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beer was not thought to be drunk.[1] There has been recent archaeological findings within two separate sites In Greece containing materials which can be used for the manufacturing of beer.[2] These findings date back to the bronze age of history (3,300 to 1,200 BCE).[2]
The first official brewery was introduced in 1864,[3] there is now 94 active breweries in Greece.[4] The local beer produced has become part of the culture and is now drunk within numerous countries around the world.[5] However wine still has the highest consumption rates within Greece.[6][1] Beer has acted as a stimulus within the Greek economy as in 2005 it provided over 60’000 jobs for Greek residents [7]
History
editAlcohol consumption has always been a part of the culture in Greece, although it has adapted and changed in certain aspects over the generations.[1] Initially Greece had a strong wine drinking culture.[1][2] This culture adapted and developed as beer and spirits begun to grow in popularity.[1]
B.C
editThe Ancient Egyptians were the first to show evidence of beer consumption as they documented the brewing process on papyrus scrolls, dating back to 5,000 B.C.[8] This process made its way from the Middle East, into European countries.[8][9] Greece was one of these countries as remains associated with beer have been discovered which date back to 2135-2020 BC.[2] Beer in Europe became more popular in the northern parts of Europe rather than Greece, as the northern crops provided key ingredients for brewers.[9] Due to the popularity growth of Beer in the north, Greece would prefer to be associated with wine, as they often referred to northerners as ‘barbarians’.[9][1]
Remains of Prehistoric Sites
editArchaeologists discovered the remains of two prehistoric buildings, providing materials to which can be used for the development and consumption of beer.[2] A site was discovered at Archondiko (in northern Greece) and another at Agrissa (south of Archondiko on the eastern side of Greece).[2] Remains suggest that these sites burnt down in a fire, allowing artifacts found inside to be preserved for a rather long period of time.[10] Within the Archondiko site several cereals were discovered that date back to the “Early Bronze Age, phase IV, dated to 2135–2020 BC”,[2] and are key determinants in the brewing of beer. Soultana Maria Valamoti published the findings in a 2018 article, including: “Triticum monococcum (einkorn), T. dicoccum (emmer), T. spelta (spelt wheat), T. aestivum/durum (free-threshing wheat) and Hordeum sp. (barley) which were found in dense, sometimes pure, concentrations indicating deliberate storage.”[2]
Additionally to these cereals a two-chambered structure was discovered at this site. This structure is said to support temperatures of around 100 degrees Celsius, which is essential in the beer making process.[2][10] Accompanying this structure there was a discovery of 30 special cups which archaeologists believe may have been used for the consumption of the beer.[10]
Similarly to the Archondiko site the site within Agrissa was well preserved and provides instruments for beer production In Greece.[10] The evacuation of this site was conducted in 1955, 1956 and 1958 by a German archaeologist team.[2] Similar cereal grains where discovered as Valamoti mentions within her article, "the archaeobotanical remains from Argissa discussed here consist of at least 3,588 sprouted cereal grains that were identified to einkorn (2,319); a further 157 sprouted grains were identified as T. dicoccum (emmer) and 81 as Hordeum (barley)”.[2]
These cereal grains are said to date back 1700–1500 BC,[2] whilst other remains of the house are said to date back 2100–1700 BC.[2] This is of similar time period to that of the site in Archondiko. Within the Argissa site 45 specially sculpted cups where discovered, which is another similarity between the two sites.[10]
Transitioning to Now
editThe wine culture was prominent all the way until the 1800’s. In 1833 the first king of Greece ‘Frederic Othon (Otto)’, settled in Greece.[11][12] Otto came with scientists and specialists from his native land Bavaria, with the intentions of developing the beer industry.[3][11] Initially small breweries where set up in the 1840’s to serve Bavarian officials and military men who were stationed there at the time.[11]
