Israel/ Jordan Trip

I just returned from a trip to Israel and Jordan. It was a great trip full of more relevant history than I could ever imagine! Not quite so much from a beer perspective. Israel did have a number of breweries although the smaller representations were difficult to find.  Goldstar is the most popular and famous Israeli beer which dominates the Israeli beer market with 33% of beer consumers. This Israeli lager contains 4.9% alcohol. It was a pretty good lager.

Jem’s is more than just a brewery, Jem’s beer factory has six locations across the country, offering a variety of beers, tasting options, and some food to accompany the drinks. With seven different types of beer

Nesher - Hebrew for eagle, Nesher was the first Israeli brewery, and is still popular today.

Maccabee - Maccabee is a popular Israeli lager that’s favoured by approximately 11% of Israeli beer consumers. Their beer turned out to be my favorite.

Jordan, being predominantly Muslim, does not have much of a beer scene. In fact, there are only three breweries in Jordan and only two of them are legitimately Jordanian. Petra Lager, their best known beer, was akin to a Bud Lite. Carakale had a pretty good sour called Dead Sea-rious. But Jordan’s best beer was an Amstel Red, made in Jordan for Jordanians. So, for the Jordanian beer scene, I’ll say this - Jordan has some beautiful scenery!

Cheers!

Internationally Speaking!

For Christmas, I ordered myself an International gift box of beer from Craftshack. The gift box was a great way to go as Craftshack’s, in my opinion, website is not exactly user friendly.

Anyway the pack included the following:

 - Omnipollo Bianca Peanut Butter and Jelly. This was a gose from Sweden that packed 6% abv, strong for a gose. I gave it an A. Great beer with the PB&J not overpowering.

 - Pasteur Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout. This was from Singapore and was 13% abv. I gave it a B. A good stout but the alcohol gave off a strong taste.

 - Pohjala Tuk Tuk Drama. Gotta love beer names! This was a milkshake IPA from Estonia with a 5.3% abv. I gave it a B- rating which is pretty good for me with IPA’s. I actually drank the whole thing!

 - To Ol Marmelade. This was a fruit beer that was berry intensive! It was 7% and was from Denmark. It was an A for me. Really enjoyed it.

 - Victory Art’s Ivan. This was a 13.1% Imperial Stout from Russia. I gave it a B+. Had it been lower in alcohol, with the same taste, it definitely would have been an A.

 - Carakale Dead Sea-rious. Another all name beer! This was a 5% gose from Jordan. A real treat! I scored it an AA!

 - Mikkeller SpontanLingonBerry 2018. I had to look up what a lingonberry was. It does exist! This was a 7.7% Sour from Belgium. I gave it an A.

So, all in all, a very fun, tasty gift for myself. Hope Craftshack does it again, next Christmas. It was a very nice selection of variety!