Pub Watch: Craft (Athens, Greece)

On our night in Athens I had specifically set aside some time to visit the Craft brewpub (http://www.craft.gr/) and at last sample some half-decent Greek beer. The brewpub is conveniently located close to a Metro stop and strikes quite an impression from the outside - all glass front and modern. On the night we went there was a Greek football game on and the downstairs bar was full with Athenians watching the large screen TV. So we headed upstairs to the restaurant area, again stylish with dark lighting. Maybe a little soulless, but it fits in well with a lot of other Athenian modern design and architecture.

But more importantly....the beer. Foolishly, we were paying our visit after enjoying a very large Greek meal which I could foresee as severely limiting my ability to taste their beer. Luckily though, no sooner had we sat down than a tasting tray of their six beers was presented to us. Though not as good as a full pint, it was perfect for a beer-rater with a full stomach. Sipping my way through the six beers, I found them to be of mixed quality. The Bohemian Pilsner was a good starter, being crisp with a clean honey and fruit flavour. The other surprise was seeing they have a Rauchbier, and though they weren't hitting the quality of Bamberg, it still had that unique smoked flavour. The more highly rated Black Lager was OK, but a bit below expectations for me (it is the highest rated Greek beer on ratebeer.com). Both the Hefeweizen and the Red Ale were good efforts, and the Athenian Lager was, well, a lager....

So with tastings consumed, we ordered ourselves a proper drink, myself selecting the Rauchbier and The GrandMistress opting for the Hefeweizen. With bloated stomachs we sipped at our beers, me rueing not coming here before dinner. And then fate, and clumsy hands, confirmed it just wasn't to be, when Anna decided to knock the second half of her pint over herself, the table, the floor and any other object in our near vicinity. Taking this as a sign, I finished up my Rauchbier and called it a night. A shame to be sure, though I think overall both the beers and the brewpub were a little unimaginative, though certainly a step up on the drought of good beer throughout the rest of Greece.