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“The finest beer in the Middle East”
The frothy, golden amber was flowing.
For the uninitiated Western observer, the sight of hundreds of Palestinians sipping beer called Taybeh, brewed by Palestinians in the West Bank, might have shattered stereotypes.
The fourth annual Oktoberfest in the ancient Christian village called Ephraim in biblical times and known as Taybeh since the Middle Ages was mobbed by thirsty Palestinians and foreigners — mostly Europeans and Americans, aid workers, journalists and diplomats who live in nearby Ramallah and Jerusalem. I was among them.
The weather — a gloriously clear day that revealed from Taybeh’s perch the Dead Sea and the desert mountains of the East bank of the Jordan River — certainly added to the draw.
The festival, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, was complete with local men dressed in lederhosen, the traditional Bavarian knee-breeches commonly found at beer festivals in Southern Germany.
In fact the Taybeh brewery, founded in 1994, follows the German purity law of 1516 and uses only malted barley, hops, yeast and water — from a nearby spring. Its slogan, “The finest in the Middle East,” is probably true.
Taybeh, which means good, and also in the Palestinian dialect, delicious, is available in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as Europe, where it is brewed under license.
Israelis, however, mostly lose as politics often comes before tasty malted beverages. At one brave bar in Jewish West Jerusalem, Taybeh is served from an unmarked tap. Ask for it. It’s not on the menu.
Comments
By Mike
October 16, 2008 4:40 PM | Link to this
I have ordered Taybeh in at least three bars in West Jerusalem, and I don’t remember it not being advertised :|
By Bob Gee
October 21, 2008 3:14 AM | Link to this
At Uganda Bar, in West Jerusalem, Taybeh is served from an unmarked tap.
By Bob Gee
October 21, 2008 3:57 AM | Link to this
Further, it would seem the vast majority of bars in Israel do not serve Taybeh, nor do stores sell it.
By Clay Chip Smith
October 21, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
Muslims are ordered to “not go near” alcohol (no drinking and no serving). I met an old city Jerusalem Muslim that owned a restaurant. He did not serve alcohol. He does not get much of the business of the Christian Pilgrims, as some like to drink (the tour guides choose restaurants that serve alcohol). We should all be prowd of a person of faith that takes a hit in income to be faithful to his religion.