Beer in Israel is manufactured primarily by two major
breweries –
Tempo Beer Industries
Tempo Beer Industries (Tempo) is Israel's largest brewer and the country's second-largest beverage company.
Products
Beers
Tempo produces three brands of pale lager:
*Goldstar, which was acquired in a 1985 merger
*Maccabee, also marketed in t ...
and
Israel Beer Breweries
Israel Beer Breweries Ltd (IBBL) is a brewery founded in 1992 in Ashkelon, Israel.
History
The company was founded in 1992. In 2004, IBBL was ranked the second largest company in Israel's beer and cider market, behind Tempo Beer Industries. On 2 ...
. Over the past decade numerous
microbreweries
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
have established themselves throughout the country. Beer festivals are held annually in Israel, of which one of the largest is in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
History
Like the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Romans, the ancient
Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
were far more drawn to wine than they were to beer. After the
exile of the Jews to Babylonia in the sixth century BC, they began embracing beer and several rabbis became established brewers.
Two notable
Babylonian Jewish brewers were
Rav Chisda
Rav Ḥisda ( he, רב חסדא) was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Kafri, Asoristan in Lower Mesopotamia near what is now the city of Najaf, Iraq. He was an amora of the third generation (died c. 320 CE at the age of ninety-twoMoed Kattan 28a), ...
and his pupil
Rav Papa
Rav Pappa ( he, רַב פַּפָּא) (c. 300 – died 375) was a Babylonian rabbi, of the fifth generation of amoraim.
Biography
He was a student of Rava and Abaye. After the death of his teachers he founded a school at Naresh, a city near ...
, both of whom lived in the vicinity of
Sura
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
during the fourth century CE.
In
James Armand de Rothschild
James Armand Edmond de Rothschild DCM DL (1 December 1878 – 7 May 1957), sometimes known as Jimmy de Rothschild, was a British Liberal politician and philanthropist, from the wealthy Rothschild international banking dynasty.
Biography
De Ro ...
, identifying a demand for beer on the part of British nationals residing in Palestine, established the first local commercial brewery in partnership with Gaston Dreyfus, in
Rishon LeZion
Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...
. In 1940 the Palestine Brewery () – or, as it was also known, the Nesher Brewery – was commissioned by the
AACI to supply beer to
Australian troops stationed in Palestine. By 1942 the brewery was compelled to enlarge its plant in order to meet increased demand being generated on the part of both military and civilian consumers.
Construction of what was at the time the largest brewery in the Middle East, the National Brewery, began in April 1952 in the city of
Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, founded by a group of investors led by Louis Herzberg. Upon completion in May 1953, the National Brewery had an annual production capacity of 400,000 barrels. In 1954 it shipped what was theretofore "
e largest single shipment of imported beer ever to enter the United States" – 180,000 bottles of its Abir label beer.
The National Brewery merged with the Palestine Brewery and the Galilee Brewery in 1973, whereby it came to control 90% of Israel's beer market. The company was acquired in 1976 by Canadian land developer Murray Goldman for . In 1980 a canned beer bearing a label indicating its origin as the National Brewery in Netanya was being sold in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in spite of an Egyptian boycott of Israeli products. Called O.K. beer, it proved more successful than Heineken and Tuborg and was consumed at premier bars in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and other locations in Egypt, even as conservative religious Muslim leaders campaigned to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks in the country. After entering into a license agreement with
Anheuser-Busch International in 1983 for production of the first
American beer
Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels () of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly of bee ...
in Israel, the National Brewery began producing
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...
in 1984.
The National Brewery was acquired by
Tempo Beer Industries
Tempo Beer Industries (Tempo) is Israel's largest brewer and the country's second-largest beverage company.
Products
Beers
Tempo produces three brands of pale lager:
*Goldstar, which was acquired in a 1985 merger
*Maccabee, also marketed in t ...
in 1985.
Breweries
Since the 1950s, the Israeli beer industry has been dominated by no more than two companies at a time. Beginning in the 1990s with the establishment of Israel Beer Breweries, it and Tempo Beer Industries control 70% of Israel's beer market. Tempo produces the Goldstar and Maccabee labels, while Israel Beer produces Carlsberg and Tuborg. In addition, around two dozen licensed commercial microbreweries operate in the country.
Netanya-based Tempo is the largest brewery in Israel. In 1999 Tempo's Goldstar and Maccabee beers accounted for 60% of all beer sales in the country. Tempo also imports
Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 Febr ...
and
Amstel
The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the riv ...
