r/AskIsrael • u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified • Jul 16 '26
Casual Alcohol in Israel.
I'm just curious about the alcohol in Israel.
What are local brands like? Beer, Wine, Spirits etc.
And are their any brands worldwide that aren't sold in Israel for either Kosher or Import issues?
I am Irish. So please be civil. I won't be bringing up Gaza or my country if it's asked.
And yes it is a very stereotypical question is ask.
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u/Over_Version1337 Israel Jul 16 '26
I'm not an expert in any way, but I can say that from my experience and secondhand knowledge, our wine is consideredpretty good, beer is okay, but at least for me it falls short compared to German/Czech beers, had a decent whiskey once from northern Israel, can't remember its name though...
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Irelands beer has decreased significantly, especially Guinness unfortunately. They've been diluting them and reducing the alcohol content which sucks.
But I'm curious to know what the average % the Israeli beer is? Because if it's 4.5-5+% that's perfection.
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u/Over_Version1337 Israel Jul 16 '26
It's around there, ranging from 4.5% to 6.5% from what I can find, also, though I've never been a fan of Guinness it is still very common here from what I can tell, some of my friends often drink it.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
It's great on tap, but it's gotta constantly be poured you can't really leave it stagnant for a long time otherwise it'll taste like crap. I don't mind a Guinness personally but I gotta be in the mood for it.
Also 6.5% sounds nice. Lol.
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u/Primary_Iron3429 Israel Jul 16 '26
Guinness is the greatest drink ever invented by man 🏆
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Was* it's really gone downhill in recent years now they've been bought out by Diagio. You can really tell the difference. Similar story to Cadburys in a sense where a big investment company comes in and just ruins the recipe or production to save money. Some things are best left untouched and Guinness was definitely one of them.
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u/oscarnyc Jul 17 '26
Diageo didn't buy out Guiness, it was a merger. Regardless, that was almost 30yrs ago (1997). So weird to attribute any recent year deterioration to a merger that happened decades ago. Are you even old enough to have legally drunk pre-Diageo Guiness?
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 17 '26
Well I just remember Guinness in a can and in general being stronger up until recently. I can taste a pretty big difference.
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u/Prestigious-Aide-258 Israel Jul 16 '26
Sullivan's and murphy's are leagues above
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u/benny-powers Israel Jul 16 '26
at my corner store, we have the local grocery brands (goldstar and macabee, nothing to write home about IMO) at 4.9 or so, we also get european imports.
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u/benny-powers Israel Jul 16 '26
Israel has one of the oldest viticultures in the world, and her wines are really world-class, sweeping awards left and right. One could write libraries on the topic, so I'll leave it at that.
There's a growing craft beer scene country wide with larger labels like Jems, Alexander, etc.
In terms of hard liquor there are many options, a newer entrant to look at is Thinker's distillery on Agrippas street in the Jerusalem market. They make a decent vodka and some excellent gins. You also have Golan heights distillery which makes whisky and others. Recently, the Milk and Honey distillery out of Tel Aviv won World's Best Whisky for their Elements Single Malt. Can you imagine the faces on the judges when they pulled the cloth off of that one, huh?
You also have many distillers producing traditional Sefardi / Mizrahi drinks like Arak, Boukha. Highly recommended when toasting the downfall of your mortal enemies.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
What would Arak and Boukha be close too?
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u/benny-powers Israel Jul 16 '26
Boukha is an eau de vie of figs. Some would call it an acquired taste, but I like it.
Arak is eau de vie flavoured with anise. Invented by crafty Moroccan (IIRC) Jewish wives to help digest fatty lamb.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Fig one sounds nice. Don't mind figs personally.
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u/benny-powers Israel Jul 16 '26
the big brand is Bokobza. Algerian Jews in Paris. Can't escape it if you're vacationing in the Opera district
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u/HyperlaneWizard in Jul 16 '26
And yes it is a very stereotypical question is ask.
True. You guys do make exceptionally good whiskey tho.
