Beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

is a very popular alcoholic beverage in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Commonly,

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

type beers are popular.

History

Beer has existed as a beverage in Anatolia since the Sumerian civilization. Archaeological findings have shown that Sumer people knew how to ferment beer. Early Turks in Anatolia fermented

boza Boza, also bosa, is a fermented beverage originating from the Middle East and made in parts of Southeast Europe, Central and Western Asia, Caucasus and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: wheat or millet in Alban ...

, which was much like kvass. The modern history of beer in Turkey started with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. During certain periods of the Ottoman Empire, drinking alcoholic beverages was forbidden in some cities, but many small producers in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

made boza with a high alcohol level like beer. Beer was first produced and served at

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

by some small Armenian producers in "beer gardens" ( tr, bira bahçeleri). The first modern production of beer in Turkey started with the Bomonti beer factory in Istanbul in 1894 by the Swiss Bomonti brothers. There were many pubs and bars in Istanbul, Izmir, and Thessaloniki. Production of beer in the Ottoman Empire was 1.2 billion liters in 1894. This increased to 9.9 billion liters in 1913–1914.'' Osmanlı’da Bira''
, BirayaDair.com Atatürk, the first president of the Turkish Republic, founded an ale factory in Ankara.

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

, the first prime minister of Turkey, worked to improve the old Bomonti Beer Company. This created the first beer competition in Turkey.

Industry

The Turkish beer market experienced 20% growth from 2001 to 2005, with many international brands gaining popularity.

Efes Beverage Group Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

, a subsidiary of Anadolu Group, is the largest producer of beer in Turkey, with approximately 80% of the market. Their main product line is called Efes Pilsen (5.0%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

), after the Turkish name for the ancient city of Ephesus near the

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

brewery. Efes also produces Efes Dark, Efes Light, Efes Extra, Bomonti and Marmara. Also, as of March 2005, Foster's Lager has been brewed, marketed and distributed in Turkey through Efes Beverage Group. Efes exports to markets in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and

South-east Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. Efes also produce a Hefe Weiss and a Hefe Weiss Dunkel under the Gusta label. A further addition is the Efes Dark Brown which is flavored with coffee. Türk Tuborg, a former subsidiary of the Danish Carlsberg/

Tuborg Tuborg is a Danish brewing company founded in 1873 on a harbour in Hellerup, an area North of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1970 it has been part of the Carlsberg Group. The brewery's flagship, the Tuborg pilsner, was brewed for the first time ...

group, also brews beer in Turkey under the Tuborg name, but is now owned by the Israeli (CBC). Danish Carlsberg is also popular in Turkey among other brands found internationally. Another major brand, Tekel Birası, is known as the oldest producer of beer in Turkey (founded in 1890). It was a

state monopoly In economics, a government monopoly or public monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is a monopo ...

brand until 2004. There is also Perge Pilsner managed by the Sural Group.

Independent Craft Breweries

There is an emerging craft beer market in Turkey for the last 10 years. The brands are listed in alphabetic order below. * 3 Kafadar, Istanbul. * Anthiocs, Hatay. * Cunda Bira, Ayvalık. * Dasbira Brewing Co., Kırklareli. * Feliz Kulpa, İzmir. * Gara Guzu Brewery, Muğla. * Knidos Brewery, Istanbul. * Pablo Brewery, Bodrum. * Red Tower Brewery, Alanya. * Torch Brewery, Istanbul. * Trokya, Edirne.

Brands

* Atatürk's Forest Farm Ale (inactive) * Becks, by Efes * Bomonti (first beer company in Turkey; nationalized by

TEKEL Tekel A.Ş. ( Turkish, literally ''single-hand'' or ''monopoly'' and generally capitalised as TEKEL) was a Turkish tobacco and alcoholic beverages company. It was nationalised in 1925 from a parastatal (government owned/controlled) company, the R ...

, it was rebranded as Tekel Birası; now produced by Efes Pilsener with the original recipe) * Bomonti, unfiltered versions * Carlsberg, by Turk-Tuborg (Carlsberg Group) * Dark, by Efes Pilsener (like ale) * Dark Brown (coffee aromatized) * Efes (lager, but with added rice and sugar) * Efes Extra (high

) * Foster's Lager, by Efes Pilsener * Gusta, by Efes Pilsener (wheat malt ale) * Löwenbrau (once) * Tuborg Gold (Carlsberg Group) * Tuborg Kırmızı (Red) (high ABV) (Carlsberg Group) * Marmara Gold, by Efes Pilsener (%4.1) * Marmara Kırmızı (Red) (high ABV) * Miller, by Efes Pilsener * Pera 1a * Pera Hefeweizer (once) * Pera Kölsh (once) * Pera Pilsener (once) * Perge Pilsner, by Sural Group * Vole (once)

References

* Robert Joseph, Roger Protz, Dave Broom. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Wine Beer and Spirits''. Carlton Books.New York: 2000.

External links