. Israel Beer Breweries entered the market in as a partnership between
Carlsberg Group
Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. T ...
and the local
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
company. In 1996 it began distributing
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
.
Israel Beer Breweries operates a beer-themed visitor center in
Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...
.
Craft beer
Craft brewing began to develop midway through the first decade of the 2000s.
The Dancing Camel Brewery, which opened in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
in 2006, was the first microbrewery to open in Israel. Later that year the
Golan Brewery
Golan Brewery () is a brewery in the Golan Heights settlement of Qatzrin. It won the award for Best Israeli Brewery at the competition.
History
Archeological evidence has indicated that beer was produced in the Golan Heights in ancient times. T ...
opened up in the
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
region of Israel. Jem's Beer Factory, Israel's first kosher microbrewery, opened in
Petah Tiqwa in 2009.
By the end of 2009 there were microbreweries operating from
Dekel
Dekel ( he, דֶּקֶל, ''lit.'' Palm tree), officially Dekel-Kfar Shitufi ( he, דקל-כפר שיתופי, lit. ''Dekel - Co-operative Village'') is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the Hevel Shalom area of the north-western Negev des ...
and
Qiryat Gat
Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The c ...
in Israel's south; through
Sal'it, Petah Tiqwa and Tel Aviv; up to
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, the
Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...
,
Ramot Naftali
Ramot Naftali ( he, רָמוֹת נַפְתָּלִי) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
The ...
, and
Yehi'am; and as far as
Qatzrin in the Golan Heights. 2010 was an especially active year for new microbreweries.
Beers
The first native beer label to emerge in what would soon become the
State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
was
Nesher
Nesher ( he, נֶשֶׁר) is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of . It was founded in 1923 as a workers town for the Nesher Cement factory, the first cement factory in the country.
History
Nesher was founded in ...
, in the 1930s. In its early years it was the leading beer label locally and was produced in quantities of per year. Two varieties of Nesher were available at that time – a
pilsner lager and a
malt beer
Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air.
Malted grain is used to make beer, ...
.
Nesher Malt continues to be known in Hebrew as ''bira shechora'' ("black beer").
Goldstar, a
pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale-to-golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness.
The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing ...
brewed in Israel since 1950, was originally produced at the Cabeer Brewery in Rishon LeZion. In the years between 1952 and the mid-1980s a popular beer brewed in Israel was Abir. Maccabee, a pilsner invented by
brewmaster
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...
Menachem Berliner, was introduced in 1968 and competed with Goldstar for market share until the 1970s. Goldstar and Maccabee were acquired in 1975 by a single partnership and were sold to Tempo in 1986.
Goldstar won a
Monde Selection Monde Selection is an annual non-competitive award open to food, drinks, and cosmetics products, created in 1961. It is run by the commercial company, International Institute for Quality Selections, Brussels, Belgium. Consumer products are tasted a ...
gold medal in 2007, and in 2011 it won an Israeli Product of the Year award.
The brews produced by the Dancing Camel microbrewery are adapted to accommodate Israel's palate which, according to founder David Cohen, eschews bitter flavors. Thus the Dancing Camel
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
offsets the bitterness of its hops with ''
silan'', a syrup extracted from
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
* Play date, a ...
. Dancing Camel also produces seasonal beers inspired by the Jewish holidays: for
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
Dancing Camel releases a pomegranate beer, and for
Sukkoth
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
a
wheat beer
Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...
made with
etrog
Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' ...
.
Culture
Bars
The first
Irish pub
An Irish pub is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. Irish pubs are characterised by a unique culture centred around a casual and friendly atmosphere, hearty food and drink, Irish sports, and tr ...
in Israel was Molly Bloom's, which opened in central Tel Aviv in 2000 as a partnership between Israel Beer Breweries and an Irish entrepreneur. By 2004 there were Irish pubs in Tel Aviv,
Herzliya
Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...
,
Rehovoth
Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of .
Etymology
Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
, and Glilot. Porter and Sons in Tel Aviv, which opened in 2010, has the most beers
on tap
Draught beer, also spelt draft, is beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as
Name
Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served dire ...
of any establishment in Israel – 50 as of 2012. In the category of Best Beer Restaurant in Israel, ''Beers.co.il'' awarded Porter and Sons first place in 2012.
In June 2012 a new bar was opened next to Shuk HaCarmel calle
Beer Bazaar They serve over 80 Israeli beers, more than 10 Israeli ciders and also have their own beer on tap.
