Capital says ‘beer me,’ and hundreds of brewers oblige

It’s happened more than a few times that a first-time visitor to Jerusalem wonders why the city holy to three faiths and so important in international news has also been dubbed by Israelis “the beer city.” But though the fact that the word for beer and capital are the same in Hebrew is “purely coincidental,” there are times when the mix-up is apropos, namely later this month at the Jerusalem Beer Festival.

Earlier this month Jerusalem hosted the wine festival, a celebration of oenophilia, complete with hoity-toity art and non-obtrusive music. Later this month though, a totally different, more working-class pursuit will be celebrated at Independence Park with drunken revelry and loud, in-your-face music.

For the average Jerusalemite looking to widen their selection beyond Tuborg, Macabbi and Baltica, the Brickskeller-esque selection at the festival is a godsend. Both local brews, like Dancing Camel and Herzl Beer, and international suds not normally found in these parts, like Lindemans and Erdinger and other names so Germanic as to render them hilarious, will be on offer. And for those who consider the ubiquitous Carlsberg to actually be possibly the greatest beer in the world, there will be plenty of that too, along with over 100 others.

This is the fifth year the festival is running. Aside from all the barley and hops, local bands like Hadag Nachash and Pshutei Ha’am will have patrons hopping to the music. Prefer not to imbibe on an empty stomach? Plenty of food, bar and otherwise, will be on hand.

The festival only lasts two days, the 26th and 27th of August, so procrastinating is not an option. At NIS 25 for entrance (NIS 20 for soldiers, students and card-carrying Jerusalemites) nobody will buy that you couldn’t afford to go either. If nothing else, go in honor of the late, great, non crotch-grabbing Michael Jackson.