Not many would argue the countless contributions that the Greek culture has bestowed upon Western civilization over the past couple thousand years. This fact was apparent during our trip to Greece last week. Seeing the ancient theaters, stadiums, and temples leaves you marveling at how advanced this mediterranean culture was.
Not long after arriving in the bustling city of Athens, we found a cafe to fill up on food and plan our day. At the ariport and on the walk to lunch, I had seen sign for the beer “Mythos”. One of which said something along the line of the fact that “Greece had exported over 51,000 words to the rest of the world, but kept one for itself.” Apparently that word was ‘Mythos’. Corny? Yes. But in my semi-jetlagged state, combined with a love of good beer, I was pleased to see Mythos on the cafe’s menu (it was also funny to see Budweiser in the pricier “Imports” section).
After getting served, I have to say I appreciate the quantity. Most beers I ordered throughout the trip came in 0.5 liter bottles. Viva la Europe! The best way to describe the taste of Mythos would be Heineken without the hops. It’s a smooth, easy drinking beer that pairs well with most foods, including the pork souvlaki I had order with it. Like most mass produced beers with big marketing budgets, Mythos doesn’t stand out with any unique characteristics. This is a beer that targets everyone and like the Buds and Millers in the U.S., Kirin in Japan, and Taj Mahal in India, the beer (usually a lager) is designed to sell big quantities. Adding character and distinct flavors only risks eliminating a segment of the targeted market. If you were to put the aforementioned beers in a blind tasting, you’d be hard pressed to pick out one from the other easily.
With all that being said, there really isn’t such a thing as a “bad” beer in my opinion. Mythos definitely does the job of quenching the beer thirst. I guess my high expectations based on the prior accomplishments and history of the Greek culture were a little unfair. I should not have expected the Greeks to have exceled in the art of brewing as they did in so many other areas. I only came acress one other Greek beer (Alpha, to be reviewed in another post) during our trek to Greece and it’s islands. I would be curious to hear if anyone has had any other Greek brews and how they’d rate them.
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