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In addition to brewing his Chalutz Chadash beers, Gilad Ne-Eman owns and operates the Brew Shop Israel and organizes craft beer festivals in Beersheva. |
Good things in small packages, as they say. One of the smaller jewels on the Israeli craft brewing scene is the Chalutz Chadash ("New Pioneer") Brewery in Beersheva. The brewery was founded and is maintained by Gilad Ne-Eman, first under the name of HeChalutz ("The Pioneer") and then Tog (with partner Tomer Ronen). Along the way, Gilad also operates the Brew Shop Israel and organizes beer festivals in Beersheva. Gilad is a true entrepreneur, disregarding nay-sayers and prophets of doom, and forging ahead with his brewing and business plans.
Chalutz Chadash has come out with three very interesting Imperial Stouts. They were all brewed at the Hatch Brewery in Jerusalem.
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Project 27, an Experimental Imperial Stout from Chalutz Chadash, is available in gift packages of two bottles, a bar of chocolate from Korint chocolate makers, and a branded glass. |
The newest is Project 27, an Experimental Imperial Stout, made with mead and cocoa nibs. Gilad explains that the beer and the mead were fermented separately, and then blended together before being aged with cocoa nibs from Korint chocolate makers in Beersheva. Korint participates in the AllGood project whose members hire people with disabilities.
The beer pours out the darkest brown, opaque to all light, with a thin tan head of fine bubbles. You see the full body even as you pour. The aromas bring intense roast and dark chocolate, with some coffee in the background. I found the taste reversing the aroma: Strong bitter coffee is up front, with chocolate in the rear. The aftertaste is long and bitter with some alcohol heat in the throat, and low carbonation on the tongue.
I compared Project 27 to drinking a cup of strong coffee with a little cocoa powder sprinkled in. I ask those in a higher pay scale than mine: Where is the mead? I assume it's there, adding something to the aroma and taste, but I could not distinguish it. Project 27 is a very imperial Imperial Stout (not only because of the 10.1% ABV), very enjoyable if you sip it as you should, perhaps with a piece of cheesecake or aged cheese.
One question remains: The slogan on the impressive black-and-white label says, "There are many ways to die, one of them is to live." I think I know English pretty well, having gone to elementary school in the Bronx, but I have no idea what this means. If anyone can help me out, I'd be much obliged.
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Sho'er HaYom and Sho'er HaLayla: Two Imperial Stouts from the Chalutz Chadash Brewery in Beersheva. |
The other two Imperial Stouts are named Sho'er HaYom ("Day Watchman") and Sho'er HaLayla ("Night Watchman"). Though they are both dated 2021, be assured that they are the most current versions of these beers. The both of them began as the same batch of Imperial Stout, which was divided into two. Sho'er HaYom was bottled immediately after fermentation, while Sho'er HaLayla was aged for six weeks in ex-bourbon barrels from the Milk & Honey Distillery in Tel Aviv. They both have an ABV of 9.3%.
The labels compare them in pictures and words to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the famous novel by Robert Lewis Stevenson of the tortured schizophrenic soul (Dr. Jekyll) who was a healer by day but turned into a killer at night. The labels also include Stevenson's quote: "You must suffer me to go my own dark way." Indeed.
Sho'er HaYom has the color and opaqueness of Project 27 (as does Sho'er HaLayla). The aromas are coffee, some phenolic spice from the hops, and low intensive alcohol and roast. The taste opens with intense dark chocolate, followed by bitter coffee. The finish is long, spicy and bitter-sweet. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and a bit sharp. I call this a "tough" Imperial Stout. It's not for sissies or for Stout novices, but it is enjoyable for what it is: A warming, self-indulgent beer that you savor in small sips.
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The Chalutz Chadash Brewery received top rating on Untappd for all Israeli breweries. |
Sho'er HaLayla is quite similar. The barrel aging adds a lot more alcohol (bourbon whiskey) to the first whiffs, along with black coffee, chocolate and wood. The taste is very complex, as you would expect from barrel aging: There's whiskey, of course, along with coffee, hazelnut and vanilla, with chocolate in the background. The finish here too is strong and bitter, with a mouthfeel that brings a full body and alcoholic warmth.
Gilad must be doing something right with all of his beers, not just these three Imperial Stouts, since Chalutz Chadash just received top rating on Untappd for all Israeli breweries. This is a site where people all over the world can announce which beer they are drinking and give it a rating (0 - 5). Beers from Chalutz Chadash got a rating average of 3.744. Congratulations!
You can order these Imperial Stouts and other Chalutz Chadash beers from their online store at: https://www.b7beerhouse.com/newpioneerbeer