Strictly speaking, it shouldn’t even be called “beer” because of a small deviation from the Purity Law. For the sake of simplicity, the German-Israeli Society in Munich is presenting its “Shevamuc” this week as a friendship beer. The brew containing hops and malt is a cooperation product of the Munich Werksviertel Bräus and the Ahalutzh Brewery in Be’er Sheva and was brewed on the occasion of two anniversaries. On the one hand, it is intended to mark the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel and, on the other hand, the twin city alliance between Munich and Be’er Sheva, which is celebrating its second anniversary this summer.
Since the two master brewers, Marilen Mayer from Munich and Gilad Ne-Eman from Be’er Sheva, were supposed to brew a beer for Israel Day, which takes place every May, they quickly realized that it had to be a Maibock, says Ne-Eman bei the beer presentation on Wednesday in the premises of the Werksviertel Bräus, for which he traveled all the way from Israel. Most recently, he came to Munich in January to discuss the Shevamuc recipe with Mayer for the first time, after which the process took place remotely.
Brewmaster Marilen Mayer from Munich and Brewmaster Gilad Ne-Eman from Be’er Sheva.
(Photo: Mark Siaulys Pfeiffer)
For an oriental note in the Shevamuc, Mayer and Ne-Eman mix cardamom with hops, malt, water and yeast, which is also the reason why the creation cannot be called beer according to the German Purity Law. But even the sweet-flowery cardamom taste cannot hide the fact that this is a 6.8 percent strong bock beer.
Mayer and Ne-Eman brewed the German-Israeli friendship beer in their respective breweries using the same recipe but not the same procedure. Ne-Eman explains that in Israel you can add spices while cooking, but not in Germany. As a result, the cardamom in Mayer’s beer comes into its own more because more of the flavor has evaporated during its brewing process, he realizes when he tries Mayer’s variant for the first time on Wednesday.
For this occasion, Ne-Eman brought a couple of bottles of his beer to Munich, which also differs from Mayer’s Münchner Halben in terms of label design and filling quantity. Ne-Eman says beer is expensive in Israel due to high taxes and duties, so his variant was bottled in 0.33 bottles, which he will soon be selling in his pub for around four euros. This is also a reason why the brewery and beer lover scene in the wine country of Israel is so small. After Covid, he was the only brewmaster left in Be’er Sheva. He relied on online trading during the pandemic, since then he has received orders from all over Israel. Ne-Eman has been running his pub in the old town of Be’er Sheva since 2014. He currently offers a good ninety different types of beer there, all of them ales. That’s why he’s very happy that with the Shevamuc he now has his first lager beer in his range.
In contrast, the offer of the Werksviertel Bräu is small. It only moved to Atelierstrasse a year ago and supplies the district with a single type of beer, a pale cellar beer. Whether Shevamuc will also be served here every Thursday at the weekly bar and, if so, at what price, is not yet certain, says the designated Werksviertel Bräu boss Riley Schmalhaus. The native Canadian and brewer studied together with Mayer and will succeed her during her upcoming parental leave. The friendship beer will mainly be served on May 4th, Israel Day, at Odeonsplatz, when Ne-Eman will present the joint beer creation in his hometown at the same time. In Munich, Shevamuc will also be available in the Nana Meze & Wine restaurant and in the strictly kosher Einstein restaurant – as long as Mayer’s stock of ten hectoliters lasts.