“Life in Beirut is so hard! I worked there for years and could never afford a house. So when I got a job opportunity in Jezzine in 2017, I said yes. I figured I could live in my family’s house in Bkassine (near Jezzine), save some money, and build myself a future.

In Bkassine, I used to finish work pretty early, around 2:00 pm. I quickly realized that there was nothing for me to do in the village! I was bored and slept most afternoons.

So in October I started thinking about an activity I could do to distract myself.  There is a tradition in Bkassine, almost all families produce their own arak. I was curious about the process, but I wanted to create something new, I wanted to start a new tradition.

I knew that craft beers were becoming a thing in Lebanon, so I figured why not start my own beer with the apples from my village?

I ordered online a beer brewing kit and I started playing around. I can’t describe the feeling I had when I produced my first batch!  I was excited like a kid. I ended up creating 9 different flavors 🙂

In May 2018, the youth from the village came back for the holidays. I met them at the village square and offered them to taste my beers. They loved it! Not just the beers per se, but the whole concept: they loved the idea to create something here and bring back life to the region. So they volunteered to help!

45 young people worked with me that summer, they were happy, it kept them busy.

They asked me why I was not producing more beers. I told them I would need a fermentation machine for that, and I didn’t have the means to pay for it. So they surprised me: they all poured in some money and bought me the machine!

With that, we took part to the Bkassine Festival that summer and sold 700 bottles. And this year we will be at the Araya and the Beirut Hippodrome Festivals. I want to develop the brand, grow the sales, save myself some money and develop my business, start selling my beers to Lebanese restaurants and pubs.

I named my brand Peers Urban Brewing, like the peers I missed so much in my village.

I want to tell Lebanese youth that they should not be afraid to create the opportunities they want where they want them. I don’t necessarily see myself living in Bkassine in the long run, as there isn’t much to do there,  but creating this brand with the youth of the village helped me discover my passion and discover myself along the way.”

Antoine Fares, 34, is the founder of Peers Urban Brewing. He graduated in biochemical engineering from the Lebanese University and worked at Sesobel and Wadi al Akhdar before starting his own company.

#GSC This post is sponsored by Peers Urban Brewing