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| Yonah Rubin, partner/brewer of Nomads, introduced Shah of Sunset and Forest Fire at the TLV Craft Beerfest. |
Nomads unique selling proposition is the use of different local ingredients in each of their beers. So far, they have used Israeli za'atar, sumac, cardamon and sage in their beers. [You can read about the za'atar beer here, the sage here and the cardamon and sumac here.]
Keeping this tradition, the Nomads unveiled two new beers at the recent Craft Beerfest in Tel Aviv. I drank them with my fellow IBAV Tasters Oded, Bat Sheva and Manny, and this is what we have to say.
The first beer is Shah of Sunset, and it is made with dried Persian lemons and rice flakes. It is a very low alcoholic and sessionable, 3.3% ABV.
The Persian lemon (or Persian lime) is actually quite a common variety of lime. It has a smooth skin and no seeds, gives a lot of juice which is very acidic. In short, what you're looking for in a lime. Yonah and Jacob use the dried lemons in Shah of Sunset. "It imparts a citrus sourness to the beer," explains Yonah.
The rice flakes lighten the color and body of a beer, resulting in a cleaner and crispier flavor. They are a very popular additive to light lagers, like those in America, Japan and elsewhere.
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| Dried yellow Persian lemons are used in the brewing of Shah of Sunset beer from Nomads. |
We poured out Shah of Sunset and immediately noticed its color: A whiter shade of pale straw, with little carbonation. Manny, our resident wine gourmand, said it looked like white wine. The aroma was of grass and very mild lemon. The taste also had lemon, but was quite bland. Bat Sheva detected some mint in the background, while Oded compared it to 7 Up and noted that there was an aftertaste of dough.
The mouthfeel was flat, with a light (even watery) body. Bat Sheva pronounced it a "unexciting," and we pretty much all concurred.
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| Shatta peppers are among the hottest in the Middle East, and you feel them in the throat when you drink Forest Fire smoked beer from Nomads. |
Very different was Forest Fire, called a smoked beer with added shatta peppers. Shatta is a middle eastern hot pepper -- and it is really hot! Let's see what it does to a beer.
Forest Fire is a hazy yellow-brown with a smoky aroma (from the smoked malt) that recalls smoked meat, maybe pastrami. The taste also brings smoke along with some fruit, and of course, in your throat, the hot peppers. Oded said it was not his kind of beer, but called it "fun" and respected the craft that went into it. Manny enjoyed the smoke and spice together. He found Forest Fire to be a heavy beer and very filling. (ABV is only 4%.) "This would go great with some hard cheese," he pronounced.
I think it would also pair well with any dish that would benefit from a charcoal taste and some hot spice. It might be interesting to crack open a Forest Fire with veggie burgers, roasted vegetables like eggplant and mushrooms, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, even scrambled eggs! Don't be shy.