The 2020 beer roundup: Beat the corona blues with a brew
Breweries have invested talent, time and money to bring their beers to the market.
By DOUG GREENERTHE WRITER strains to see the top of the giant beer fermenters at the Shevet Brewstillery in Pardes Hanna(photo credit: MIKE HORTON)
Even in the time of corona, the first six months of the new decade has been a fruitful time for Israeli craft beers – not only in numbers, but also in different styles and tastes.It’s always fun to catch up on with these new beers and to give credit where it’s due to the breweries that have invested talent, time and money to bring them to the market.I also never forget that just a few years ago the idea of finding and reporting on new Israeli beers would have been in the realm of fiction.Here are some newcomers you should look for in beer and liquor stores, pubs and bars.Shevet Small Batch ESBFrom the Shevet Brewstillery in Pardess Hanna have come the first three beers in their Small Batch series.The first is an Extra Special Bitter, usually known by its initials, ESB.The ESB style is actually not very bitter, at least by today’s standard of hopped and über-hopped beers. It’s in the family of English pale ales.The Shevet Small Batch ESB is a clear golden color and is lightly carbonated. The dominant aromas are bread and yeast. The mid-bitter taste brings with it more yeast and cereal grains. The body is thin and the finish is dry. Alcohol by volume (ABV) measures 6.2%. It’s an easy-drinking beer, and we felt it could easily pass for a mild lager.Shevet Small Batch IPAThe second in the Small Batch series in an India Pale Ale, also known by its initials IPA.Starting off slowly on the Israeli craft beer scene, IPAs are now made by almost every major brewery in the country. This style of beer, which includes a few sub-styles, has been the most popular craft beer in the world. It is marked by strong hop aromas and flavors (which can be flowery, citrusy, tropical fruity, piney, or any combination in between), higher alcohol content and moderate to heavy bitterness.The Shevet Small Batch IPA is a slightly hazy, light amber color with very little carbonation. I inhaled whiffs of pine needles, bready malt, mango and orange peel. The taste is quite bitter, with flavors that recall bread, grass and flowers. ABV is 6.5%.This is an IPA suitable for Israeli tastes, more like an English IPA than the more aggressive American style.Shevet Small Batch Double BockDouble Bock beer, which for a change is not known by its initials but by its German appellation doppelbock, is a strong lager whose origins are in 17th century Munich. Monks had it as “liquid bread” over Lent (usually February or March to April), when they fasted from food but not from drink.Shevet Double Bock pours a clear copper color, with a lively effervescence that produces a small, yellow-white head. The dominant aroma is sweet malt followed by caramel, bread and dark molasses. The taste is sweet and heavy and full of complexities. I got notes of malt, wood, caramel, toffee and chestnuts.I enjoyed every drop of this very creamy, balanced and rich-tasting brew. The 8% alcohol is felt in the warm mouth-feel but not in the taste.This is not a summer beach beer. Enjoy double bock with only the richest, roasted-flavor foods. It’s also perfect as a dessert by itself, or with any chocolate candy or cake.Small Batch means that “only” 5,500 bottles of the ESP were produced, 4,500 bottles of the IPA, and 4,000 bottles of the Double Bock.Bazelet PorterAfter 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 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 semisweet 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.Shapiro Saison du MelonThe saison beer style originated in southern Belgium. The word means “season” in French, indicating it was brewed in the winter for drinking in the spring and summer. So it’s generally dry, light and refreshing. The style is mostly defined by the special yeast which is used.There is no melon in the new Saison du Melon beer from the Shapiro Brewery in Beit Shemesh. But there is an interesting hop variety known as Hüll Melon, which is known to impart aromas and flavors of honeydew melon.The beer is a semi-hazy golden yellow color and with active carbonation. We actually got some sour honeydew melon in the aroma, along with lemon, pepper, bread, and white grapes! The taste is mildly bitter and sour; notes of spice, lemongrass and coriander seeds complete the profile.The finish is interesting: Dry and thirst-quenching as it should be, but you also get the saison yeast and the honeydew making a quiet comeback.Saison du Melon is an excellent beer for our Israeli summer, and at 4.4% alcohol, you can enjoy more than one. For Shapiro head brewer Ory Sofer, this is a fine achievement.Lodestone Tropical IPALodestone is the new commercial name for beers brewed by Jason Barnett, who had been producing a limited number of beers under the Opus label. The name Lodestone, which means the focus of attention or attraction, is meant, according to Barnett, “to give us a new direction and place us between traditional brewing and using local ingredients.”Lodestone’s first beer is a Tropical IPA, contract brewed at Buster’s Brewery (Oak & Ash) in the Noham industrial area near Beit Shemesh. It’s made with Israeli mango and Saison yeast, so we can expect a (tropical) fruity character with a dry, perhaps peppery finish.The beer pours out a slightly hazy light amber color with a big frothy head and very active carbonation. The aroma is certainly IPA, though not very aggressive: some tropical fruit, yeast, grapefruit, lemon and spiciness. The taste is quite bitter, with spice phenols from the yeast, and hints of lemon zest, green apple and fruit Popsicle.There is also a fruit sourness. The high alcoholic volume (7%) makes itself felt in the taste and the “warmth” of the mouth-feel.Lodestone Tropical IPA is a pleasant beer to have on a warm summer’s day (which I did), but I was disappointed with not detecting any mango.Lodestone Peach Tree BlondeVery different is Lodestone’s second beer – Peach Tree Blonde – described by Barnett as a balance between an American blonde ale and a peach cider. Here the peach is unmistakable as soon as you pour. The haze, color and carbonation were similar to the Tropical IPA, but the whiffs from the glass were completely different. We perceived peach preserves, butterscotch, and fresh yeasty bread.On the tongue, there is white peach and an alcoholic peach liqueur (ABV is 6.5%), which stay with you. The mouth-feel sensations are medium-body, some alcoholic warmth and a honey smoothness. Peach Tree Blonde is a complex, multi-dimensional beer, yet very refreshing and made for such a summer’s day. Jason says that this beer, in fact, “captures the feeling that summer’s coming in Israel,” by choosing a summer fruit and keeping the malts and hops in tune with a light, semi-dry beer. The writer is the owner of MediawiSe, an agency for advertising and direct marketing in Jerusalem. He writes a weblog on Israeli craft beers at www.IsraelBrewsAndViews.blogspot.co.il
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