Athenian
Athenian Brewery

AthenianAthenian
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From:
Athenian Brewery
 
Greece
Style:
European Pale Lager
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
69
Avg:
2.79 | pDev: 17.56%
Reviews:
39
Ratings:
45
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 25, 2013
Added:
Apr 26, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by bditty187:
Photo of bditty187
Reviewed by bditty187 from Nebraska

2.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Clear straw-yellow hue, no animation, the white head is modest in size, about a half a finger, rather frothy. The retention is decent, thick soapy bubbles remain throughout consumption. It laces rather well for a cheap lager. The bouquet is a mix of grass, hay, a little bit of grain, a hint of malt, on the back is sulfur. It is not offensive but it is not inviting either. The palate is sweeter than the nose indicated and the grassy/hay taste is more prevalent as well but this time it has a cooked feel to it. The back of the bottle lists the ingredients as water, yeast, malt, and hops. Towards the end a hop note emerges, dryish, it fails to add any bitterness. The absolute finish is sweet and lingering. No adjuncts? Really? Fooled me. Every single beer drinker as had Athenian before; it just had a different label from a different country. Ultimately it is indistinguishable from countless other flavorless lagers. There is a slight hops spiciness in the aftertaste that tries to cut the sweetness, it fails. Medium in body, typical modest yet appropriate carbonation, the mouthfeel is adequate. This is a fair offering, kind of bland but you could do worse. I’m glad I finally broke down and bought a 12-ounce bottle for $2.00 in Omaha. Worth trying if you’re at a Greek Restaurant with standard American offerings.
Jan 05, 2004
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.75 by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

May 25, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by cliff1066 from Virginia

Dec 22, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by harpus from Alabama

Sep 30, 2012
 
Rated: 2.25 by crobinso from Colorado

Jun 05, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by macrosmatic from Florida

Apr 10, 2012
Photo of CuriousMonk
Reviewed by CuriousMonk from District of Columbia

2.5/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
From notes at Old Chicago (2001): Pours a clear gold with a moderate white head that faded to a sloppy, uneven white film after the first sip and left zero lace. Aroma of stale air, like being in an old attic, along with some malt and a bit of corn syrup sweetness. Thankfully, there was no staleness in the flavor, which was basically some mild sweet malt. No bitterness to speak of at the finish. Fairly smooth on the palate. This beer probably would have faired better with me if not for the off-putting aroma.
Feb 09, 2011
Photo of yemenmocha
Reviewed by yemenmocha from Arizona

3.2/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours golden to light amber with white head that quickly dissipates.

Nose has a suggestion of honey, and is otherwise faint.

Palate has honeyed malt taste, light hops, and a short finish. Slight herbal/vegetal like quality.

Very easy drinking, better than domestic adjunct lagers.
Feb 05, 2009
Photo of nick76
Reviewed by nick76 from Florida

2.28/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
The aroma is like cereal grains and some latex type hops. The appearance is pale gold with a three finger foamy head that turns clumpy. The flavor is sweet and malty accompanied by an unpleasant bitterness. The palate is very thin with a slightly malty and metallic aftertaste. This one is almost drinkable but not something I would recommend.
Nov 20, 2008
Photo of Dodo2step
Reviewed by Dodo2step from Pennsylvania

3.07/5  rDev +10%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
P- Market Cross Pub in Carlisle

A- an interesting bottle and a nice frothy pour. a nice thick lacing on my glass but only a half finger head. color is that of light yellow grass. A dying grass color.

S- toasted malts. a sweet bready yeast as well.

T- taste is that of a corn cob grain-ness. Very yeasty and earth like tones. A dry aged taste.

M-dry and grainy with some malts. Not too much just dull but ok.

D- not bad and i could do a few but this is nothing to buy a sixer of. I dont think i would ever have this beer again.
Oct 25, 2008
Photo of GoodKnight1220
Reviewed by GoodKnight1220 from Ohio

3.25/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Poured this from a bottle to a glass.

Was a good looking brew yellow in color.

Smell was a sweet malt and yeast.

Taste was similar to the smell and thought it was not a bad euro brew.

Mouthfeel was very smooth.

Good brew, could drink a lot.
Aug 11, 2008
Photo of fdrich29
Reviewed by fdrich29 from Massachusetts

3/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I've had this beer a few times at the restaurant of the same name in Lowell, Massachusetts. I'm all about the belly dancers.

When I go out for Indian I always order one of those big bottles of Taj Mahal. If I'm not having wine at an Italian restaurant I'll order a Moretti (Rosa if they have it). To continue that trend, Greek restaurant I'll have a bottle of Athenian. What do they all have in common? The thought of buying those beers outside of their respective restaurants would never cross my mind. But paired with the food and atmosphere they work.

I like the sweet, malty aroma and flavor of Athenian and it goes down very smooth. It probably ranks as the worst beer that I actually look forward to drinking in the right situation.
Jul 29, 2008
Photo of CharlieMopps
Reviewed by CharlieMopps from Virginia

2.66/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The pour revealed a golden straw color with just about an inch of short-lived, bright white head. To be honest, it had all the looks of your typical mass-produced Euro lager, and nothing really stood out as far the as the looks go.

