With restaurants, bars and pubs closed to the public, beer sales are
being made only through retail outlets like supermarkets and grocery
stores. Although some beer and liquor
stores are open or doing home deliveries, foot traffic and sales are way down
as customers are confined to their homes.
Ofer Ronen, partner of
the Srigim Brewery in Srigim (Li-On), welcomed the old blogger to the brewery in better days. |
"With all of our employees on 'vacation,' we have stopped brewing, of course, and are selling our bottled beer by direct home delivery, even though this is bringing in only about 5% of our regular revenue. We have upgraded our website and are selling beer in 4-packs, 6-packs, and 24-bottle cartons.
"My partner Ohad Eilon and I do everything alone. We prepare the shipments and then deliver
them. Sometimes we have to call a
customer and ask if we can bring the beer late at night. No one refuses. When you bring beer to someone, they always
have a smile on their face."
Other Israeli craft breweries have also begun to do home
deliveries, just to keep their business in operation. A partial list includes: Alexander,
BeerBazaar, Buster's (Oak & Ash), Jem's, Mosco, Shevet, Dancing Camel, Sheeta, Arava, Barzel,
HaGibor, Shapiro and HaDubim. Beer
specialty stores and pubs are also delivering, including Beerateinu, Beer Market, Beer &
Beyond, Kishkashta, Beit HaBira, Beer Station, Bira Nekuda, Beer Point, and
Beer Shop. Check their Facebook pages or
website for details, including areas of delivery.
![]() |
Assaf Lavi, brewer and partner
of
the Malka Brewery in Tefen,
holds some of the malted barley
used in making
beer.
(Photo: Mike Horton)
|
"What we do on our new web page is to give a list of the
retail outlets that are selling our beers by home delivery. This seems to be a fair compromise."
Lavi noted that even if the retail sales are continuing (though
much less than usual), the sale of Malka Beer in kegs to bars and restaurants
accounted for 70% of turnover, and this is completely ended. This figure appears to be the norm with all
other breweries as well.
![]() |
The five new bottles
which the Malka Brewery is releasing for Yom Atzmaut. Each has the image of a different Jewish or Israeli leader. |
David Cohen, owner of
the Dancing Camel Brewery in Tel Aviv, greets visitors at a local beer festival. |
"The virus hit us at a very critical time. Before Pesach, retail outlets order a lot
less beer because they don't want to get stuck with it over the holiday. And that's exactly when the shutdown
began. So even the recovery we were
expecting after Pesach isn’t going to happen."
Cohen says that government support is now crucial if small
breweries are to survive. "We have
some staying power, but it's not unlimited," he appeals. "There is no plan in place that will
save us if this continues even a little while longer. The government has to adopt a program to help
small businesses like us."
Ori Sagy, the owner of Alexander Brewery in Emek Hefer, has
developed a policy of free home delivery to anywhere in Israel to keep his
brewery in business.
"We advertise on social media," he explains, "asking for a minimum order of 12 bottles. This costs 130 shekels. Members of our Customer Club get a 10% discount, but you can join when you order and get the discount immediately."
"We advertise on social media," he explains, "asking for a minimum order of 12 bottles. This costs 130 shekels. Members of our Customer Club get a 10% discount, but you can join when you order and get the discount immediately."
For Israeli craft beer, this is considered a low price. It is in line with all other breweries, who
have also brought their prices down during this period.
"This is great time to buy Israeli craft beer online,"
Sagy declares. "Prices are low and
we will keep them low for Yom Atzmaut.
Now is the time for everyone to buy local and drink excellent Israeli
beer!"
A version of this article appeared Friday, April 24, in
The Jerusalem Post local weekly, In Jerusalem.