Festivals
The Jerusalem Beer Festival is one of the largest
beer festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
s in Israel, held annually in the summer since 2004. The festival is held for two days usually between August 28–29. Other festivals are held in Tel Aviv, Haifa and the
Mateh Yehuda region. A wine and beer festival is held annually in
Beer Sheva. The city of
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
held its first beer festival in 2011.
Israeli Beer Club
In 2002 the Israeli Beer Club was established in order to promote the culture of beer in Israel and specifically to serve as a platform for helping small-scale brewers and importers to get their products onto the market. The club offers
homebrewing
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...
and
beer tasting
Beer tasting is a way to learn more about the history, ingredients and production of beer as well as different beer styles, hops, yeast and beer presentation. A common way is to analyse the appearance, smell and taste of the beer. Then a final judg ...
workshops and is involved in organizing beer competitions.
Economy
In 1937, in an effort to protect the local brewing industry from competition issuing from neighboring breweries in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, the British
High Commissioner for Palestine
The High Commissioner for Palestine was the highest ranking authority representing the United Kingdom in the mandated territories of Palestine and the High Commissioner for Transjordan was the highest ranking authority representing the United King ...
ordered a tariff of on each liter of imported beer.
In the late 1990s beer sales in Israel totaled , of which Tempo accounted for 73%. The
malt beverage
A malt drink is a fermented drink in which the primary ingredient is the grain, or seed, of the barley plant, which has been allowed to sprout slightly in a traditional way called " malting" before it is processed.
By far the most predominant ...
industry generated a separate in sales. Between 1992 and 1997 the share of international labels in the market grew from 9% to 36%, with a concomitant decline in the share of domestic labels over the same period from 91% to 64%. The value of Israel's beer market was estimated at in 2009.
Its size in 2010 was estimated at 950,000–1,000,000 hectoliters, up from 800,000 in 2005.
With a strong local economy the alcoholic drinks market in general is growing within Israel, with particular growth in beer sales. The leading beer companies, such as
Tempo Beer Industries
Tempo Beer Industries (Tempo) is Israel's largest brewer and the country's second-largest beverage company.
Products
Beers
Tempo produces three brands of pale lager:
*Goldstar, which was acquired in a 1985 merger
*Maccabee, also marketed in t ...
and
Israel Beer Breweries
Israel Beer Breweries Ltd (IBBL) is a brewery founded in 1992 in Ashkelon, Israel.
History
The company was founded in 1992. In 2004, IBBL was ranked the second largest company in Israel's beer and cider market, behind Tempo Beer Industries. On 2 ...
, launched new beer brands in 2007, with the most significant introductions being Goldstar Light, Tuborg T and
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
.
Goldstar and Maccabee
GoldStar was a South Korean electronics company established in 1958. The corporate name was changed to LG Electronics and LG Cable on February 28, 1995, after merging with Lucky Chemical. LG Cable was spun off from LG Electronics and changed it ...
are the overall leading brands in Israel.
Over 75% of beer sales in Israel are from
off-sales locations such as supermarkets, rather than bars.
[
]
In 2012 Israel's finance minister signed an order to raise the purchase tax on beer from
NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
2.18 to NIS4.19 per liter. The move was opposed by
Eli Yishai
Eliyahu "Eli" Yishai ( he, אליהו "אלי" ישי, born 26 December 1962) is an Israeli politician. A former leader of Shas, he represented the party in the Knesset from 1996 until 2015, also holding several ministerial posts, including bein ...
of the
Shas
Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
party, who said it would have fatal repercussions vis-a-vis Israel's local boutique breweries.
Kashrut
According to Ludwig Horlein of the Hartmannsdorf Brewery in Germany, with respect to ingredients there is no difference between
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
and non-kosher beer. In general, observant Jews will only drink unflavored beers without a kosher certification (compared to flavored beers, which do require a kosher certification). But according to Israeli beer expert Gad Deviri, kosher certification is not a consideration for many observant Jews in Israel. However, while unflavored beers with no additives are acceptable even without Kosher certification, some beers may contain additives that are not kosher.
It is also generally accepted that, as a beverage made with grains such as
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
, beer is considered
chametz
''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings transliterated from he, חָמֵץ / חמץ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews ma ...
and never kosher for
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
.
See also
*
Beer and breweries by region
*
Beer in Palestine
Beer in the State of Palestine is manufactured by Palestinian microbreweries – most traditionally Taybeh Brewery, established in 1994, and Birzeit Brewery, since 2015. Several beer festivals are held annually in Palestine, including an Oktobe ...
References
Further reading
*
*
{{Beers of the world
Israeli alcoholic drinks