The Big Felafel

All about beer in Israel

In honor of the 4th annual Beer Festival coming up August 27-28 in Jerusalem, I thought I’d write all about beer in Israel.

The beer festival plans to bring 50 Israeli and international beer flavors to the table and beer drinkers in Israel are looking forward to tasting something other than the 4 or 5 that make it onto the typical restaurant menu.

I hope Dancing Camel will be there because I’ve been wanting to try their flavored beers ever since I heard about them. Over the holidays last year, Dancing Camel created etrog and jelly doughnut flavored beers in honor of Sukkot and Chanukah, and when it comes to my beer, the more flavor and girlier, the better. The Dancing Camel is a microbrewery in Tel Aviv started by an American named David Cohen who has already gathered somewhat of a cult following.

If you’re inspired by the beer festival to make your own and compete with Goldstar, there’s a company in Mevasseret Zion called The Winemaker that sells beer starter kits and offers courses on how to start brewing. I think I heard about them from Hakerem, an Israeli wine blog.

[Update: Thanks to Jerusalemite, here’s link for the festival and sad to say, the list of beers featured doesn’t include The Dancing Camel. ]

And here’s a song about beer to get you in the mood for the festival.