Palestine’s only brewery, Taybeh Brewery is located in the West Bank town of Ramallah, about 20 miles from Jerusalem. It was started by Nadim Khoury, who became a homebrewer when he lived for a time in Boston, Mass. The British newspaper the Guardian just published an interesting article, Brewed in the West Bank, Drunk in Japan, about Taybeh Brewery and their recent trials and tribulations.
Being a great cynic and skeptic, it’s nice to see a story of hope — er, hops — in the Middle East. Who knows, maybe a homebrewer can bring a resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian stalemate. Peace in our time? Khoury’s comments from the end of the Guardian article are so optimistic it’s hard not to believe beer capable of anything.
“People don’t believe that we have a product like Taybeh beer brewed in Palestine,” he says. “On the news they see only violence, bombing and uprisings. Now we are trying to change this and to show the world we can live in peace with our neighbours. We are human beings. We have a right to enjoy life. Enough is enough with the fighting.”
Amen, brother. Make beer, not war.