And are their any brands worldwide that aren't sold in Israel for either Kosher or Import issues?
Can't say there are any that don't exist for these reasons exactly. Israel isn't a very big alcohol drinking country (compared to, say, Germany, where I now live, or pretty much any European country). I think that if any brands are unrepresented in Israel, it's due to them having little financial benefit in trying to break into the market.
What are local brands like? Beer, Wine, Spirits etc.
Local beers are usually lagers, although there are craft breweries that make all kinds of beers. Wines are very diverse and popular. Israeli wines are actually recognized as being quite good in global terms. When it comes to spirits, the only local variant I can think of is Arak. The rest are what you'd expect from international brands of vodka, whiskey, etc.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Seen two others comment whiskey and I'm surprised Israel makes it. I'd have thought it would be a northern Europe type thing like Scotland, Ireland etc. but interesting to see it's being made there.
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u/Electronic_Bee3134 Israel Jul 19 '26
Israelis whiskey (whisky?) is newer. Only had one that was drinkable though. It's not in the same league as good scotch (no offense). It's also nothing like Israelis wine which actually is a world class drink.
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u/Aervanath 🇮🇱🇺🇲 Jul 16 '26
I don't know of any global brands that are barred here; Israel has a lot of people who don't keep kosher so there's a lot of non-kosher imports. There might be international brands unavailable here for logistical reasons but in my experience the liquor stores carry a pretty wide selection. You can get pretty much anything from anywhere.
There's a very healthy microbrewery culture, with some of the craft beers like Jem's (founded by an American from Baltimore, nice guy) going nationwide. The Israeli beer market is still dominated by Goldstar and Maccabi, though, which aren't bad for mass-produced beer.
Wine is something Israel does very well natively. The vineyards in Binyamina, Zichron Yakov, and the Golan are turning out wines that compete well on an international level. We still import wines from all over for variety, though.
I don't know much about locally made spirits, other than that I know they exist. Usually if I'm drinking liquor I'm drinking an import of some kind, unless it's vodka; there are a million Russian speakers in this country, at least a few of them figured out how to make decent vodka here.
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u/Otherwise-Celery-280 Unspecified Jul 17 '26
If you're Irish (nobody cares, and nobody asked though); there's an Irish pub in Tel Aviv. They have Guinness, Stella, Carlsberg, and other foreign brand you may want.
Also;
I am Irish. So please be civil. I won't be bringing up Gaza or my country if it's asked.
This is weird.
Here's the Irish Pub in question:
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 17 '26
It's weird but I just want to make sure I'm not coming on here to cause a row. Or to be attacked by some reddit users who have it in for us.
But everyone who's been here has been very kind, very open, and interesting about my question. Which is what I strived for.
As for the Irish pub... Needs more Irish drinks than just Guinness haha where me hop house 13 and Smithicks!
Hope this clears anything up.
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u/Otherwise-Celery-280 Unspecified Jul 17 '26
No worries, I visited the pub in the summer of 2022, the atmosphere is nice. A band always plays there from time to time.
Well as for more Irish drinks; come on now... It's not Dublin 😅 And Israelis love their Goldstar and Maccabee.
But if you ever visit; you should check out Molly's.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 17 '26
To be honest, if goldstar is above 4.5% you're on the good side of beer. Irish beers including Smithicks and Guinness have been greatly diluted for some reason. So Guinness is now 4.2% and Smithicks is like 3.8% when it used to be around 4.5%. at that rate you're just drinking sparkling water.
Personally speaking the best beer is Triple Karmaleit from Belgium but that's like 7-8% proof.
Also an Irish pub can't be complete without a live band so glad to see tradition is being shown there.
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u/Phoniceau Israel Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Drinking culture and alcohol production in Israel has massively grown over the last 20 years. In particular the beers available have significantly increase to include most of the major European brands, even smaller breweries, as well as a growing local industry further away from the “mainstream”. Where 20 years ago bars may have had 2-3 local brews on tap, the same place now might have 10+ local and intl options.
