Abu Dhabi | Beers with Emirates flavors in the Gulf’s first microbrewery

(Abu Dhabi) In a bar-restaurant in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Chad McGehee inspects the steel tanks in which the first beers of the Gulf are fermented, where alcohol has long been taboo.

The 42-year-old American expatriate is one of the founders of Craft by Side hustle, the only microbrewery in a region once better known for its oil riches and conservatism than its tourism.

But times have changed in the emirate and Chad McGehee intends to take advantage of it. “We hope to be able to make Abu Dhabi a destination where people come for beer, like in Germany, New York or San Diego,” he told AFP.

Unlike neighboring countries where the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages are strictly regulated, or even prohibited, restrictions have been largely relaxed in recent years in the various emirates of the federation, with the exception of Sharjah where alcohol is still banned.

Abu Dhabi is, however, the first to pass the symbolic milestone of production, even if this can only be intended for consumption on site and therefore remains very limited.

Karak beer

To attract beer lovers in a country whose population is 90% foreigners, Craft by Side hustle, which opened a few months ago, intends to offer more than 75 different flavors throughout the year, including the most traditional to the most unexpected.

Chad McGehee says he uses local ingredients, like honey or dates, and even works on beers with Gulf flavors, inspired by a famous oriental dessert, called Oum Ali, or Karak, a spicy milk tea characteristic of the region.

“We will use black tea, saffron and cardamom […] In the glass, it will look like Karak, but it won’t be as creamy,” he says, amused.

The entrepreneur had already been the first, in 2019, to create an Emirati brand of beers and spirits, Side hustle, with a distinctive camel in the logo, but production based in the United States. “At the time, it wasn’t legal to produce here,” he says.

In 2021, authorities in Abu Dhabi are quietly opening a loophole in the regulations, offering establishments serving alcohol the opportunity to obtain “a fermentation permit” to make their own drinks.

“Embody change”

“Everything relating to alcohol is very important, because it breaks with the prohibitions which had been consolidated in the 1980s and 1990s,” underlines Alexandre Kazerouni, lecturer at the École normale supérieure.

Most Gulf leaders had opted for a conservative line at the time, in order to stem the threat of a possible challenge to power in the name of Islam, inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, explains this Gulf specialist .

It was only from the 2000s that Abu Dhabi began to convey a more liberal image, gradually relaxing social rules, particularly on alcohol consumption.

An expatriate in the Emirates for 17 years, Briton Andrew Burges says he has witnessed this evolution. But “when I return to my country, people still sometimes ask me if we can drink there,” he says while enjoying a beer at Craft by Side hustle, a project which he believes can help change the perception of ‘Abu Dhabi abroad.

The stakes are high for the capital, which aims to attract 39.3 million tourists in 2030, compared to 24 million in 2023, including visitors coming for the day from the famous neighboring emirate of Dubai, which has developed its tourist offer much further. early.

But competition is not limited to the United Arab Emirates, with most of the region’s oil states seeking to attract expatriates and tourists to diversify their economies.

“There is also competition with Qatar and Saudi Arabia over who will embody change in the region,” emphasizes Alexandre Kazerouni.

Saudi Arabia, home to two of Islam’s holiest sites, opened its first liquor store in January, reserved for non-Muslim diplomats. But the consumption of alcoholic beverages is still prohibited for other inhabitants of the kingdom, and should remain so, its Minister of Tourism said recently.