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A new twist to beer making

feature beer main the saaz hops are used primarily for their aromatic qualities
The Saaz hops are used primarily for their aromatic qualities

Better known for growing grapes for wine, Kyperounda’s terraces are now making space for that staple of beer making, hops

 

By Nick Theodoulou

A potent development is brewing on the terraced hillsides of Kyperounda as Leon has forged ahead in becoming the first major beer in Cyprus to use locally produced hops.

At an altitude of 1130-1300 metres, Kyperounda is the site Leon has picked to produce Saaz – a ‘noble’ variety of hops used primarily for its aromatic qualities.

Leon has set out to distinguish itself from competitors by being the first to use locally grown instead of imported hops, in keeping with a pattern of being a trend setter, which it began in 1937 – when it became Cyprus’ first beer.

The Cyprus Mail was invited to attend Leon’s presentation this week, where the company’s brew master Andreas Panteli explained that Kyperounda is situated right on the edge of the goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold, but just right – for hop production in the northern hemisphere.

“The climate and soil conditions of Kyperounda have the ideal qualities for hop cultivation,” he said.

feature beer terraces of hops in kyperounda
Terraces of hops in Kyperounda

And while the mountainous town – far better known for its wine production – is not seeking to compete with the up to around 150,000 tonnes of hops produced a year, it is hoping that its hops will add a distinct touch to its locally produced beer.

“We utilise a combination of the various hop varieties, from the bitter tasting ones to the Saaz type which adds to the aroma… adapting our original recipe from 1937,” he said, adding it is the latter variety which is now being produced in Cyprus.

“I have been at the company for 30 years and we have achieved many great accomplishments, but this is perhaps the most important – it is a revolution in Cypriot brewing,” Panteli said.

He detailed that the process took years of studies and researching the path to production abroad, while building on the success of the Saaz variety (named after the Czech city of Zatec) and adding its own distinct twist.

Pavlos Photiades, the managing director of Carlsberg producer Photos Photiades Group which also owns Leon, said that the beer was originally launched in 1937, about 60 years after the end of the Ottoman period in Cyprus.

“The first chapter of Cypriot beer began… Christodoulos Platanis [the original owner] saw the new trend which was slowly beginning in Cyprus, picked up from the British, of drinking beer and decided to take the bold step of brewing his own beer in a small building just outside of the old city of Nicosia,” Photiades said.

“He invested and so Leon, or Leontos as it was known then, the first and for a long time the only beer in Cyprus, was born,” he said.

But the landscape has shifted significantly since then. The Photiades Group’s Carlsberg was established in 1969. Major competitor Keo is now long established, and a slew of microbreweries have popped up across the island in recent years, catering to the craft beer trend which has seeded itself within the beer drinking culture.

And while beer has brushed its way onto the Cypriot palette, it has found it more challenging to dislodge the association with being mainly a summer drink.

“In Cyprus beer is often associated with being a summer beverage, but as evidenced by the drinking cultures in central and northern Europe it is enjoyed throughout the year – and in vast quantities!” Panteli said.

The local taste is no surprise however to the Photos Photiades Group however, which took over the production of Leon in 1963.

In fact, the group managed to secure the first licence ever to produce Carlsberg Beer outside Denmark. When the Cyprus Carlsberg brewery opened in 1969, it was the first brewery outside Denmark to produce Carlsberg Beer, paving the way for other countries to follow.

It was at that point that Leon took a backseat in their operations, but in 2003 the beer was relaunched “to give another chance to the younger generation of Cypriots to taste the beer which their parents enjoyed 30 years previously,” Photiades said.

feature beer leon beer's origins date back to 1937 when it became the first beer to be produced in cyprus
Leon beer’s origins date back to 1937 when it became the first beer to be produced in Cyprus
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