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Gipsy Hill 18 October 2016
Sam & JT headed to Israel to check out the manufacturing of the breweries new kit. Here’s their brewers trip…
It’s not what you think. We’re not arming ourselves and escalating our sales tactics to the highly aggressive to get our beer on the bars. We’re also not doing a “stunt” around the streets of Crystal Palace to grab headlines.
We’re expanding. So we need new tanks. Fermentation tanks. And a hot liquor tank. And, for now, we buy them from Israel. To get comfortable with the idea the manufacturer invited us down there to inspect their progress before they were shipped, spend a bit of time discussing future projects, and then maybe see a few sites…
It was fantastic to see the manufacturing site. Part automated, but mostly hand-made, it explains why the tanks are not all identical when they arrive. Amir, the CEO, couldn’t have been more hospitable and open to discussing new design ideas, as well as up for the challenge of making new types of tanks and vessels too (MGT Mash tun and kettle, watch this space…).
We stopped off at Alexander Brewery, halfway to Tel Aviv from Haifa, and met Uri, a true innovator and most humble of all-star brewers. Keep an eye on them for their Mikkeller collaboration, their Green IPA and Gold World Beer Cup Porter. Uri’s story on winning that Gold is amazing – sitting in his little office near Mikhmoret checking the results on his laptop and seeing he’s one the world’s best Porter, made in Israel. His grafting is pushing Israeli craft beer to new heights.
Second on the tour is a local distillery, this time in Tel Aviv. Milk and Honey is making single malt whiskies, and pretty amazing ones too. Israeli wine barrels are being brought in to age the whisky at different locations around the country, some in warmer areas, and others in cooler mountains. Getting 3rd place in a high profile international whisky competition, and producing the unbelievably fragrant gin that we tried on the day, I’d say these guys are a distillery to look out for.
Choosing suppliers is a huge deal. Investing time in that relationship to make them better at what they do and establishing really solid, trustworthy give and take is critical to ultimately making your own business more stable. We’re really happy with MGT, and look forward to working more with them.
To keep up with the brewery and read what we’re up to, check out our blog page.