Three days ago we had a chance to try the rest of the beers we bought in Jerusalem along with the Bazelet and Shapiro. This time we had beers from Herzl, Mosco and another Shapiro, all were served cold and very needed in the hot Israeli weather.
The Shapiro was refreshing, but again had the sweetness and carbonation levels that is characteristic to the other Shapiro we tried. This time it was a Pale Ale that was beautifully light (in colour and body), hoppy, and refreshing. If it wasn’t for the sweet finish you could easily say it is a refreshing American Ale in style.
The Mosco was a Red Ale, offering the right colour with a deep redish amber, avoiding the over carbonation, but for my taste was way too sweet. There is a nice earthy hop aroma, but the sweetness is over-powering for bitter beer lovers, but if you have a sweet tooth, it m
ight be a great beer for you.
Herzl is a small brewery (smallest commercial brewery in Israel) and to 
me was the best we tried so far. They only have 3 styles on offer, and we tried 2 of them (the third, a Strong Ale, we haven’t tried) – IPA and a Mild. The Mild was great, managing to keep the mild flavour but keeping the Israeli taste of sweetness, and it feels to be coming from the malt rather than strong sugars. It was nicely balanced, and still had good bitters from the hops. The IPA (which I’m not the greatest of fans) was brilliant. Bitter and sweet together, slightly darker than most IPAs with a floral aroma from the dry hoping, I was genuinely surprised with that one. This little brewery is a must for visitors to Israel, and I will try and get in touch with the brewers to get more information about their recipes to see about playing with their flvours.
If you love beer and
get to Israel, find the funds and time to delve into some of the surprising little breweries around here. The last stop for our Israeli beer visit is Salara brewery (a local one) and we will do a little wrap up about beer in Israel.