Greece
Breweries on the map
Epirus Brewery (Stala)
Founded in January 2014 by three friends in Rodotopi, a village a few kilometres from Ioannina, Zythopoiia Ipeirou is Epirus' only microbrewery — and its brand name, Stala, 'the drop', fits perfectly. Its fresh, unpasteurised, bottle-conditioned ales — pale ale, Irish red, cream ale, a 45-IBU American IPA, saison — have become the natural reward for hikers coming down from the Vikos Gorge, less than twenty-five minutes away by road: on Untappd, walkers log their Stala Roussa as well earned after fifteen kilometres in the gorge. Between Lake Pamvotida, Ioannina's Ottoman old town and the stone villages of Zagori, an essential address of Greece's north-west.
Local Heroes Brewing (AKTI)
Nikos Tolis and Giorgos Chalkidis founded Local Heroes Brewing with a stated goal: putting Preveza on the map of Greek brewing. Their fresh beer AKTI — named after the Kyani Akti, the seafront promenade every Prevezan grew up on — sold out its first summers, from the town-centre kiosks to the coastal markets. The first nomad brewer based in southern Epirus, the duo currently brews on partner kit and distributes through its beer locator, with openly stated ambitions to grow. Between the ruins of Nicopolis, founded by Octavian after Actium, and the beaches of Monolithi, AKTI is the gulf's new hopped voice.
No brewery for this initial.