Culinary Tourism: Greek beer thrives from Antiquity to modern microbrews

Greece may not be well known as a beer-drinking country, but beer has been consumed there since ancient times. The production of beer in Greece did not take off until the middle of the 19th century, however, when the Bavarian prince who became King Otto of Greece came to town, bringing his own brewmaster with him, according to the book Regional Greek Cooking by Dean and Catherine Karayanis.

Though Otto was deposed, his brewmaster stayed behind in Athens and his son, Johann Karl Fix (Fuchs) opened the Fix brewery in 1864. Fix beer became the official beer of the Greek royal family even with the arrival of the new king from Denmark.

The company had monopolized the industry into the mid-20th century. In 1965, the government’s decision to make it easier for foreign companies to come into Greece and produce beer began to hurt the company’s bottom line as did an association with the junta a few years later, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1983. Attempts to revive the brand began shortly thereafter, but it wasn’t until 2010 that Fix beer became more widely available once again.

Other companies had by then established themselves with Greek beer brands including Mythos, introduced in 1997, and micro-brews like Peiraiki whose products are certified as organic by the Organization for the Control and Certification of Biological Products or DIO. From northern Greece, Vergina beer was first bottled in 1998, and according to its website is “the first 100% Greek beer.”

Beer is especially associated with the summertime, though year-round consumption seems to be on the increase as Greek micro-breweries now produce a wide variety of beers.