Corfu Beer Festival
Guest Blog by Alex Christou
of www.greencorfu.com
Celebrating Beer in Corfu
All Photos (c) Alex Christou
This October, the 1st Corfu Beer Festival was held in Arillas, in North West Corfu. It was organised by our local Corfu Microbrewery, in close cooperation with the local community. It took a lot of work, and more than 150 volunteers were involved in the planning, setting up, advertising and actually running the Festival. The Festival lasted five days, from 9-13 October, and it was a bigger success than we could ever have imagined! Thousands of people visited the festival grounds, tasted the beers, local food and local products offered, enjoyed the music and danced along to many different tunes: Corfiot, Greek and German!
Corfu meets Bavaria
The theme was Corfu meets Bavaria. We chose Bavaria because it is the homeland of beer as we know it. The Law on the Purity of Beer (Reinheitsgebot) was made an official law of Bavaria back in 1516! Also in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, the annual Oktoberfest is held, the biggest and oldest beer festival in the world! So, the idea was that this festival could bring together Greeks and Germans to drink, eat and dance, leaving behind the politics that are trying to separate us.
Corfu Beer Festival: The Beers
The Corfu Microbrewery is a small but fast-growing brewery, producing some of the best beers in Greece. All their beers are fresh, unpasteurised and delicious. They produce two types of real ale, plus a lager, a pilsner, and a special beer re-fermented with honey. They were commissioned by JD Wetherspoon to produce a real ale called Koroibos exclusively for the London Olympics. With their connections they managed to get four German brewers to come to Corfu and brew four different wheat beers (Weizenbier) exclusively for the festival.
Food
There was a wide selection of food at the Corfu Beer Festival, from traditional Greek souvlakia to German weisswurst, and from local specialties such as sofrito and pastitsada to recipes created by accomplished Corfiot chefs especially for the occasion. (See Greece Travel Secrets’ Corfu Food and Drink page.)
Music and Dance
There was a diverse music program, changing every night. The stars were the traditional band Zuaweziaga from Bavaria, along with the Rosenheim dancers who performed their impressive dances in lederhosen every night. From the Greek side we had two to three different bands or dance groups each night, performing music ranging from traditional music and rembetika to opera and Queen covers! Dancing went on till deep in the night...
Seminars
In the mornings, when most of us were recovering from the previous night, seminars were organised on different subjects. There was of course a seminar on beer, but also seminars on bartending, cooking and olive oil, all presented by experienced professionals and acclaimed scientists.
The best thing of the whole festival though was the relaxed atmosphere. We may have had more than 10,000 people who drank about as many liters of beer, but there wasn’t a single misunderstanding or fight in the whole five days! It was a great experience and we are all looking forward to next year’s Corfu meets the UK festival (8-12 October 2014), with participants from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!
More Information
For more videos of the festival you can visit our Green Corfu YouTube channel. And if you want to come to next year’s festival, you can check out our accommodations in Arillas!
Here's a taster of the Corfu Beer Festival from the Green Corfu YouTube video channel:
Our Corfu Posts
Latest Posts
-
Changes to PLF Form for Travelers to Greece
All travelers to Greece will be required to fill in the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) 24 hours – not 48 hours as was the case until now – prior to travel starting July 9, the Greek Civil Aviation (HCAA…
-
Greece Puts Health First, Says New Tourism Campaign
The Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization on Monday launched a new campaign that focuses on the restart of Greek tourism, following the COVID-19 crisis, and the country’s promot…
-
How to Define True Greek Spirit
Johnny Livanos, founder of Stray Dog Wild Gin, was born into the restaurant industry. His grandfather emigrated from the island of Lesbos and opened many of New York’s most iconic Greek restaurants. S…
-
Greece to Welcome Direct Flights from UK
Direct flights from the UK are set to resume on July 15, Greece said on Monday, days after the British government included Greek nationals on its list of countries from which quarantine-free entry is…
-
Greece Opens to Travelers with Tests and Caution
Greek authorities may decide to boost testing for Covid-19 after thousands of tourists entered the country starting last Wednesday, when Greece opened its borders after months of lockdowns. More than…
-
Three New Athens Metro Stations Ready to Go
Three Athens neighborhoods get their own metro stations this week after the inauguration on Monday, of the Agia Varvara, Korydallos and Nikaia stops on the Piraeus-bound blue line which open to commut…
-
Greek Minister Sets Mid-July Date for UK Open Travel
Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said Greece may be ready to welcome British travelers by mid-July, which is a realistic and feasible time frame for authorities to finalize the date. Speaking on…
-
Greece on UK’s List Allowing Quarantine-free Travel
Britain has included Greece on the list of countries to and from which travelers can enter the UK without entering 14-day isolation.
