There have been a slew of new beers recently from the BeerBazaar Brewery in Kiryat Gat. The supply has been rather sketchy since they are brewed in limited quantities and sell out quickly in stores, including BeerBazaar's own chain of pubs, and in the online store (beerbazaar.com). But most of them will be making comebacks so you should keep looking for them.
Two of the most unusual were brewed in collaboration with the Klotzman Orchards near Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh in Emek Hefer. They grow some rare fruits there, including 10-12 varieties of lemons. These varieties are only grown in a few countries outside of Italy and France.
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Bergamot lemons in the Klotzman Orchards. |
The orchards were founded in 1906 by the great-grandfather of the two current owners, brothers Ben and Gal Alon. (Klotzman, which means "woodsman" or "woodworker" in German, was Hebraized to Alon, which mean "oak tree," a generation ago.)
"We sell our lemons to individuals, mostly food enthusiasts, and gourmet restaurants," says Ben Alon. "Lior Weiss, the Brewmaster at the BeerBazaar Brewery, and I thought of the idea of making beer with two varieties of these lemons: the Interdonato and the Bergamot. Both of these are grown mainly for the zest from their outer rind. The inner rind and pulp are too bitter for use."
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Ben Alon of the Klotzman Orchards carefully removed all of the green rind from these Interdonato lemons. |
The two most well-known products for these lemons are Lemoncello, a popular Italian aperitif, which incorporates the rind of the Interdonato, and Earl Grey tea, which is flavored with oil from the skin of the Bergamot.
"For the beers," explains Ben, "I grated all of the lemons by myself. I hope that these beers will give people a taste of the terroir of our orchard: the water, the earth, the sunshine."
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Ben Alon (left) of the Klotzman Orchards shows viewers an Interdonato lemon. With him is Lior Weiss, Brewmaster of the BeerBazaar Brewery in Kiryat Gat. |
Both of the beers are named after the lemons. Interdonato beer, according to Lior Weiss, "is based on American pale ale, and we dry-hop it with Citra hops and lemon zest."
So what does this bring us?
Interdonato beer is a clear, light orange color with a big foamy head. The aroma is rather grassy, but you also get the smell of lemon tea. Perhaps with lemons, you would expect a sour taste, but there isn't much of that. What there is is a full bitterness, perked up with lemon tea and lemon popsicle. It's a taste that makes you thirsty, which is not bad in a beer since you want to keep drinking. ABV is 5.2%.
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Bottles of Interdonato and Bergamot beer from the BeerBazaar Brewery, made in collaboration with the Klotzman Orchards. |
The Bergamot, we agreed, is the more complex and sophisticated of the two, but the Interdonato was more interesting and, in the end, more enjoyable.
Kudos to the BeerBazaar Brewery for taking this brave step and introducing two innovative beers which, while tasty, are outside of the comfort zone of most beer drinkers.