Beer and Oktoberfest in Palestine? Yes, indeed.
After traveling for about 10 hours from Dubai, to Amman, passing
the Jordanian and Israeli cross points, and finally a taxi ride to the Occupied
West Bank town of Beit Jala, what better way to quench the thirst of the day
than a beer, and a Palestinian beer at that – Taybeh (goodly in Arabic).
I am no expert on beer, but I loved it and stuck with Taybeh during
my three-week stay in Palestine.
I was also told about the Taybeh Oktoberfest, which this year
took place on September 19 and 20, unfortunately too late for my visit.
Taybeh Brewing
Company
is located in the Occupied West village of the same name, just outside Ramallah
and 15 km from Jerusalem. It is a family-owned
business established in 1994 following the Oslo Peace Agreement (1993). Brothers David and Nadim Khoury were inspired by their late father, Canaan David Khoury, to return to their home
village of Taybeh after spending more than 20
years in the U.S. and establish the first microbrewery in the Middle East.
Their goal was to invest and boost the local
economy by introducing new styles of natural hand-crafted microbrewed beers
according to the German Purity Law -- with no preservatives or additives.
Nadim
Khoury turned his hobby of
making homemade beer during his college days into a career, becoming the master
brewer. He is now passing on this passion and experience to his daughter, Madees Khoury, the only female brewer in Palestine.
Taybeh’s mission is to produce a premium high
quality hand-crafted beer, contribute to the Palestinian economy, widen
international market presence and elevate tourism. Their vision is to be the
top performing beverage company in the Middle East with entrepreneurial
leadership and innovative brewing techniques.
In 1997, Taybeh beer became the
first Palestinian product to be franchised in Germany, where it was brewed and
bottled for sale in Europe. The beer is also exported directly from Taybeh to
Sweden and as far as Japan.
From 500 liters of beer in 1995, the company produced 600,000
liters in 2011, mainly sold in the Occupied West Bank and Israel. Before the
Second Intifada in 2000, the beer was sold to upscale bars in Israel. According
to David Khoury, the brewery now sells over six million liters a year,.
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| Nadim Khoury showing off four of the varieties of Taybeh beer |
There are five varieties of Taybeh
Beer -- Golden, Light, Amber, Dark, and White. In 2007, a new non-alcoholic
beer variety was launched specifically for the local Palestinian Muslim market.
The original brand is Taybeh Beer
Golden, which I was drinking. The Dark and Light were introduced for the 2000
celebrations in the Holy Land. The Dark variety follows the classic way monks
brewed beer in the Middle Ages to fortify themselves during their fasting.
 |
| The Nadim wines |
In November 2014, Nadim Khoury opened a line of Taybeh wines –
a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah -- marketed under the brand name "Nadim”
(or drinking companion).
Taybeh is one of two Palestinian beers in the Occupied West Bank. The second, Shepherds, was launched in the university town of Birzeit last June. You can
read about Shepherds in a recent
article in the Financial Times.
Oktoberfest
The Taybeh Brewing Company has been welcoming
people from all corners of the world to celebrate Oktoberfest every year since
2005 when David Khoury became the first democratically-elected Mayor of
Taybeh.
He inspired the Taybeh Municipality, and all
local civic organizations, to collaborate in boosting the collapsed local
economy and place Taybeh on the international map.
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| Nadim Khoury serving Taybeh beer at the Oktoberfest |
This unique event has been called the highlight
of the Palestine summer season reaching over 16,000 visitors annually. The
exquisite hills and valleys of the village offer the perfect escape from any
busy schedule for all international and local people who come to support local
products and boost the economy while celebrating the deep cultural heritage
offered by one of the most ancient spots in Palestine also known by its
Biblical name, Ephraim.
Taybeh village
Taybeh is among the last all-Christian communities in the Occupied
West Bank. It has been identified as the site of Ophrah , mentioned in the Bible (Book
of Joshua 18:23) as a town of Benjamin, which was
later renamed Ephraim. But the word Ophrah was close in sound to afrit (demon
in Arabic). Under Saladin, the name was changed to “Taybeh"
-- "The goodly.”
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| Taybeh village in the Occupied West Bank |
According to local tradition, Saladin met a delegation of Ephraim
inhabitants during his wars against the Crusaders. Impressed by the hospitality
of the locals, he named the village Taybeh, or “goodly” in Arabic. Another
version of the story is that he was charmed by their goodness and the beauty of
their faces, ordering the village to be renamed Tayyibat al-Isem (Beautiful of Name).
In the Bible, after Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus retired to
Taybeh with his disciples. John says, "Since that day on, they (the Pharisees) made the decision to kill him. Jesus did not walk
in public among the Jews anymore. He went away to a region
near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, and it was there that he and his
disciples dwelt." (John 11: 53-54). This happened probably around the year
30.
In the 5th century, a church known today as St. George's Church, was built in the east of
the town. In the 12th century, another church was built by the Crusaders, in attachment to the first one. They fortified Taybeh with the Castle of
St. Elias.
In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Taybeh as a "large Christian village in a
conspicuous position, with well-built stone houses. A central tower stands on
the top of the hill; on either side are olive and fig gardens in the low
ground. The view is extensive on either side. A ruined church of St, George
exists near, and there are remains of a ruined castle in the village.”
