BEIRUT – After being dormant for thousands of years, beer culture is returning to Lebanon. Lebanese brewers, pursuing their passion of carving out a space for the ancient drink in their homeland, have overcome the lack of traditional ingredients, including hops and malt, by incorporating locally grown fruits and spices. They are also embracing an environmentally friendly ethos in combating a deficiency in such basic materials as glass bottles. 

Lebanon’s new take on an old drink was on display at the Beirut International Beer Event, BIBE 2018, held Sept. 13-16 at an open-air hippodrome near the trendy Badaro neighborhood in the nation’s capital. The young festival, in its second iteration this year, brought together beer lovers and beer makers from around the world. It also showcased some of the best craft breweries and microbreweries Lebanon has to offer.

Saying that beer has a long history in Lebanon and the Middle East would be a gross understatement. Archaeologists recently discovered the remains of a 13,000-year-old brewery belonging to the nomadic Natufian people, who lived in the high mountains of Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon. The site is today in northern Israel.

Despite such auspicious origins, beer experienced a 10,000-year “slump” in Lebanon, with wine becoming the drink of choice for many locals. In 2006, there were more than 30 wineries in the country and only one local brewery. Over the last decade, however, Lebanese brewers have sought to revive the fortunes of the long-lost beverage.