A Palestinian brewer’s visit to Glasgow in August marked an emotional milestone for a beer collaboration forged under extraordinary circumstances, as the Middle East’s oldest microbrewery navigates escalating violence and water shortages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Madees Khoury, the region’s first and only female brewmaster and operations manager of Taybeh Brewing Company, travelled to Scotland to launch Sun & Stone lager, a partnership with Glasgow-based social enterprise Brewgooder that has now secured distribution in more than 1,600 Co-op stores across the United Kingdom.
The 40-year-old brewer described her time in Scotland as profoundly moving, particularly when she witnessed a pro-Palestine demonstration in a Glasgow park.
“Living in Palestine and under the occupation, and going through all these struggles and difficulties and challenges with the road blocks and the settler attacks, and just being in your own bubble, you don’t see and you don’t feel the international support,” she explained.Scottish Partnership Born from Solidarity
The collaboration with Brewgooder emerged from what James Hughes, co-founder of the Glasgow-based company, described as an emotional response to Taybeh’s story. “When we first read about Taybeh, we were completely moved by their resilience. They’re incredible people who deserve to have their story told and their beer enjoyed around the world,” Hughes said.
Brewgooder, which became the first Scottish brewery to achieve B Corporation certification in August 2018, has built its business model around social impact. Since launching in 2016, the company has donated 100% of its profits to charitable causes, initially focusing on clean water projects. The Brewgooder Foundation has funded more than 140 water and sanitation projects, primarily in rural Malawi, providing clean water access to over 155,000 people.
For the Sun & Stone collaboration, Brewgooder is producing the beer in Scotland at zero profit, with all proceeds directed to two beneficiaries: Taybeh’s local community and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which supports conflict-affected populations across the Middle East, including Gaza.
The beer’s name references the warm sun and limestone hills that characterise the Middle Eastern landscape, while representing what Brewgooder describes as “resilience, compassion and craft”.
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The launch generated immediate enthusiasm in Glasgow’s independent venue sector. The first batch sold out in under a week, with bars and cafes including The Glad Café, Café Buena Vida, Ryan’s Bar, Mono, The 78, Dram and McChuill’s signing up to stock the beer. A solidarity mural by local signpainter Hana Lindsay was unveiled at Park Lane Market in the city’s Southside.
Suz O’Neill and David Fleming, co-founders of Cafe Buena Vida, described the collaboration as an obvious decision. “As a community organisation working to find practical ways to support the people of Palestine, and as fans of good quality beer and women making waves in the drinks industry, it’s an absolute no brainer to stock this new collab beer,” they said.
