Safita

Syrian beer is back, and with Czech know-how

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• published: 09 Sep 2017
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(4 Sep 2017) LEADIN: Amid the devastating Syrian war, a new beer factory has opened in Syria's north-western coastal city of Safita. STORYLINE: Beer production has not been a high priority over the last six years as the embattled nation has suffered its most extraordinary period of instability and conflict. But now, thanks to two Syrian expats who lived in the Czech Republic, it's back. Nabil Abbas and his business partner Tareq Ahmad have invested 15 million US dollars to build the only operating domestic beer factory in Syria since the civil war halted the production of the country's only two brands. "Two years ago we planned for this project and we began with the permissions then we built it in three phases. The first was by achieving 1.5 million litres (of beer) per year, the second phase will be by the end of this year where we will reach the level of 3 million litres and our ambition is to expand next year where we will reach the level of 15 million litres," says Abbas, partner-owner of the Aradoz Beer factory. Before the civil war in Syria, two government-run beer brands were manufactured in Syria: Barada Beer near Damascus and Al-Sharq in Aleppo. But the conflict stopped production at both plants, leaving imports as the only source of the alcoholic beverage. Abbas says the brewing expertise comes from the Czech Republic, where beer has been brewed for a millennia. Czech brewers built the factory and supplied the machines, and also trained local workers to use them. Abbas feels that such expertise can create a successful product. "The true ambition is to have a national product with high quality that can compete with all other products with an acceptable price and that can satisfy the needs of the local Syrian market." The brewery is located in government-controlled territory in the Mediterranean region of Tartous. Safita sits inland, about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the port city of Tartous itself. Tareq Ahmad, the second owner-partner of the factory, believes that Syria is currently passing through what he described as the "post-war phase". "The governmental resolutions in this domain were very helpful, it motivated us to invest in the country and to boost with full power our production capacity," he says. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/62eeed8515b803edf4f2868b96c1c793 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork