This would be a day of relaxation. We set off to find the Beer Academy in daylight and found that we had been on the right street twice already, they are no more it appeared.
There was a lengthy walk up Athinas towards Omonia passed the burned out buildings. This also gave Marg the opportunity to visit every pet in every pet shop. Playing with the rabbits, almost left to wander off from the premises, provided her with hours of amusement.
Ten minutes later we continued our journey beyond Omonia to discover the Bierhof. Thankfully these premises are exactly where Google Maps say they are, but of course they were closed!
Time for lunch
We found a couple of authentic looking restaurants across from Bierhof and the prices were reasonable. By now we were convinced that Athens is a much cheaper venue than Thira/Santorini where the prices hurt last summer. Marg had a Chicken Soup which was full of Chicken now there’s a novel idea. Hector had Sardines, a plateful, joy!
Just in case
As an hour had passed I thought we had better walk back down Stounari, Bierhof might be open, it wasn’t. Once again serendipity came to the fore as we found where the Beer Academy is now located, it was closed too.
We made the long walk back to our neck of the woods, Plaka. A walk around the Acropolis, well that’s what couples do, revealed just how small the park surrounding this mighty Crag and Tail actually is. The light was improving all the time, so we went for a ridiculously expensive Ice-Cream at a venue called Chocolat. Four storeys of indulgence, how will they survive?
As the sun set we headed back towards the land of Bier. The Beer Academy was open, the Bert told me he had two draught Biers. Warsteiner was one, no way. The other was a strong Belgian, too early. I asked for the Bier Menu. Marg disappeared for a moment, Doris supplied the menu. By the time Marg returned I had established that the number of Biers available was minimal and the prices were nonsense. €4.40 for a bottle of Paulaner Weisse, (which they did not have) versus €6.60 for the equivalent Weihenstefan, why? The Belgian Bier was way over-priced, the choice was bog standard. I made my displeasure known, we left.
Bierhof was closed. I asked at the kiosk opposite if it was in business. ’18.00’ was the reply, it was now 17.57, there was hope.
The shutters came up, we went in. The new Bert and Doris cleared up some of the mess left over for the last session, no ashtrays, things are looking good.
Bert’s English was not wonderful, his Bier was, and the prices were even better. Maisel’s Weisse vom Fass (Bayreuth, Bayern) was the choice of the two draught Biers, Paulaner Weisse being the other. The other taps were off, a pity. The fridge was stocked with a reasonable array of Deutsche Bier: Andechs, Tergernsee and especially Hacker-Pschorr. A Tegernsee Spezial Hell (Tegernsee, Bayern) was my companion Bier, by now Mein Host was doing his best to make us feel at home. The place was also warming up. More customers entered, we were no longer the Desperados. I by now had calculated that the Bier price translated into Sterling was exactly what we pay for a 0.5l bottle of Deutsche Bier at the Allison Arms, Glasgow.
I could have stayed, I shall return, but it was time to eat, again. Last evening at Monastiraki we found a Taverna with live music and Stifados. Greek food at last! We ate heartily, the musicians began and so did the inevitable smoking, we left.
For the final Biers it had to be Our Local. The welcome was even warmer than last night, Marg once again chose the Timmerman’s Strawberry, the Chocolate came too.
Augustiner (München, Bayern) Edelstoff and Schlenkerla Marzen (Bamberg, Bayern) could be the only Biers to complete this Greek trip. Deutsche Bier? Well why drink the Greek inferior Bier when this is available?
There’s more
Mein Host once again stood us a round of Ouzo, Marg does like Aniseed.
The Pubs visited today:
(Beer Academy – Stournari 29, Athens, 10682)
Bierhof – Stournari 6, Athens, 106 83
Beer Time – Iroon Square, Athens, 10551