Beer in Greece

The 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]

Archaeologists discovered the remains of two prehistoric buildings, providing materials to which can be used for the development and consumption of beer. 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”, 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. 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, 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]

Fix beer logo, derived from the Fix (Fuchs) family

The wine culture was prominent all the way until the 1800s. 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 1840s to serve Bavarian officials and military men who were stationed there at the time.[11]

Among the Bavarian settlers, was Johann Ludwig Fuchs who established a small enterprise selling home-brewed beer from his house in Kolonaki.[12] It was in 1864 when Charles Johann Fuchs, son of Johann Ludwig Fuchs, 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. 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]

The 1900s 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 19^th 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]

A 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. Price is considered to be the most significant factor influencing consumer choice surrounding Greek beer. The survey concluded that 50.6% of the public would rather buy ‘cheaper’ beer as opposed to their local. 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%), Alfa (13.8%) and Vergina (9.4%). Four out of the five brands mentioned belong to two of the largest breweries in Greece with Amstel, Heineken and Alfa being produced by Athenian Brewery (Heineken group) and Fix by Olympic brewery (Carlsberg Group). The remaining brand Vergina belongs to 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]

The major brewing companies based in Greece are the Athenian Brewery, a subsidiary of Heineken, holding more than fifty percent of the market share, the Olympic Brewery, a subsidiary of Carlsberg Group, holding almost thirty percent of the market share,[18] the Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti holding around eight percent of the share market[19] and Macedonian Thrace Brewery holding around six percent of the market share.[20]

In 2018, there were about forty five microbreweries all over the country and almost in every region from only six that existed in 2009. This growth can be explained mainly by the increasing demand for specialised products and Greek brands in support of the local economy during the crisis. The major brewers based in Greece, that are subsidiaries of multinational companies, acted upon this demand and started launching products under greek names in order to secure the competition against the microbreweries and underline their contribution to the economy.[27]