Among the Bavarian settlers, was Johan Ludwig Fix who established a small enterprise selling home-brewed beer from his house in Kolonaki.[12] It was in 1864 when Charles Johan Fix, son of Johan Ludwig Fix, established fix brewery in Athens, the first official brewery of Greece.[11][12] Finding Beer in Greece among this time was a rarity, and was only available within the major cities.[13] Travelers in the 1900 from Germany allowed beer consumption to continue to grow.[13] Similar German breweries were founded in Greece, such as, Messrs. Melcher, Bachauer, Fischer, Klein, and others.[3]
| Beer | Wine | Spirits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.86% | 86.14% | 7.00% |
| 2005 | 24.20% | 49.61% | 26.18% |
The 1900’s saw numerous breweries begin to be formed.[3] Beer consumption begun to grow within this period, and continues to grow up until now.[1] Within the late 19th century micro-breweries began to flourish around all parts of Greece,[14] which can be reflected by the consumption rates.[1] This table depicts the transition in the alcohol preference of the Greek nation from 1961 to 2005,[1] with wine remaining the predominant drink in Greece. Beer consumption is growing rapidly, it has seen an increase by 3.5 times in 44 years. Beer today is found all over Greece and is sold within supermarkets.[15]
Consumption
editBeer in Greece is consumed nationally, as breweries are spread across the nation.[16] Beer consumption in 2014 came to 3.845 million hectolitres, or 36 litres per capita.[7] 440 thousand of these hectolitres was imported to Greece. 406 thousand was important from within the EU and the remaining 34 thousand was imported externally.[7] Looking on the production side of things beer production in 2014 came to 3.75 million hectolitres.[7] 229 thousand of these hectolitres was exported. 67 thousand was exported to within the EU and the remaining 162 thousand being exported outside of the EU.[7]
Popular Beers
editA survey conducted by 510 residents from all over Greece by Avgeris et al. Concluded that the three most influential factors when purchasing beer in Greece are: Price, origin and brand name.[17] Price is considered to be the most significant factor influencing consumer choice surrounding Greek beer.[17] The survey concluded that 50.6% of the public would rather buy ‘cheaper’ beer as opposed to their local.[17] However, if money was ruled out of the equation, the public would prefer to drink their local beer.[17]
As stated, brand name has an influence over consumer choice surrounding beer in Greece. Avgeris et al. article establishes the five most frequently mentioned brands of beer in Greece to be, Amstel (18.9%), Fix (15.3%), Heineken (14.5%), Alpha (13.8%) and Vergina (9.4%).[17] Four out of the five brands mentioned belongs to two of the largest breweries in Greece with Amstel, Heineken and Alpha being part of the Athens brewery (Heineken group) and fix belonging to Olympic brewery (Carlsberg Group).[17] The remaining brand Vergina belongs to a microbrewery by the name of Macedonian-Thrace brewery.[17]
The factor to which the public concluded was the least influential aspect was advertisement. 70% of consumers mentioned that advertisement does not play a role when considering which beer to purchase.[17]
Economy
editThe growth of the brewery industry in Greece has provided work for the citizens as in 2014, 60,965 jobs were related to beer.[7] Indirect employment of the same year was 4,507 jobs.[7] Total consumer spending in 2014 was 1,689 million euro.[7] This is correlated to beer acting as a stimulus as within the same year beer added 494 million euro to the Greek economy.[7] The citizens are not the only impacted by the industry as the Government revenue in 2014 was 640 million euro.[7] The way to which the Government generate revenue from beer is broken into five categories, which include:
- Excise duties - 107 million
- VAT (on-trade sector) - 253 million
- VAT (off-trade sector) - 62 million
- Income tax, payroll tax and social security contribution (brewing sector) - 35 million
- Income tax, payroll tax and social security contributions (other sectors) - 181 million
Beer production
editWithin Greece today there is currently 94 active breweries.[4] The oldest active brewery is ‘Olympic Brewery, Sindos – Thessaloniki (Carlsberg)’ being established in 1970.[4] Throughout Greece a majority of different breweries are found, with the most common being microbreweries. Microbreweries account for 62 out of the 94 breweries.[4] Other types of breweries include: client brewer (17 active), commissioner (1 active), Brewpub (1 active), Contract Brewer (4 active), and commercial Breweries (9 active).[4] Commercial breweries are the largest brewers and often brew the most beer. Below is a list of the current commercial breweries and the beers that they brew.
