Brewery creates ‘My Brother’ pale ale for kidnapped soldiers
BeerBazaar teams up with parents of hostage soldiers, offering them brief moment of tasting amid worry and pain
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Parents of enlisted soldiers whose sons were taken captive during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, have brewed a craft beer called “Ah Sheli” (My Brother), aiming to bring attention to the hostages’ plight.
The project, undertaken with BeerBazaar, an Israeli brewery specializing in craft beers, was initiated by family friends of Nimrod Cohen, a soldier dragged from his tank by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Signs of life were revealed by fellow hostages who were released in February.
“The idea was to draw the attention of the younger crowd, the students, the reservists, who will drink this beer and think about the soldiers held there and drink to their health,” said Nimrod Cohen’s mother, Viki.
Cohen was in a tank whose crew attempted to stem the tide of Hamas terrorists invading the Nahal Oz army base. They were one of two tanks stationed between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim.
Nineteen years old when he was captured, Cohen was the gunner in a tank with Cpt. Omer Neutra, Sgt. Shaked Dahan and Sgt. Oz Daniel. Neutra was the tank commander, Dahan the driver, and Daniel the loader.
Neutra, Dahan and Daniel have all been identified as having been killed during the Hamas onslaught, and their bodies seized and taken by Hamas terrorists to Gaza.
“It’s very complicated,” said Cohen. “Some of the captive soldiers are alive and some are not, and some parents are active and others are not.”
The parents of hostages who were soldiers have been in contact since October 7, sharing a WhatsApp group and meeting up at times as well.
Several of them, including the Cohens and the parents of Omer Neutra, Daniel Oz and Itay Chen along with several others, gathered a month ago at the BeerBazaar brewery in Kfar Daniel, to help taste and choose flavors for the pale ale being brewed in their sons’ honor.
The tasting event took place on May 12, the Monday that hostage Edan Alexander, also taken captive as a soldier, was released home.
Moments like Alexander’s release home offer hope, said Cohen.
“The families have an internal support system for one another and the beer was one activity to do together that felt somewhat normal, that gave us energy,” said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was killed and his body taken captive by Hamas. “We live in an alternative universe where things look and feel different, but it’s easier to communicate with each other, because we’re all going through the same thing.”
Other parents joined the brewing event, including Herut Nimrodi, the mother of Tamir Nimrodi, a COGAT soldier who was one of the first hostages taken captive on the morning of October 7, and Anat Angrest, the mother of Matan Angrest, a soldier taken captive from his tank who released hostages have said has significant injuries.
“We were partners in all of it,” said Cohen, “in tasting and choosing flavors and working on it with them. We have to try and reach the hearts of people, not only through protests, but through creative outlets as well.”
All proceeds from the beer will go to Brothers for Life, an organization supporting wounded IDF veterans. The idea was proposed by the hostages’ friends, many of them combat soldiers themselves.
The project was an easy one to agree to, said Sagiv Maor, BeerBazaar’s deputy CEO.
There were 5,500 cans brewed in the first batch, and Maor said they’ll keep brewing the beer as long as there is demand.
BeerBazaar, which has bars in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, opened a new, larger brewery with a visitors’ center 10 days before the October 7 terror attack, and has struggled to keep the business running during the ongoing war.
The pale ale’s olive-green can matches the color of IDF uniforms, and the label notes that the 5.2% alcohol pale ale is “a special edition for our kidnapped soldiers. Brewed with love and longing together with the families and friends of the kidnapped soldiers.”
The plan was to launch the beer on June 22. That won’t happen now, given the ongoing conflict with Iran, said Maor, but the beer will be available when regular deliveries can resume.
The brewery offers free delivery throughout the country within five days although it generally arrives within one day, said Maor.
The BeerBazaar “My Brother” beer can also be purchased through the brewery’s “Build Your Own Pack” category.
“We’re very pleased with it, and we just hope it will do its job,” said Maor.
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