So instead we get three new India Pale Ales -- not sweet, not particularly alcoholic, but rich in flavor.
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| Va'adat Kishut Double Dry-Hopped IPA from Herzl Brewery. |
The original Herzl Brewery was in Jerusalem, but the beers are now brewed at the Malka Brewery way up north in the Tefen Industrial Area.
Maor Helfman, one of the original partners of Herzl and now Beer Brands Manager for Hacarem Spirits Ltd., Malka's parent company, told me that only 2,000 liters of Va'adat Kishut were brewed, "and we sold out in 10 days. I have no more bottles in the storage room. They're all in the stores.
"We used 50 kilograms [110 pounds] of hops -- Citra, Cascade and Simcoe. The first dry-hopping was done during the fermentation, and the second was added 10 days later. The hops added mostly aroma and flavor, rather than bitterness, and the beer also has a strong malt backbone. Oatmeal was also used in the brewing process. Alcohol by volume is 6.5%, not very strong, and the IBUs [International Bittering Units] are a moderate 30-35."
My tasting began with pouring out a very clear, mid-amber colored beverage, mildly carbonated. The aroma brought tropical and citrus fruit scents; specifically peach, mango and grapefruit, and a malt sweetness. The mouthfeel was rich and smooth to the nth degree. Flavors of sweet fruit (peach and citrus) from the hops, enveloped by silky milk chocolate. That's the impression I got. The finish maintained the fruit character and was mildly bitter.
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| Juicy New England IPA from Mosco Brewery. |
Also coming out with their first new beer in several years is the Mosco Brewery in Beit Shemesh. The beer is called Juicy, a "New England IPA," 5.6% alcohol.
Juicy begins with a semi-hazy light amber color topped by a frothy, long-lasting head. The aroma is of pine needles, grass, yeast and some sweet fruit in the background. The taste brings up pine, herbal and some soap and indistinct fruit, but the most forward seems to be yeast. The mouthfeel is pleasant carbonation, but a bit harsh on the tongue for an NEIPA.
Although Juicy is a passable IPA, it should be smoother, hazier and, well, juicier to qualify as an NEIPA. I thoroughly enjoyed a bottle with a great Israeli hummus platter. No other beer (at the time) could have been more right.
From HaDubim Brewery comes the third new IPA: Petra, an Imperial Oak Red IPA. This is the darkest, strongest (8% alcohol) and bitterest (65 IBUs) of the new IPAs, brewed for HaDubim at the BeerBazaar Brewery in Kiryat Gat.
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| Petra Imperial Oak Red IPA from HaDubim Brewery. |
"We love hops," states Dagan. "Everybody knows this and our beers show this. We wanted to make a beer for the winter, but not another heavy, dark beer. We wanted something hoppy, but with a twist; some caramel and complex flavors."
The "Red" in the name comes from the Carafa #2 malt (only 3% was used in the bill), along with Pilsner, Vienna and Crystal.
On the subject of the hops, Dagan explained how the problem of oak maturation was overcome. "The flavor of hops erodes quickly over time -- yet we wanted a beer that was 'aged' with oak. We sped things up by brewing an oak tea, boiling French and American oak chips in water, and then adding that to the beer during fermentation. We chose hops that we felt paired best with the oak: Simcoe, Chinook and Hallertau."
Thank you, Dagan, as always.
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| The old blogger got together with Maor Helfman (center) of Herzl Brewery, and Rotem Bar-Ilan of HaDubim Brewery. (Photo: Mike Horton) |
Still, Daniël appreciated that even with all the qualifying adjectives ("Imperial,""Oak,""Red"), Petra is still a real IPA, hoppy and bitter as is should be. He would give it a high rating on the "Daniël scale."