| Brewery | Location | Beer's brewed | Established |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athenian Brewery (Heineken)[4][18] | Athens | 1. Amstel Premium Dark Bock
2. Alfa (Αλφα) Weiss 3. Milokleftis [Μηλοκλεφτης] 4. MAMOS 5. Alfa (Αλφα) Strong 6. Bios 5 / Vios 5 7. Amstel Premium Pilsener (Pils) 8. Alfa (Αλφα) 9. Marathon 10. Zorbas 11. Amstel Free 0,0% 12. Fürstenbräu 13. Alfa Non Alcoholic Lager (Άλφα Χωρίς Αλκοόλ) 14. Νύμφη (Nimfi - Nymph) 15. Amstel KARGO IPA 16. Amstel Radler 0.0 Guarana-Lime |
2000 |
| Hellenic Brewery of Atalanti S.A. - EZA[19][4] | Kyparissi | 1. Odyssey Red Rhapsody
2. Odyssey White Rhapsody 3. SPAR Lager Beer (Greece) 4. EZA [εζα] Premium Pilsener Beer 5. EZA [εζα] Fine Lager Beer 6. Blue Island Fizzy Lemon 7. Blue Island Pink Grapefruit 8. New Yorker Fine Lager Beer 9. Proton Beer 10. Wind 11. Berlin Lager Beer 12. Ermis (ΕΡΜΗΣ) Gold 13. Ermis (ΕΡΜΗΣ) Argus 14. Pils Hellas 15. Captain Lager Beer 16. Hellenic Star 17. Blue Island 18. EZA [εζα] Alcohol Free 19. Odyssey Dark Rhapsody - Calypso's Desire 20. Ducal de Atenas 21. Saronic 22. Blue Island Pear Delight 23. Beeri-Beeri μπυρι-μπυρι 24. Imperial (Greece) |
1988 |
| Macedonian Thrace Brewery SA[4][20] | Komotini | 1. Vergina (ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ) Weiss
2. Vergina (ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ) Black 3. Vergina (ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ) Red 4. Vergina (ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ) Porfyra 5. Vergina (ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ) 6. Hillas 7. 365 Beer 8. Edelsteiner Premium Pils |
1998 |
| Magnus Magister[21] | Damatria, Rhodes | 1. Magnus Magister Knights' Beer of Rodos (Pilsener)
2. Magnus Magister Weiss 3. Magnus Magister Premium Lager 4. 4 Seasons Premium Lager |
2003 |
| Olympic Brewery, Ritsona - Euboea (Carlsberg)[22][23] | Athens | 1. Fix Hellas Dark Premium
2. Fix Royale 3. BIO B29 Beer 4. Fix (Ανευ) Aneu 5. Fix Hellas 6. Romia (Ρωμηα) Beer |
2006 |
| Olympic Brewery, Sindos - Thessaloniki (Carlsberg)[24] | Sindos | 1. Henninger Kaiser Double Malt
2. Henninger Kaiser Blonde 3. Mythos Red 4. Mythos Radler 5. Golden Lager (Greece) 6. Spartan 7. Aegean (4%) 8. Aris 9. Henninger Lager Beer 10. Elomas Beer 11. Mythos 12. Zythia 13. EY ZYTHON 14. Mythos Ice 15. Mythology Lager 16. Mythos (3.5%) 17. El Beer - ελ Ζυθος 18. BEERONI (ΜΠΥΡΟΝΙ) |
1970 |
| Peinios Brewery (Ζυθοποιία Πηνειού)[25] | Larissa | 1. LoLa Fresh Pilsner
2. LoLa Fresh Belgian Ale 3. LoLa Fresh IPA(new) |
2018 |
| Underground Brewery of Lavrio[26] | Lavrio | 1. Laavrio Pale Ale (LPA) | 2015 |
| VAP P. Kougios[27][4] | Agia Varvara, Rhodes | 1. VAP Beer
2. Zythos Vap [ΖΥΘΟΣ ΒΑΠ] |
2007 |
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editLife cycle assessment of beer production in Greece.[28]
Brewing beer in wine country? First archaeobotanical indications for beer making in Early and Middle Bronze Age Greece.[2]
Greek Consumers' Preferences On Beer Consumption: An Empirical Investigation.[17]
The Contribution made by Beer to the European Economy.[7]
Beer Drinking Nations - The Determinants of Global Beer Consumption.[1]
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- ^ Knibbe, Ronald A.; Drop, Maria J.; Hupkens, Christianne L. H. (2009-07-03). "Modernization and Geographical Diffusion as Explanations for Regional Differences in the Consumption of Wine and Beer in the European Community". Substance Use & Misuse. doi:10.3109/10826089609063995.
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- ^ a b c "Was There Beer in Ancient Greece?". www.greekboston.com. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ a b c d e January 2018, Laura Geggel 31. "Ancient Ale: Oldest Beer in Greece Dates to Bronze Age". livescience.com. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
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- ^ a b "Hilfe für Biertrinker". theopedia. 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i Avgeris, Antonios; Tiganis, Antonios; Xafopoulou, Elissavet; Dalamitra, Maria; Karasavidou, Maria; Sergaki, Panagiota; Polymeros Chrysochou (2017). "Greek Consumers' Preferences On Beer Consumption: An Empirical Investigation". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.36482.07367.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Athenian Brewery : BreweryDB.com". www.brewerydb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ "Brewery and Products" (PDF). Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti S.A.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Team, The Untappd. "Untappd". Untappd. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
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- ^ Koroneos, C.; Roumbas, G.; Gabari, Z.; Papagiannidou, E.; Moussiopoulos, N. (2005-03-01). "Life cycle assessment of beer production in Greece". Journal of Cleaner Production. 13 (4): 433–439. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2003.09.010. ISSN 0959-6526.