Beersaturday yesterday and what a beersaturday it was for us, since my partner and I went out for a beer (or two) as part of our date night.
We like to go out like this without any pre-planning, on the days we are a little more relaxed from work and the rest of our obligations, to enjoy a glass of iced beer. And as we approach summer, it's nice to be sitting outside at a coffee table on a main street
to wander around the world, relaxing music and of course, if you raise your head high, the stars high in the sky.
Our first choices were Greek beers. My partner preferred one of our favorite beers produced in Greece, Vergina.
Vergina is one of the most popular beers in Northern Greece. If you travel around these places (Macedonia, Thrace) you can see at the cafes or breweries, the refridgerators full with bottles of this brand. Named by the place where King Philip II (Alexander the Great's dad) is buried,
Vergina- The entrance to the tomb of Philip II
Vergina beer is produced in Thrace (an area of Northern Greece) with local barley. Although light (only 5% alcohol content) it has an intense, full flavor that fills your mouth with the taste of malt barley. And you can see in the glass the extremely clean, golden color ... (Please ignore the name of the other beer in the glass, the waiter in the store was new and was constantly mixing the brand and the beer glasses)
On the other hand, I particularly love the intense flavors, I got my own special favorite Greek beer, Mamos.
Mamos belongs to the Pilsner category, so it leaves a characteristic bitterness as an aftertaste. (I do not know if you like bitter beers, but it's one of my favorites). The recipe of this beer goes back a long time, a hundred and more years, from the first Greek certified beer producer, named Mamos (hence the name).
From the photo you may be able to see its rich foam and gold but not its clear color, but unfortunately you can not taste the intense taste of hops and its aroma. (If you come to Greece, please do try it)
Next round came and for this we chose two imported beers. We both went for weiss beers.
My partner preferred the monk's beer, Paulaner, as you can see, and I, had a classic Erdniger. Although I have to admit that when he filled his glass I was particularly "jealous" of the beer foam and its color .
I on the other hand, despite the opposite instructions, always prefer to fill half the glass (I do not know, it is a strangeness that I can not explain).
IMO, Paulaner tasted better and if you wanna ask how I know it, that is because I had a little "exchange of beers" with my partner. Did I mention that I was a bit jealous of his beer? Yes, I was!
Was that the end of our BeerSaturday date? No, it wasn't.
When you hang out at a cafe in the centre of the city, it is most probable that you will meet people you know. And then you will ask them if they want to sit down with you. And they will, of course, because it is a Spring evening and the weather is still nice. And after that, usually comes round 3, round 4, round 5, and you get to taste more beers.
That happened to us, since a friend came by and we had some more beers, but someone (that is me) forgot to take pictures. Anyway, when you have a good time chatting and laughing, it slips your mind.
But I promise next time to take more pictures, cause -believe me- there are a lot of great Greek beers (the microbreweries are common here and almost every region has two or three of them).
So, till next time, "Yia mas"! *
Thank you for reading!
*that means Cheers! in Greece.
All the pictures were taken by me, except the ones mentioned otherwise.