((PKG)) BEER MAKER
((TRT: 09:11))
((Topic Banner: Beer Maker))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Brooklyn, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 0 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 2 male))
((Blurb: Zahra Tabatabai is brewing craft beer inspired by a grandfather’s recipes and the flavors and ingredients of Iran.))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
My family came originally from Iran to the States to attend university,
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
and they had the intention of going back to Iran, but while they were here, the revolution and the uprising happened in Iran and they decided to stay in the United States.
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
I just started homebrewing at home and creating recipes that had a lot of inspiration and influence from the flavors of the Middle East.
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
My grandfather used to make beer and wine, and there's a very rich history of fermentation and beer brewing specifically in Iran, and so that's what really sparked my interest.
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
It fell during COVID, and so there was this period of time where I was home and involved in remote learning for my son, and a period of time where I think a lot of people started to reflect on their lives and their jobs and what they wanted for the future.
And for me, that is when the shift really happened, was when I was spending more time with
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
my son and I wanted the opportunity to do that in the future.
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
It hasn't panned out that way because being a business owner really does take over your life. So, all morning I've been doing my route and the logistics for my deliveries. And so far, I have done five deliveries. I got one more in the neighborhood, and then I'm going to go load up the car again because this car can only fit so much. So, I'll go back, load up again and continue on the route.
((NATS: Zahra Tabatabai))
All right. Thank you.
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
What took me from homebrewing to bringing this to market was me really educating myself about the history of beer and alcohol in the Middle East and realizing that a lot of people don't realize that there was ever a connection between the two. And so, it was really important for me to highlight that and show people that we have this very rich history that we do not want to be erased from our country. So, my first brew was Persian Blue.
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
It's brewed with a blue salt that comes directly from Iran. That one was really an homage to my family who did put salt in their beer before they drank it. I think a lot of Persian people, a lot of people in that region, when they drink beer or when I saw my family drink beer, it was just a classic lager pilsner. So that's why I decided to go with that style first. When you add salt to it, it really brings out the other flavors. And so, I really feel like in this beer, some people say, “Oh, there's a hint of sweetness.” And I think that the salt does help to kind of pull that and have people taste the sweetness of the grain, and that comes through a little better with the salt.
((Shaun Littman
Owner, Textbook))
Yeah, this is the first time I’ve ever tried Persian Beer and it’s phenomenal. It’s changed our household. Customers love the Back Home Beer. It’s actually our biggest seller here at Textbook.
((NATS: Customers))
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
I had to find a brewery that would accept me, accept my recipes, allow me to brew there, because obviously I didn't have my own facility and I still don't. And so, I reached out just kind of cold, called a lot of different breweries, brewery owners to ask for space and in brewing these recipes. And that's how I landed here at Flagship Brewery.
((Jay Sykes
Co-Owner, Flagship Brewing Co.))
What's special about Back Home Beer is Zahra. She's using, you know, the suppliers and ingredients that we use a lot. But in each one of her beers, she adds something unique.
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
And that's what I think really brings out the story of her brand.
((NATS))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
All right. So, I'm going to check the invoice. For me, the mission is really about educating people about the history and the culture and the richness of Iran, and also on top of that, the correlation
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
between alcohol and the Middle East, and a lot of misconceptions that people have about it. So that's really important to me. It's also important to highlight different flavors and recipes and ingredients that are familiar to me and bring them into the beer as well.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
I have brought six different beers to market. Some of them are core beers that I have year-round, and the other ones are seasonal drops that are loosely tied to different Persian traditions or holidays.
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
For example, I have New Day IPA, which comes around during Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year, and Nowruz directly translates into New Day. And so that was the name of the beer. I also incorporated three items from our table spread
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
for the New Year, which was apples and sumac and wheat in the beer for a holiday in December that Persians celebrate, where they stay up all night, and they eat, and they're with family, and they read poetry, and they play music. It's a beautiful holiday. And for that one,
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
I made Yalda Queen, and I featured pomegranate, which is one of the foods that people eat during Yalda Night. And most recently, I have the Summer Witte, which was what we loosely called Duality Witte, which was for Pride Month. And it tried to highlight the struggle that people within the LGBTQ [abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning] community have in Iran and specifically in the Middle East, that have this duality they're faced with, that they have to keep themselves hidden for fear of retribution in the region.
((MUSIC))
((Christine Sahadi Whelan
Partner, Sahadi’s (Store)))
My family is, as immigrants from the Middle East, I think that especially in the liquor and wine and wine and beer industry, it's an underrepresented community because people don't think traditionally of the Middle East with a huge beer or a winemaking culture. I really like to know the people that we do business with. I mean, personally, there's something uniquely charming about knowing, you know, the brewer and be able to speak directly to a connection between families. I mean, she gets her sumac from us, and then she makes her Sumac Gose from that. So, it's really, it's great. It makes an easy sell when you know the manufacturer or you know the maker.
((NATS))
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
The core beers that I have, which are the Persian Blue, the Sumac Gose, and the Orange Blossom IPA,
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
those were all designed by a young woman who lives in Tehran. And she had the idea to do a poetry series and to highlight different Persian poets, which is also very core to our culture. And so, we highlighted Omar Khayyam and Rumi, and we put different quotes that we thought were very special to us and spoke to the company. For example, the Sumac Gose can, that one is a Rumi quote that says, “If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” And I thought that that was very special because that's kind of what we're trying to do with the beer. The beer that you see here, this is the Persian Blue, and this one is an Omar Khayyam quote that says, “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”
((Courtesy: Mina M. Jafari))
And it was important for me to feature Iranian women as the designers of the can because I wanted to make sure that I was authentic in what I was trying to do: Give them the opportunity to show how talented they are, and how creative they can be, and how amazing Iranian women can be when given the opportunity.
((Zahra Tabatabai
Founder/Owner, Back Home Beer))
I think that a lot of people that are here in the United States that were displaced or part of the diaspora here in the United States, my parents included, they had every intention of going back to Iran, raising their family in Iran. And I'm hopeful that we'll get the opportunity at some point to do that, especially with what's happening
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
currently with the uprising. And I think that's everyone's dream that's here. They miss their home. And when they go back to Iran or when they see pictures, it's a foreign land to them. It's not something that they recognize because it's only been that way for about 45 years. And so, the hope is that for a free Iran for our people, and that we can go back freely, and that maybe, one day, I can brew the beer there as well.
((MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Zahra Tabatabai))
“Beer is Not a Crime” mural artists Icy and Sot
((MUSIC))