Quick summation of my recent beer experiences in Istanbul. The Bud / Miller of Turkey is Efes and Tuborg, they are everywhere - restaurants, to go shops, bars, etc. Depending on where your going and staying there are a million bars (especially in Beyoglu and Kadikoy) but almost all only have the above two along with some limited imports of Macro lager. You cannot buy alcohol to go after 10pm from a store, but the bars stay open late, on the weekends 2am+. There is a small craft beer scene, here is what I experienced. Bottle shop: Rind - The only place I saw selling anything crafty, at least 24+ different options. Location: Caferağa, Sarraf Ali Sk. No:3, 34710 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Türkiye Bars/ Breweries: Opia - One of the only bars I saw that served craft beer (though only in bottles), more than a dozen to choose from, with various styles, mostly Turkish plus a couple of Belgian. Chill spot. Craft Beer Lab - A pub that serves a combination of draft and bottles, they pour flights. Some draft offerings did not mention the brewery (house beers?), but via untapped I was able to figure it out (‘craft’ by Efes / Tuborg). They have 2 locations, I went to the one in Akaretler, it's a large space with a large semi hidden back garden. Great spot to have a break. (BTW, there is place down the street called Beer Hall but when I walked by it seemed more like a night club, weird vibe, didn’t even pop my head in). TaproomX - ‘Tasting room’ for SomX brewing, had about 10+ of their beers on tap plus another 6 other Turkish micros, fun cool spot, good DJ, a little loud inside. Does flights, 25cl or 33 cl pours. Also has food. Might have been my favorite beer place. Couple of places I was interested in but did not make it too: Bosphorus Brewing - pretty far out from the tourist areas, looks cool though. Torch Brewing / The populist - the populist is the public restaurant / tasting room for Torch, didn’t realize that they now have 2 locations, newer one is in Galataport which is much more central than the Original. Overall a really interesting city to visit.
Nice report! I got to spend some quality time in the IST airport recently (Efes was the only thing I saw), and I was curious how the beer scene was in the city itself. Would definitely love to leave the airport there sometime
A friend pointed out that Tuborg, while brewed in Turkey, is actually a Danish brand that is now owned by Carlsberg. Also, I brought back one beer that I shared with friends last night, 4C IPA by Gara Guzu, actually may have been the best Turkish IPA I tried.
Turk Tuborg used to be a subsidiary of Tuborg but is Israeli owned these days to make maters even more confusing. Efes also has a huge number of local branches in Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia & many more. I have had NEIPA brewed by Moldovan Efes (about as true to style as you would expect). I have had Garu Gazu in Norther Cyprus being Turkish it is a more affordable import craft option. I haven’t had any other Turkish craft beer. Found it about okay but it was probably far from fresh.