-
Greek Retsina
Greek retsina is a dry white wine made and drunk all over Greece with a distinctive pine and resin flavour that people usually either love or hate.
-
Ryanair Resumes Services to Athens, Thessaloniki for Summer 2020
Low-cost carrier Ryanair on Thursday announced the resumption of flights to Athens and Thessaloniki after almost four months of keeping them grounded due to COVID-19 restrictions. An Athens to Rome Ci…
Best Greece Guide
Of all the many guides to Greece we've seen, this is the one we recommend as best of all:
Take a Look at Our Corfu Guide
FTC Disclosure : If you make a purchase via a link on this site, we may receive a small commission on the transaction - at no added cost to you. Thank you!
Latest Posts
-
Changes to PLF Form for Travelers to Greece
Jul 08, 20 10:10 AM
All travelers to Greece will be required to fill in the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) 24 hours – not 48 hours as was the case until now – prior to travel starting July 9, the Greek Civil Aviation (HCAA…
-
Greece Puts Health First, Says New Tourism Campaign
Jul 07, 20 10:38 AM
The Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization on Monday launched a new campaign that focuses on the restart of Greek tourism, following the COVID-19 crisis, and the country’s promot…
-
How to Define True Greek Spirit
Jul 07, 20 10:34 AM
Johnny Livanos, founder of Stray Dog Wild Gin, was born into the restaurant industry. His grandfather emigrated from the island of Lesbos and opened many of New York’s most iconic Greek restaurants. S…
-
Greece to Welcome Direct Flights from UK
Jul 07, 20 10:34 AM
Direct flights from the UK are set to resume on July 15, Greece said on Monday, days after the British government included Greek nationals on its list of countries from which quarantine-free entry is…
-
Greece Opens to Travelers with Tests and Caution
Jul 07, 20 10:34 AM
Greek authorities may decide to boost testing for Covid-19 after thousands of tourists entered the country starting last Wednesday, when Greece opened its borders after months of lockdowns. More than…
-
Three New Athens Metro Stations Ready to Go
Jul 07, 20 10:34 AM
Three Athens neighborhoods get their own metro stations this week after the inauguration on Monday, of the Agia Varvara, Korydallos and Nikaia stops on the Piraeus-bound blue line which open to commut…
-
Greek Minister Sets Mid-July Date for UK Open Travel
Jul 06, 20 10:31 AM
Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said Greece may be ready to welcome British travelers by mid-July, which is a realistic and feasible time frame for authorities to finalize the date. Speaking on…
-
Greece on UK’s List Allowing Quarantine-free Travel
Jul 06, 20 10:31 AM
Britain has included Greece on the list of countries to and from which travelers can enter the UK without entering 14-day isolation.
-
Greek Retsina
Jul 03, 20 04:59 PM
Greek retsina is a dry white wine made and drunk all over Greece with a distinctive pine and resin flavour that people usually either love or hate.
No words or images to be used without prior permission.
We do not sell personal information: see our Privacy Policy.
California Consumer Privacy Act - CCPA: Sale Of Personal Information
Greece Travel Secrets does not sell any information it gathers for any reason. It has not collected or sold any personal information in the last twelve months or ever in the past.
This website was built using Site Build It!
