"Some of those at the Nova [music] festival fled to the fields of Be’eri. These were the killing fields. But now we are bringing life from them, something that connects man and the earth.”
Haim Jelin is talking about a new project that uses barley grown on Kibbutz Be’eri to brew beer. It’s called Single Beeri, and is the first beer made with 100% Israeli-grown barley malt.
Jelin, a member of the kibbutz and former MK (Yesh Atid) and head of the Eshkol Regional Council, explains that the original idea was to use the barley malt to make whisky.
“The Milk & Honey Distillery in Tel Aviv now has that whisky being aged in barrels,” he says. “But it will take two more years before it is ready to market. That’s a long time to wait, so the people at Milk & Honey suggested that we use some of the malt to brew beer, which was ready in a month.”
The project initiators at Milk & Honey were Tomer Goren, the head distiller, and Tal Hotiner, VP for marketing and sales.
But the task of formulating the beer was given to Yotam Baras, a veteran of the Israeli craft beer scene and now brand manager at Milk & Honey.
I first met Baras when he co-owned and brewed The Dictator beer, one of the most adventurous and creative brands on the Israeli market. Unfortunately, The Dictator closed in 2018.
“The important thing to remember,” Baras explains, “is that whisky and beer can be made from the same malt. Since Israel doesn’t have any malting facilities, we shipped barley from the 2025 harvest in Be’eri to Weyermann Specialty Malting in Bamberg, Germany. They sent us back single distillery malted barley, which was used for the whisky and the beer.”
Baras created a beer recipe that put the malt in center stage, minimizing the aromas and flavors from the hops and yeast. Single Beeri was brewed at the BeerBazaar Brewery in Kfar Daniel. The first batch totaled 2,000 liters (6,000 cans).
The narrative only adds to an already excellent beer
With all this narrative attached to the beer, I tasted it with some apprehension. I needn’t have.
Single Beeri, the beer, is a well-constructed pale lager, clear as water, the color of straw. It pours out with a big, frothy head that quickly dissipates. The malt aromas are grassy and grainy, with the sweetness of white bread toast.
The flavors include sweet malt, a touch of spice, and light apple. The pronounced carbonation gives the beer a tingly mouthfeel.
Single Beeri has many qualities: it’s accessible, drinkable, and pairs well with many different foods.
Single Beeri beer is on sale in several beer specialty stores, pubs, and restaurants, and can be ordered directly from the BeerBazaar website. A portion of the profits goes to communities in the western Negev.
Baras also explained that although the whisky made with malted barley from Be’eri must age two more years before it can be marketed, the Milk & Honey Distillery has already released a single malt whisky named Single Beeri.
“This is basically a promotion campaign to prepare the public for the whisky with the Be’eri malt when it is released,” he says.
But for now, barley malt from the fields of Kibbutz Be’eri can be tasted only in the Single Beeri beer.
'Burned into our consciousness like a scorched image'
JELIN DESCRIBES the evacuation from the kibbutz after Oct. 7 as “burned into our consciousness like a scorched image. Everything is black. Heavy smoke that refuses to disperse, and a harsh, unforgettable smell of burnt rubber and death.
“But from the smoke, light sprouted. For us, the people of Be’eri, giving meaning to life has always been rooted in one place: deep in the earth. Agriculture is the pulse of the soul, and it is the most refined and innocent connection between a person and his land.
“This connection will now be something people will drink in every pub. It will radiate throughout the entire State of Israel. It is a kind of Zionism to ask for a beer from Be’eri. You dream about it, and suddenly it becomes a reality!”■
The writer owns MediawiSe, an advertising and direct marketing agency in Jerusalem. He writes a Weblog on Israeli craft beers called “Israel Brews and Views,” available on Facebook.