Andy Nichols

Lebanese beer. Lebanese craft beer. Is there something wrong with these words? You can be forgiven for assuming that Lebanon is not a brewing nation, and if you’ve tasted a Lebanese beer — most of which are unpalatable — I hope you’ve long-since repressed the memory. 961 Brewery wants to destroy that association and instigate a beer revival in Lebanon.

The brewery’s story starts in 2006, during a summer war between Israel and Hezbollah. Mazen Hajjar began brewing beer with the sound of bombs echoing in the distance, already dreaming of opening his own brewery.

The result is a brewery and brewpub located in the party-till-dawn Gemmayze section of Beirut. In e-mails from the brewer, he says 961 is trying to nurture a beer culture using the “build it, they will come” model. The three 961 beers I’ve tried would not be out of place in any iconic taproom.

961 is the international dialing code for Beirut, but there’s nothing obvious on the packaging of these beers to indicate they are Lebanese. Based on the country’s past brewing efforts, this may be intentional.

• 961 Traditional Lager (5.2 per cent) — This is a Lebanese take on the historic pre-prohibition American lager. Using a non-traditional lager hop — Cascade — makes for an unusual-tasting lager with pronounced bitterness and a floral quality. The long, cold tank conditioning makes for a smooth, dry and crisp grapefruit finish. This beer has more flavour than a falafel, and this writer could easily belly up to a tap of it.

• 961 Red Ale (5.5 per cent) — The closest comparison to this brew in the Alberta market is Yukon Red — a solid expression of red ale. 961 uses one of my favourite bittering hops, Amarillo, to add hop spiciness that can cut through the spiciest of shawarma’s, with enough late bitterness to make this brew hard to put down. Definitely a treat for any hophead and the most impressive beer in the lineup.

• 961 Stout (7.5 per cent) — This is a sweet-styled foreign stout with an unnecessary gimmicky coffee infusion. The resulting taste is a discreet yet delicate coffee-and-beer concoction with the slight spiciness usually associated with stouts. The beer is medium-bodied with a well-balanced bitterness, but I could not get past the cloying coffee annoyance. If you want to pair this beer with Lebanese food, baklava would be the perfect choice, as the caramel and nutty flavours are a perfect complement.

Given my past experience with Lebanese beers, my expectations of 961 were low, but this Beirut brewery’s beers can proudly take their place in the global craft beer revolution. Colour me impressed.

Heritage Park has a grand reopening April 4 and 5. The new Heritage Park exhibits include The Big Rock Historic Brewing Centre. At present, the exhibit holds a miniature brew house and a historic look into the history of brewing in Alberta, with several cool historic brewing artefacts on display. Big Rock hopes to schedule some interactive classes on all aspects of making beer in the coming months.