Reviving old traditions, Arab beer brewers make their mark

It took gumption to pour millions of dollars into starting a brewery in an overwhelmingly Muslim country where many frown on consuming alcohol.

Jordanian beer pioneer Yazan Karadsheh is now taking his next risky step, sending a first shipment of his Carakale to the U.S., where it will compete with thousands of brands in a $22 billion-a-year craft beer market.

The 32-year-old Karadsheh is part of a small but growing brotherhood of Arab brewers in the Levant who want to nurture local beer-drinking cultures and compete against the brews of large companies, some of them multi-nationals that dominate the region's beer market.

Carakale is the first craft beer in Jordan. The West Bank already has three independent breweries - well-established veteran Taybeh, newcomer Shepherds and tiny Wise Men's Choice, made in a basement near biblical Bethlehem. Lebanese brands include Colonel, made at a large brew pub in the coastal town of Batroun, and 961, named after the country's international dialing code. Small breweries also sprang up in Israel over the past decade.

It's a modest revival in a region where beer-brewing traditions go back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, but lay dormant for centuries.

Demand is also up. Regional beer consumption increased by 44 percent over the past decade - though the close to 105 million gallons guzzled in nine Arab countries and Israel last year amount to a drop compared to U.S. consumption of 6.1 billion gallons, according to industry figures and IWSR, an alcoholic drinks research company.

Karadsheh, a member of Jordan's Christian minority, believes there is room for expansion. 

"Obviously, they drink," he said of his compatriots. "Alcohol might be taboo, but you can find alcohol...