held whisky and rum from the Golan Heights Distillery. Only
500 numbered bottles were produced. They are available only at the
BeerBazaar pubs, where you can also buy the beer on tap.
I've said this before and I'll probably say it
again: There is a special category of darker and stronger beers (which cuts
across style guidelines) that are made to be sipped and savored. They're closer to whiskeys and liqueurs than
they are to lagers and light ales, or even to porters and stouts. They should not be drunk ice cold, but at
temperatures about 12°-14° Centigrade (55°-57° Fahrenheit). If they pair well with any food, it's usually
no more than hard cheeses or desserts.
Many, but not all, can be stored for several years and will probably
improve.
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"Oh My Goodness":
That's me reacting to the
BeerBazaar's 2020 OMG,
while Jeremy Cowan, Proprietor of the
Shmaltz Brewing Co. in New York, looks on.
(Photo: Mike Horton) |
The three versions of OMG are in this
category. The 2020 Imperial Stout lets
you know this as soon as you see it in the glass. I tasted it from the tap at the BeerBazaar in
Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market. I was
joined by Jeremy Cowan, Proprietor of the Shmaltz Brewing Co. (He'Brew Beer),
who was visiting from New York. I thank
Jeremy for his companionship and his comments.
I
already wrote some background about the beer (which you can read here),
but it was only recently that I had a chance to taste it and write my review.
OMG
2020 is pitch black in the glass with thick tan foam. Each whiff conjures up different aromas:
chocolate, coffee, rum, dark fruits. The
taste is sweet and very boozy, with flavors of chocolate, raisins, molasses,
rum, oak and vanilla. The body is full
and syrupy, with a long a sweet finish.
The
2020 version certainly upholds the excellent reputation of OMG beers from the
BeerBazaar – a real credit to Lior Weiss and his brewing team.