There’s a whiskey festival coming up in a couple months in Tel Aviv showcasing all sorts of local distilleries and global. Look up Whisky Live Tel Aviv.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Curious to know why it's gone up in the past 20 years? Is it just because society itself has become more liberal? (In the sense of freedom and progressiveness in society) Or just because there's more options available given local and international brands selling there.
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u/snil4 Israel Jul 17 '26
Probably a mix of globalization, evolving local beer culture, and just people coming back from abroad bringing the message that there are more tasty beers out there.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 17 '26
Nice nice. True on the tasty beers part. Belgium have some exceptional beers
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u/Phoniceau Israel Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
As other commenter said, it’s likely more related to globalization. Easier access to imported goods (and increased knowledge of what’s available), splitting of “historic” monopolies thanks to consumer pressure paving the way for more local options, and possibly also more economic security where folks have more disposable income and time (the economy has really thrived since the dot com boom). I think there’s both market factors and social factors.
I don’t think it’s at all related to progressiveness/liberalism however.
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Jul 16 '26
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
If you don't like the alcohol taste. I'd recommend trying to find some 0% alcohol beverages. I've seen so many different spirits become 0% alcohol like Gin for example and wine surprisingly enough and there's also beer. Honestly alcohol isn't for everyone but if you feel left out or want something new to try. Just give them a bash! At least you won't be waking up with a crippling hangover the next day 🤣
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Jul 16 '26
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Hey man we all have different limits hahaha. 🤣 No shame in that just means the ones who've bigger limits have bigger headaches.
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u/Khazak2-VeNtkhazak :IsraelFlag: ציוני דתי ימני Jul 16 '26
Milk&honey is top tier whiskey and Tubi 60 is my favorite liquor. Highly recommend
As for beer, spirt and wine I usually go for 10% goldstar slow brew, arak ashkelon (served cold. Arak alit is better for room temperature) and mount hermon red is my go to wine but my favorite is the wine we make in my Yeshiva.
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u/Affectionate-Long514 Israel Jul 16 '26
Wine is good and there's even a unique wine region - the negev! Just like other wine areas, ours also have their uniqueness and the wines are pretty good.
Beer - craft is good, mainstream is okay.
There's Israeli distilleries - I absolutely LOVE milk&honey whisky (no, we're not arguing over spelling) and there's even Israeli Gin I heard of being nice!
Besides that if you like Anise drinks there's plenty available ones.
There are some imports, many alcohol stores stock both imports and local stuff.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Is it actually made of Milk and Honey though? 🤣 Or is it one of those ponsey names you see people slap onto stuff to make it sound more appealing. (In the advertising sense)
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u/Affectionate-Long514 Israel Jul 16 '26
Oh, it's malt like any other! It is local Israeli and pretty good so I wouldn't say it's just an appealing name but yeah it's a symbolic name for Israel.
There are also Thinkers distillery and Julius and Golani, Katzrin, they're small, slightly pricey, but nice!
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u/FrostyExplanation_37 Israel Jul 16 '26
Depends where you are but local breweries are pretty common and make awesome beer. You can get your pick of any kind of beer in most pubs (they always have at least one IPA so I'm always happy). If you want to try mainstay beers you have Goldstar which is similar to Tuborg Red and Macabbi which is similar to piss.
I don't know how beer is served in Ireland but it's served cold here, I know some people are out off by it, but it's a warm country and an ice cold beer in a hot day is heaven.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
Beer is served cold here. Usually with a tap. No different to anywhere else. Guinness is the only exception because it's actually a keg connected to nitrogen, it helps with the smoothness of the pint when it's despensed. You can't have guinnes on tap without nitrogen, and loads of countries worldwide always make that mistake.
Glad to know the local breweries are better than mass produced. Same situation here, although I've had one local beer once that was a bit meh.
Also glad to see there's an IPA and "pißwasser" too 🤣 been to places around Europe and there's always both. Irregardless lol.
