Keeping their spirits high

The Neilsons introduce Israelis to DIY drinks and boutique beverages.

By NAAMA BARAK
Denny Neilson (photo credit: NAAMA BARAK)
Denny Neilson
(photo credit: NAAMA BARAK)
Denny Neilson’s job isn’t your average nine-to-five office stint. Rather, it involves making beer, cider, lemonade and all sorts of spirits, as well as teaching others how to do so, for 12 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Denny, his wife, Pam, and three of their four children made aliya the day the Second Gulf War broke out in 2003. Even though they spoke no Hebrew and had no family or friends in the country, the Neilsons had decided to live in Israel.
The reason for moving, Denny says, was his wife’s long-standing dream to move to Israel. The family settled in Mevaseret Zion outside Jerusalem. After a while, they decided to open a specialty business in their home. The Winemaker offers DIY courses in home brewing and selling boutique, home-made alcoholic beverages.
“People thought we were crazy,” Denny says of others’ reaction to their decision to start the business. “Most Israelis, for the most part, are not do-it-yourselfers,” he explains, but “we enjoy doing things ourselves and thought that others would, too.”
The Winemaker isn’t the Neilsons’ first foray into a DIY family business. Originally from California, the family spent the 10 years prior to their aliya in Tennessee, where they established a family-run bed and breakfast and did everything by themselves.
“We bought a 200-dunam [50-acre] field of cotton in the middle of nowhere,” Denny says of the B&B the family sold once they decided to move to Israel. “It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”
Once in Israel, the family started producing beer and cider, wines and alcoholic lemonade. What started out as more of a hobby is now a successful business, and the family’s products can be found at around 400 distribution points across the country.
Making alcoholic drinks was “just an extension of cooking,” Denny says. Also, he’d “just moved to Israel. That makes you drink,” he jokes.
Alcoholic cider was a novelty in Israel when the Neilsons started making it, with most Israelis associating the word “cider” with the non-alcoholic apple drink. The Neilsons named their cider “Buster’s” after their beloved dog. It comes in two strengths: 6.7% alcohol and 4.8% alcohol.
They soon branched out into fizzy alcoholic lemonade.
“The lemonade is the best in the country because it is the only one in the country,” Denny quips.
At 5% alcohol content, the lemonade is a fun, refreshing drink. As for his personal favorite, it “depends on what time of day it is,” Denny says. “I prefer the moonshine, the single malt whiskey, the vodka.”
All the beverages are strictly kosher, with Badatz Beit Yosef certification, as well as certification from the Beit Shemesh Rabbinate.
“It’s important for us to be available for as many folks as possible,” Denny says. Clients range from “haredi people from Jerusalem and secular kids from Tel Aviv,” he adds. “We want to make it available to everyone who wants it.”
Denny and his son, Matthew, are responsible for the products – they brew them, bottle them, cap them and label them – while Pam is in charge of the accounting side of the business. “It’s not a job per se, more of an adventure,” Denny says. “It’s a fun business.”
Working alongside his son is the best part of the job, according to Denny. “He’s just fantastic at what he does,” he says. “We just do it so we can be together.”
While they recently hired two sales representatives to keep up with the growing demand, the father-and-son team is still completely hands-on. This includes not only creating the products but also building up their factory in Naham, near Beit Shemesh, where they took on the plumbing, electricity, tiling and everything else.
As well as producing beverages, The Winemaker offers home brewing kits for making beer, and it holds beer, wine and liquor-making courses at the factory in Naham and the store in Mevaseret. The father and son also “take it on the road” by invitation.
“We’ve taught hundreds of people,” Denny says. “Definitely people have started making beer because of the costs,” he says of the surge in the number of people trying their hand at home brewing following the recent tax hike on alcoholic beverages.
“If people want to have a fabulous, fabulous, fulfilling hobby for a very low cost, this is the one,” he says. “The results are fantastic.”
People getting a taste for home brewing are a mixed lot, he says. “It’s everybody, from 18-year old yeshiva kids all the way up.”
The Winemaker’s products aren’t cheap compared to commercially prepared drinks available in stores. A bottle of lemonade or cider costs NIS 15 or a little less if bought in a six-pack. The beer – called Isra-Ale – “a beer drinker’s beer,” according to Denny, can’t be found in stores and is made to order.
“We’re boutique. It’s expensive to make and expensive to buy,” he explains. “We try to produce just the right amount.”
An upcoming line of liquors, including vodka – slated to be on the shelves by Passover – spiced rum, gin, arak and whiskey, is the Neilsons’ next big thing.
The beverages, called “Pioneer Spirits” – in line with the creators’ adventurous personality – are already being bottled.
A 700 ml. bottle of vodka will be sold in stores for about NIS 140, and gin is expected to cost the same. Arak will be a little more expensive, since “anise is ungodly expensive.”
“We want it to be a pleasant experience,” Denny says of the spirits. “It’s everything,” Denny says of his products. “Nobody does wine, beer, cider and distillation the way we do.”
As for their plans for the future, the Neilsons hope to expand the factory in Naham. At the moment it’s open on Fridays for tasting tours, but by May a new deck – DIY, of course – will go up, where customers will be able to sit back and enjoy Busteritas, lemonade margaritas and “hot shots” – fiery chili-flavored vodka served with snacks.
Denny says that won’t be the end of the renovations, as apparently Matthew has big plans for the family business, although they’re still some time away.
Setting up a business in Israel is no mean feat, however, especially for olim who don’t speak much Hebrew, and the Neilsons experienced some difficulties along the way. Figuring out how to navigate government agencies and regulations, for example, has been a challenge at times.
“It’s been frustrating… but they work with you,” says Denny, adding that the tests the business has to undergo are difficult, “but this is the country we’ve chosen to live in.”
Overall, “it was a no-brainer,” Denny says of the decision to move to Israel and set up a life here. “When you have a happy wife, you have a happy life,” he says of fulfilling his wife’s dream of coming to Israel.
As for the business, “We just like doing things, helping others do things,” he says. “It’s fun, you meet great people, and, again, there’s nothing like working with family.”