Everyone’s heard of the king of beers. Now, meet the queen.
For the longest time, Israel was known primarily for two competing beers: Maccabi or Goldstar, sold in stores, supermarkets, bars and restaurants, on tap or by the bottle. Tourists and sabras alike tended to favor one over the other, similar to preferring Coke or Pepsi.
Those days are gone.
The Jewish state has gotten into the beer industry step by step, and one of the more successful ventures is Malka Brewery in the Western Galilee. Its craft beer is homegrown, not imported. Malka means “queen” in Hebrew, and it’s both a play off the Hebrew word, bira (בירה), a feminine conjugation, and a nod to all the women who make the country run—a compliment to the queen bees.
It also happens to be the name of the grandmother of CEO Gilad Dror, but that, he says, was more of a coincidence.
The 40-year-old—married and the father of a 2-year-old son—joined the Malka team in 2018. Since then, his days have revolved around beer, five of them to be exact: blond ale, pale ale, IPA, stout and American wheat. The brewery also makes several flavors of hard seltzer (“Mr. Zeltser”), that ubiquitous drink of contemporary Jewry, in addition to gin aged in beer barrels. In London, at a wine and spirits competition in 2023, Malka Mediterranean Spirits was awarded a gold medal in the category of contemporary gin.
Still, Malka, which is akin to a small- or medium-sized craft brewery in the United States, should not be labeled boutique. “We’re talking about beer—a daily product, a craft,” Dror says good-naturedly. “My working days are set around bottle, brew and deliver.”
Of course, like so many in the Israel Defense Forces, he fits in reserve duty as well.
The story of him and hops began in 2006. Assaf Lavie, a fighter jet pilot in the IDF, had a dream to promote beer culture in Israel tied to a love of nature. The aim was “to produce the best craft beer with the very best ingredients.”
The former owner of two pubs in Tel Aviv moved to Klil, an ecological village in the Western Galilee, to experiment with brewing beer. After a barrage of recipe-testing, tasting by professionals in the food and wine industry, and strict quality control, the first batch was produced. He tweaked it and increased it in small amounts until he made enough to deliver his product to restaurants and cafes in Tel Aviv.
Sales soared. In 2008, the brewery resettled in Kibbutz Yehi’am, at the foot of the Yehi’am fortress, now a national park in the Upper Galilee. Lavie insisted that everything should be produced naturally; herbs, fruit and clean water come from the Ga’aton Springs, adjacent to the kibbutz.
In 2018, the production of Malka beer moved to the Tefen industrial zone, where a state-of-the-art brewery was constructed. About 12 people are employed there. The five aforementioned beers and the award-winning gin are now produced year-round, along with some seasonal varieties, such as a beer for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day, which was celebrated from April 30 to May 1 in Israel, and on May 14 in the Diaspora. Lavie’s partner, Shira, designs the beer labels, as well as those for special editions.
“The first design was drawn on a paper napkin,” says Dror. “But this year for Independence Day, we wanted optimism, a return to the old Israel.”
What better than to harken back to the 1956 young cartoon character “Srulik”?
It was a creation by Holocaust survivor Karl Goldberger, who was born in 1921 in Budapest, Hungary, and who changed his name to Kariel Gardosh (pen name “Dosh”) after immigrating to Israel in 1948. His cartoons found a home in Israeli newspapers and elsewhere, and continue to carry on his legacy after his death in 2000 at the age of 79.
The pioneering “Srulik” (a nickname for Yisrael or Israel) embodied the spirit of the modern sabra. He wore a cargo shirt, khaki shorts or loose pants, biblical-looking sandals and a kibbutz hat (known as a kova tembel) showing a single visible hair curl. He became symbolic of a fresh start in a new homeland.
Dror connected with Dosh’s son and daughter, Miki and Daniela, to inquire about using their famous father’s work.
“They agreed,” he said, “and even sent original drawings.”
If all that sounds easy, Dror makes it a point to say it was not. In between brewing came years of the COVID-19 pandemic and then the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In the 18 months since, Israelis, who were never known to be drinkers, drank even less.
“We had to be on guard, to be alert,” says Dror. At first, “everyone stayed close to shelters.” Bars and restaurants were closed for a while as the country mourned and acted, with the fate of soldiers and the return of the hostages uppermost on everyone’s mind.
Tourists, who Dror says like to eat local and drink local when they visit other countries, have stayed away since Oct. 7, with airlines halting service, and rocket and missile attacks leading the news. But since the start of 2025, Israelis have slowly started to get back to a new normal, albeit one that still has them running to shelters.
The goal is to get businesses back up to speed, including Malka Brewery with its visitors’ center, weekly events, tasting nights and beer flights, complemented by locally made olive oil and fresh bread baked on the premises.
Then again, members of a people’s army know how to adapt, “how to deal with surprises,” says Dror. “Everything happens here all the time, and you need to cope with it.”
Along those lines, he offers: “We’ve gone from ‘let’s make beer’ to mastering an art.”
Simple Syrup (Pareve)
Makes 1¼ cups
Simple syrup is used to sweeten many cocktails, as well as for sauces, glazes and in cooking and baking. It’s made up of just two ingredients found right in your kitchen. Easy to make, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. The ratio is always 1:1, water and sugar. Use it in recipes for cocktails and nibbles like Easy Bruschetta and Greek Cheese Dip (below).
Directions:
Pour 1 cup of water into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Don’t boil. It should just be warm enough to dissolve the sugar.
Add 1 cup sugar, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. It’s ready when the liquid turns clear, not cloudy, and there are no grains of sugar at the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Then pour into a clean jar, cover tightly and refrigerate.
Serving tips from Malka Brewery:
Eau de vie Negroni
Pour equal quantities of Malka Distillate, Campari and red Vermouth into a stirring glass with ice. Mix well and pour into a lowball glass. Add ice and a slice of lemon or orange.
Malka Special
Shake 1½ ounces Malka Distillate with 1 ounce simple syrup and ¼ cup shaved ice.
Pour into a highball glass, add ice and top with soda.
A gin martini consists of gin, vermouth and a garnish. The smallest addition makes a huge difference. A few teaspoons of olive brine make a Dirty Martini; a pickled onion makes a Gibson.
The Perfect Gin Martini
Stir 2½ ounces of gin or Malka Distillate, ¼ ounce each of dry and sweet vermouth, and a dash of Angostura orange bitters. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Easy Bruschetta (Pareve)
4-5 servings
Cook’s Tips:
*Slice the baguette and leave it at room temperature, two or three hours before toasting.
*Use Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute.
*May toast a baguette in the air fryer.
Ingredients:
1 medium baguette, cut ¼-inch thick on the bias
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 large firm tomatoes, diced into ¼ inch pieces
2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh basil
21 Seasoning to sprinkle
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Brush bread on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle on one side with garlic powder.
Arrange on a large baking sheet, garlic powder side up.
Toast in preheated oven, five to 10 minutes. Watch carefully. Arrange on a platter. Spoon tomatoes over top, dividing evenly. Top with shredded basil and sprinkle with 21 Seasoning.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Greek Cheese Dip (Dairy)
Serves 4-5
Cook’s Tips:
*Substitute blue cheese or finely grated sharp cheddar for Parmesan.
Ingredients:
½ cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely snipped chives (divided)
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat the cheeses, yogurt, olive oil and lemon juice until well-combined.
Stir in 1 tablespoon chives. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with remaining chives.
Serve with whole-wheat crackers or pita chips. The dip may be made ahead of time and stored, covered, in the fridge.
Serve at room temperature.
Ethel G. Hofman is a widely syndicated American Jewish food and travel columnist, author and culinary consultant.