Taybeh Beer: a Palestinian Micro-Brewery in the Desert

One of the last places on earth where one would expect to find a micro-brewery is the village of Taybeh, twenty kilometres east of Jerusalem, in the middle of the Palestinian Territory. And yet, it’s been here for almost twenty years.

Against all odds, brothers Nadi and David Khoudry have been creating not only beer, but a success story and an important, inspiring, cultural encounter.

Loyal to Germanic purity laws of 1516, they bottle three different qualities of beer (from lager to dark) and they’ve been making an alcohol-free version, the Taybeh halal, for several years now, especially for the Palestinian and Muslim markets.

But the most striking thing i show frequently Taybeh is found in Israeli bars, and how many people claim it to be the best beer in the Middle East – after all, “Taybeh” is the Arabic word for “delicious”.

The challenge of getting supplies into the Palestinian territories makes production difficult, however. The best occasion to taste Taybeh is the strange kind of Palestinian Oktoberfest that they organize each year in their village.

Taybeh Brewing Co. 
Taybeh, Ramallah 
West Bank, Palestine 
Tel. +972-2-2898868 
Website

Photo courtesy Taybeh beer