Greek Beer

Greek Beer

During the past several years, microbreweries have popped up all over Greece, creating absolutely stunning products that are worth a taste by beer lovers. Greek beers cater for all tastes, offering unique aromas and flavours.

One of the first beers brewed in Greece is Alfa. It is a light, blonde lager, with rich foam and great to accompany almost any Greek dish. With subtle aromas, it is over 48 years old. It is produced by Athinaiki Zythopoiia (Athenian Brewery) and its bottle bears considerable resemblance with that used in the 1960s. Piraiki Microbrewery produces the homonymous beer that can be found in two types, Pils and Pale Ale. It is the first Greek, organically produced beer using traditional methods of brewing. Pils is a blonde beer with rich foam and slightly bitter aftertaste, while Pale Ale is brown, full of fruity aromas, with a sweet and spicy flavor. Another well – known Greek beer is Fix; originally produced in 1864, its production halted in 1962 before entering the market in 2010 in almost the same packaging as it was originally sold.

Mythos is an original, blonde, Greek lager with a refreshing flavor, made with the best varieties of barley and hops. It was first produced in 1997 and soon won a number of awards, along with a place in the hearts of people. It is now one of the three largest brands in the Greek beer market. Vergina beer was born in the first Greek brewery in Komotini, Rodopi; you may choose between a lager with a rich flavor and a red beer with aromas of exotic fruits. The same brewery also produces Edelsteiner, a Premium Pilsner with a light flavor, as well as Vergina Weiss with rich fruity aromas with hints of clove and banana.

Neda is an original lager produced in the region of Messinia and has a rich, slightly spicy, flavor of hops. It was first produced in 2009 and has been named after a river of the region; according to mythology, Neda was a water goddess, who bathed infant Zeus in Lusios River. Kerkiraiki Microbrewery, located in Corfu, produces four high quality beers; Royal Ionian is a lager following an old Czech recipe; Real Ale Bitter is brown and pleasantly bitter; Real Ale Special is golden red with fruity flavours; and Ionian Epos is a Homeric barley beer served three millennia later. The latter was inspired by the Odyssey, according to which Alkinoos, the King of Phaeacians (Corfu), stored “barley wine” in the storerooms. Numerous other Greek brands may be found that have exquisite products.