In the aroma department, this beer had a surprisingly delicious smell, akin to the sweet, buttery diacetyl smell of some rather refined lagers. Mostly biscuity pale malt and that tempting lager scent. "The Greek Beer" may be hiding some tasty secrets.

Sadly, I was mistaken. Up front there was a nice touch of that diacetyl, but this was snuffed out midway through by a drying, adjunct tinged transition. The finish was bereft of flavor, just a watery end to something that started with a lot of promise. Hop bitterness was at a minimum, with no real discernible presence.

I could see Athenian as a drinkable beer, in a lawnmower sense, but its drying nature doesn't even make it thirst-quenching and kills what subtle flavor exists in the beginning. Regardless, it was privilege enough to be able to try a Greek beer to begin with.
Apr 18, 2008
Photo of plaid75
Reviewed by plaid75 from New York

2.71/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured a medium straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell featured a grainy adjunct with a smattering of grassy hop.

The taste was upfront grainy with a pronounced corn sweetness. Some musty hops dry out the flavor a bit.

The mouthfeel was typical for the style.

Overall a run of the mill euro lager.
Apr 16, 2008
Photo of oelergud
Reviewed by oelergud from Virginia

3.77/5  rDev +35.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Clear orange golden body with low carbonation. Large white head, tiny to small bubbles. Decent retention but not much lace.
Pleasant malty scent, almond, faint prune, abit of spice and only a faint hit of that all too familiar lager note.
Grain, hay, earthy and dark flavors. Good balance, malty up front dwindling into a semi rough hop aftertaste.
Light body, almost no coating and hydrating, nice and dry finish.
Very drinkable, I was pleasantly surprised at this brew.

-Oelergud
Oct 06, 2007
Photo of sleazo
Reviewed by sleazo from New York

2.6/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
A-Slightly darker than what I was expecting. Minimal head but I think this place does not handle their glasswear properly.

S-Not much smell to speak of. Slight hop scent and a little Euro skunk.

T-taste is a little maltier than your standard euro with a sweetish profile and a tiny ammount of hops. Meh.

M-light bodied with a mid level carbonation.

D-typical lager like beer. A tad better than your BMC. I would like the beer from the country of my paternal grandmother to be better.
May 24, 2007
Photo of Osiris9588
Reviewed by Osiris9588 from Ohio

2.45/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Pale in color. The head is quite thin, and disipates before you even have time to take a swig. The aroma is a bit of wheat and not much else. Taste? wheat, maybe honey, a slight suggestion of hop--not much. Mouthfeel, light very light, watery. Drinkabilty--you can drink it, like water. Don't order this ever, not even in a Greek restaurant.

The style pairs nicely with Greek food, but a Keo or Marathon would offer much more flavor.
Sep 01, 2006
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.03/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Buffed brass with a sparse cloud of fine, dust-like particulates. Not a bad looking head other than the dingy white color. It has some character and manages to lay down a good bit of smeary, messy looking lace. An okay look for the style.

The nose smells more Euro Pale Lagerish than it does American Macro Lagerish, although now that I think about it, I'm really not sure of the relevant differences. EPLs smell more mustily noble hoppy to me and AMLs smell more grain-like I guess. In any case, this one is no better than average on its best day.

S'okay on the palate, nothing to get even the teensiest bit excited about. The flavor still says 'Euro' to me for some reason. Do all of these third tier European brewers get their hops from the same cut-rate supplier? It sorta tastes like they use minor variations of the same recipe as well.

This one is sweeter than most and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that corn was used in addition to barley. Hops are along for the ride and provide just enough bitterness to keep Athenian in grudging balance. There's a hard water, mineral-like character that's especially noted on the short finish and each mouthful ends on a drying note. This is inoffensive beer if nothing else.

Given the rest of what it offers (or fails to offer), the body/mouthfeel is none the worse for wear. It's light--as expected--and the carbonation is within the wide range of acceptable. It's unremarkable so I think I'll quit remarking on it.

Athenian is strictly average beer whose appearance is its best quality. It's nowhere near good enough for me to break out a hearty 'Carpe Diem!'. I am tempted, however, to dust off another Latin phrase: Caveat Emptor. Latin... Greek... it's all Greek to me.
Aug 23, 2006
Photo of bluejacket74
Reviewed by bluejacket74 from Ohio

2.98/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
The Athenian was served in a pint glass. On the bottle it said the beer was best before 11/06. It pours a pale golden yellow, with pretty much no head at all. The beer has a bready malt smell to it, and to me it smelled pretty similar to the BMC beers. Once I tasted it, it had a strong taste of dough/bread/grain and nothing else. It has a little more taste than BMC, but that's not saying much. Athenian is a pretty non-offensive beer. It doesn't taste bad, but there isn't much to the taste other than it tasting like grain. The mouthfeel is very thin and watery, but in certain situations I could drink quite a few of these. Not a bad macro-lager, I've certainly had worse, but overall it's just average.
Jul 30, 2006
Athenian from Athenian Brewery
Beer rating: 69 out of 100 with 45 ratings