Athens Craft Beer Guide: Greece's Growing Microbrewery Scene

Athens's craft beer scene has emerged as one of the most interesting in Southern Europe — an unexpected development in a wine-dominant culture, but one that reflects a generation of Greek entrepreneurs who combined brewing knowledge gained abroad with locally grown ingredients, particularly the hops and barley from the plains of Thessaloniki that are now supplying a network of Athenian microbreweries with Greek raw materials.

Seven Island Brewery, established on the island of Syros but with distribution throughout Athens, pioneered the Greek craft movement with beers that won international recognition before most Athenians had tasted a locally-produced IPA. NorthernLights Brewery and Gee's Brewing in Athens itself have since brought the production closer to the consumer, with taprooms in the Votanikos and Gazi neighbourhoods where the Athenian craft beer community gathers on Thursday and Friday evenings.

The craft beer bar scene around Monastiraki, Psyrri, and the northern Exarcheia neighbourhood provides the most diverse draught selection — venues like the Local Tap Room and Beer Bar stocking 20-30 taps that span Greek microbreweries, Belgian imports, and American craft beers in a city where five years ago only Mythos and Amstel were available on draught. The Greek craft beer scene is young, ambitious, and improving rapidly with every new seasonal release.