5 Amazing Israeli Brew Pubs and Microbreweries to Check Out

March 30th 2015

Israeli wines win international competitions on a regular basis. But did you know that craft beer-making has been gaining traction in Israel in recent years as well? Here are five amazing Israeli microbreweries to check out, many of which offer in-house restaurant-pubs and fun factory tours.

Dancing Camel

Brew-master David Cohen was living in the US when microbreweries started growing in popularity there. He caught
the bug and became a serious amateur home brewer, even apprenticing for a year with a master brewer before moving to Israel. His goal with Dancing Camel is, as he states on his site’s manifesto, “to help define what Israeli beer means.” Sample all 13 Dancing Camel beers at the Original Dancing Camel Pub & Brewery in Tel Aviv, and take home a fabulous commemorative Dancing Camel stein.

Jem’s Beer Factory

This institution’s namesake is Jeremy Welfeld, the founder who undertook a thorough study of beer-making in the US before moving to Israel. Jem’s Beer Factory, located in the midst of the industrial zone of Petach Tikva, is a full-service meat restaurant that serves everything from beer battered onion rings to sausages and hot apple crumble. Jem’s emphasizes the freshness of it six beers. A second location is now open in Ra’anana.

Shapiro Beer

Born in the Shapiro family basement in Jerusalem just a few years ago, Shapiro Beer sticks with the standards – pale ale, stout and some seasonable beers. Brothers Dani, Itzik and Avi Shapiro market Shapiro Beer with a series of short and clever YouTube videos. Just a few years old and still a modest operation, Shapiro Beer is mostly available in Jerusalem pubs and local wine stores. As of 2012, they started branching out to bars and shops in Tel Aviv as well.

Golan Brewery

Another beer factory tour is available at the Golan Brewery, which uses fresh Golan stream water to make its spuds. With a gift shop, a bar and a gourmet restaurant to end the factory tour, you’ll have lots of reasons to enjoy their Golan, Galil and Emek beers.

Wine is fine, and now, in Israel, locally-produced beer is here.

Lone Tree Brewery

If you’re looking for an authentic brewery factory tour, head to Lone Tree Brewery in Gush Etzion. Here you’ll be immersed to the sights, sounds and smells of beer-making. The 45-minute factory tour ends with a tasting session. Producing some eight varieties of craft beer, Lone Tree’s most unusual flavor is a pomegranate ale, infused with on one of the seven Biblical fruits of Israel.