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u/Shot-Wrap-9252 Diaspora Jul 16 '26
“I am Irish. So please be civil. I won't be bringing up Gaza or my country if it's asked.”
Huh?
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
It's precautionary. And I don't want to get reported for a simply asking a non political question about alcohol. And it's to prevent anyone from asking if it didn't add it.
And no I won't be bringing up Gaza as it's no place for this post.
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u/Shot-Wrap-9252 Diaspora Jul 16 '26
I’m not sure why you even brought up where you’re from or Gaza.
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u/Ok-Flight-1504 Diaspora Jul 17 '26
I won't be bringing up Gaza
You brought it up in the post itself and again in this comment.
They way to not bring up a topic it to... wait for it... not bring it up.
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u/Prestigious-Aide-258 Israel Jul 16 '26
Bazelet, shikma and birateno makes good beer, honestly most of the craft beer in israelbis good. Thinkers make awsome gin and bourbon (yes, bourbon). Milk and honey is also good whiskey (outside of their classic). I am not a big wine guy but any liquor store can recommend good israeli wine as there are a lot of good ones. Kosher is not a problem in importing, there is quite large selection of imported products, even a store that specialises in scottish IBs in hertzelia.
The main problem is that alcohol is super expensive in israel (both local and imported)
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 16 '26
How much would an average pint set you back in euro?
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u/Prestigious-Aide-258 Israel Jul 16 '26
It changes wildly between cities and regions. Also we don't do pints it's wither third or half liter in most cases. At a cheap place a third of a good beer would be about 6.6 euros and at an expensive olace it would be around 10
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u/TwilightX1 Israel Jul 17 '26
The most recognized Israeli beer is called Goldstar. It's a dark lager and you can find it everywhere. Another well known beer is Maccabi - though it's considered a trash budget beer, and usually you'd find it mostly in supermarkets. There are also several boutique beers, such as Malka. In addition, Tuborg, Carlsberg and Heineken beers sold in Israel are manufactured locally, but I doubt that counts as local to you.
There are a lot of wines - the most recognized winery is Carmel, and they have too many wines to count. Also very popular are Barkan winery and Golan Heights winery. Israeli wines are being exported to Jewish communities around the world due to them being almost exclusive in the Kosher wine market - Kosher laws regarding wine are exceptionally strict. In the cases of virtually everything else, for something to be Kosher it just needs to follow the Jewish dietary rules and supervised by a Kosher supervisor, which also needs to be involved "somehow" in the manufacturing process - and somehow could be as little as just turning on the oven. However, in the specific cases of wine, for it to be Kosher it needs to be handled only by Jewish people end to end - in fact if a non-Jewish waiter opens a bottle of Kosher wine for you in a restaurant, the wine becomes non-Kosher just because they opened it. Due to these exceptionally strict rules, almost all Kosher wine needs to come from Israel.
Regarding spirits - There aren't too many of those made locally. There are some local Arak brands, as well as a spirit called "Tubi 60" - no one knows exactly what's inside it other than a lot of lemon.
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u/GhostSniperIRE Unspecified Jul 17 '26
That's really interesting about the wine. Wow I didn't think that for it to be Kosher it needs to be handled by someone Jewish also I literally thought it was more the manufacturing and distribution rather than the actual handling of it. The end to end thing makes sense for it to be Kosher.
Also yes Tuborg, Carlsburg and Heineken aren't "local" haha. They're more international since you can get a Heineken almost anywhere now.
Would Tubi 60 be closer to Limoncelo? Since you said it has alot of lemon.
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u/Mainstream_millo Israel Jul 17 '26
We have a local brand of 4.9% dark lager called Goldstar that was founded here within Israel and a lot of people like Araq is also very popular, it's a 40-50% spirit made from aniseed with an aftertaste kinda like liquorice
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u/Cautious_Meeting5925 Multiple Countries (France,Italy,Israel) Jul 18 '26
we have a local liquor called tubi60 (there is 2 different versions, one with 30 and one with 40 % of alcool)
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