With obstacles marring the journey to success, Palestine’s newest locally brewed ale has become a smashing success in Ramallah and the West Bank since its beers hit the Palestinian market mid-June.
Three brothers from Berzeit, a predominantly Christian town in the West Bank, have taken it upon themselves to diversify local beer culture by introducing a microbrewery that makes three signature beers different from Taybeh, another Palestinian beer that has been in the market since the late 90s.
Alaa Sayej, 27, the oldest of the trio who acts as CEO of Berzeit Brewery and Shepherds Beer, told StepFeed that this project was longtime coming and had been geared to launch last Christmas.
“We had many delays and constraints which affected our production,” he said.
Indeed, both Palestinian and Israeli governments had initially put the breaks on the brothers’ projects as the equipment needed to complete the microbrewery was held in the Israeli port due to the offensive on Gaza last summer and the Palestinian Authority repeatedly delayed providing licenses and permits to launch the beers.
With a slogan that hints at its cozy feel – “Brewed by brothers for friends” – Shepherds' Beer already comes in three flavors: blonde pilsner, amber ale, and stout in addition to one seasonal beer, the Summer Ale 2015, which dropped in July.
Sayej said that the brothers planned to launch another flavor on Christmas and a wheat beer slated for next summer. Unlike other breweries in the region, Berzeit Brewery has been diligent in getting its name and its craft out there by sponsoring events and lending kegs and draught machines for different occasions to great feedback.
“We can say it’s local beer for locals, it's brewed to meet their expectations and beyond in flavor freshness,” Sayej said.The brewmaster brothers have opened their brewery for tours and beer tasting events, where they would take their visitors through their brewing process step-by-step.
“We explain to the visitors how we brew, the ingredients and the difference between style and another,” Sayej elaborated.The label’s design of a Palestinian shepherd holding a staff, with the Betlehem star above him and an olive tree behind him was a nod to the brothers’ ancestors, Sayej said, "as it was their main profession since ages in the land of milk and honey, Palestine.”
“Then we added the 's' to be ‘Shepherds’ because we are three brothers working in the brewery to make this magnificent beer."
Sayej hopes that with Shepherds Beer's rapid success, alongside Taybeh's established brand, a local beer culture could bring about a boost to the Palestinian economy.
“Taybeh Beer isn’t my competitor,” said Sayej, who holds a master's degree in Finance and Investment from Univesity of Central Lancashire, “we work in the same stream [to] replace imported beer in the area.”
The brothers are already eyeing 2016 as the year to start exporting their beer, with the United States, United Kingdom, and Czech Republic as prime locations, but will the Arab world have a taste of Palestinian craft beer in the coming future?
Sayej hinted that exporting to Jordan is in the works, but the process was taking more time than planned due to hefty tax payments. The CEO also said that while he would love to sell the craft beer in Lebanon, it would be impossible "due to [Israeli] constraints," but expressed a desire to export to the UAE, specifically Dubai.
As for countries in the region where trading alcohol is forbidden, the brewmaster brothers have been cooking up a special non-alcoholic brew, which they will call "Dahab" (meaning gold in Arabic), to be released by the end of the year or in time for Ramadan.