Our head of production Yusuf spent most of May back home in Turkey, visiting family. Given that I have successfully corrupted him with craft beer, he naturally went looking for the local scene while he was there. Here is what he made of it.
The lay of the land
For most of Turkey, beer still means one of two names, Efes or Tuborg, which between them own the market. Craft is very much the underdog. High alcohol taxes make a craft beer a real premium buy, and tight rules on advertising and public drinking mean the scene has had to grow quietly. Where it has grown is mostly Istanbul, around the old Bomonti beer factory and across the water in Kadikoy, with a few names further afield, like Gara Guzu down in Mugla, who are often credited as the country’s first proper microbrewery.
The biggest difference from Australia is how the beer reaches you. Most craft beer is sold in bottles, through bars and retail, and the brew pub or brewery taproom that we take for granted here is mostly non-existent. And lager is still king, or perhaps in Turkey we should say sultan.
Over to Yusuf
After trying every restaurant and every type of food I could find in Turkey, it was time to explore the country’s newly emerging craft beer scene. When I lived in Turkey ten years ago the market was dominated by the major breweries, but a growing number of craft brewers have since begun to make their mark.
Today, bars across Istanbul offer a wide range of craft beers from breweries such as Gara Guzu, 3 Kafadar, Knidos and à santé. Lagers, and Pilsners in particular, are still the most popular style, and they were the beers I spent much of my youth drinking, so it was refreshing to find a much broader selection of ales tailored to local tastes. That said, Turkey’s preference for more bitter beers still comes through in a lot of the offerings.
The market has grown quickly over the last few years, with many new breweries opening in western Turkey. More recently, names like à santé have set up further south, which shows the movement is spreading across the country. One last thing I noticed is that craft here still leans on bottles over cans, which keeps that premium feel.
More than beer
Lest you think Yusuf spent the whole month with a glass in hand, he also got out to see the country. One stop was the Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, a Roman water tunnel about two thousand years old, dug by hand for roughly two kilometres straight through the mountain to carry water through. It is named after the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, and standing in a passage that was carved out by hand all those centuries ago is a humbling thing.
And he did not come home empty handed. He brought me back a bottle of Efe raki, the classic Turkish anise spirit, sometimes called lion’s milk for the way it turns cloudy the moment you add water. It would be rude not to put it to good use.
Final word
Ten years is a long time between drinks, and it is good to see Turkey building a scene of its own. If you find yourself over there, skip the familiar labels for a night and track down a Gara Guzu or a 3 Kafadar. Thanks to Yusuf for the field research. Someone has to do it.