Palestinian beer comes to the UK

A former volunteer who worked in a peace camp in Palestine is importing a Palestinian beer into the UK.

Rowan Davis got the idea to import Taybeh - which means "delicious" in Arabic - while she was working for the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine last July.

The beer will be launched in a select group of bars and pubs at the end of September and Miss Davis is looking to push the beer nationwide if initial sales go well. She may also set up a mail order system on the internet.

She said: "It is the only beer brewed in Palestine and I thought that importing into Britain would be a great idea and would benefit their economy. However, I never thought it would be me that would import it. However, when I got home I became more and more interested in the idea."

She has also pledged to plough 15 per cent of any profits made by Taybeh beer into two charities - one Palestinian and one Israeli.

Because of the occupation of Palestine Tayleh, which is brewed in the town of Tayleh, near Ramallah, cannot be directly imported.

However Ms Davis discovered that there is a brewery in Hamburg, Germany that brews it under licence and so she was able to arrange an import agreement with them.

There is, however, scepticism over whether or not consumers will buy into Miss Davis's venture. Ted Bruning, editor of the Campaign for Real Ale's newspaper What's Brewing?, said: "I wish her good luck but niche brands like this have had a chequered history - they come and go like the morning dew.

"In my experience people do not buy beer out of compassion and I don't think you can build a brand on that basis. You have to have a lot of marketing clout and be very clever with it."

Roger Jackson, licensee of the Anglesea Arms in Halnaker, Sussex, said: "I think the product will receive a great boost because of the story behind it. It will get publicans interested in it but I am not so sure how well it will go down with consumers. It will come down to quality of taste at the end of the day."