Libations: New beer specialty store opens up Jerusalem’s suds scene
An Israeli craft beer specialty shop where you can purchase close to 100 different kinds of Israeli craft beers from more than 20 micro-breweries.
By DOUG GREENERUpdated: NOVEMBER 12, 2015 16:28The capital is finally on the craft beer map – with Beerateinu at 3 Yanai Street(photo credit: MIKE HORTON)
It may be small in size, but for beer lovers and homebrewers in Jerusalem, it’s a giant event.With the opening of Beerateinu at 3 Yanai Street, the city finally has an Israeli craft beer specialty shop where you can purchase close to 100 different kinds of Israeli craft beers from more than 20 micro-breweries.In addition, selected imported beers are also on sale, as well as new lines of Israeli craft distilled spirits, which is a fancy way to say “liquor.”The shop’s name, a play on words, means both “our capital” and “our beer.”“With all due modesty, Jerusalem has been waiting for a place like this,” says Beerateinu partner Leon Shvartz, who is also the owner of the Glen Whiskey Bar across the road on Shlomzion Hamalka Street. “Tel Aviv has had at least three stores like this for several years, while Jerusalemites didn’t have any place to find the full range of Israeli craft beers, including some quite small but excellent micro-breweries.”The other partner, Shmuel Naky, a bartender at the Glen, adds that Beerateinu also sells cold beer in bottles and on tap.“We have six taps where we will be pumping different Israeli craft beers on a rotational basis,” he says. “People can sit around and enjoy cold beer and light snacks right in the shop. For the time being, we open at 11 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. It’s a very nice social atmosphere and we will be adding later hours.”Beerateinu sells bottles of Israeli craft beers for NIS 14 to NIS 16 for a 330-ml. bottle, which is somewhat lower than prices were a year ago. “Because of the recent reduction in tax on beer, we were able to lower our prices,” Shvartz explains. Prices for all beer on tap is NIS 15 for a quarter of a liter, NIS 20 for a third, and NIS 25 for a half.The third role of Beerateinu is home brewing, and the back of the store is devoted to selling equipment and ingredients, as well as giving courses in home brewing.“Making your own beer at home is growing in popularity all over Israel,” says Shvartz. “You can brew beer in your own kitchen or garage very inexpensively, and get a much better product than what you buy from the big, industrial brewers. Until now, home brewers in Jerusalem – and there might be hundreds of them – had to travel outside of the city to buy their equipment and ingredients. No more. We offer them everything they need right here.
“And for those who want to begin home brewing or improve their techniques, we are giving classes at all levels.”And there’s more good news for Jerusalem beer aficionados: Within a short while, a branch of the Beer Bazaar, located in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, will be opening in the Mahaneh Yehuda.It’s taken some time, but it looks like the capital is finally on the craft beer map.The writer has a weblog on Israeli craft beers at www.IsraelBrewsAnd- Views.blogspot.co.il