Pairing Greek Christmas Sweets & Craft Beer!? Yes, We Did It!

Hello my dear BrewVenturers!

Yes, it is that time of the year! Here, in Greece, we could not resist the temptation of pairing great craft beers and the delicious Greek Christmas sweets. The most famous ones, at least in Northern Greece, are the Melomakarona and the Kourampiedes.

If you never tried them, they evoke all the classic flavors of the season: caramel, nuts, clove, cinnamon, and orange peel. While Holiday treats vary around the globe, these flavors are a reminescence of great times spent with family and/or friends. As part of  BrewVentures Beer Experiences mission is to democratize craft beer consumption, today we’re sharing our adventures pairing Greek Christmas sweets and craft beer.

On December 11th, we hosted an amazing sensory experience at The Hoppy Pub in Thessaloniki. After sourcing and tasting many Greek sweets we curated a selection of four specific pairings. During the event, we introduced our guests to the concept of ‘pairing’: the art of combining two distinct elements to create a sensory experience greater than the sum of its parts.

Let’s dive into the combinations!

• Melomakarona (La Fornareta) & Amber Ale (Flaros Beer)

  Sweet: This Melomakarona is very particular. It has a more softer inside, making you thinking it was less time on the oven and highlights very much the orange peel note. If you like this citrus touch, you should visit La Fornaretta.

  Beer: This is an American Amber Ale from Flaros Beer. It displays malty notes of caramel and toffee in moderate to low intensity. The bitterness is also moderate to low and balances the sweet malty profile well. Some hoppy notes in low intensity bring a light herbal and citrus touch to the beer.

  Pairing: We built this pairing around the the matching sweetness of both elements. The caramel from the beer and the sweetness from Melomakarona were perfectly complementary. The spices in the sweet added freshness and work together with the low bitternes to balance the whole experience. But, the real magic happened in the finish to the aftertaste: a delicious sinergy between the orange peel and the hop notes created a harmonious, light and refreshing orangey finishing for the pair. A quick note to our brain that our journey was just starting.

• Kourampiedes (Hatzifotiou) & Provision (Brouwerij't Verzet)

  Sweet: This is a simpler sweet in terms of flavor. Its icing is basically powdered sugar and the base is a buttery dough with almonds. The best here is the mouthfeel. The sweet melt really easy in your mouth and you are delighted by the crunchy surprises of almond pieces inside. We selected our from the famous Hatzifotiou (Χατζηφωτίου).

  Beer: We choose a historical Belgian style called ‘Oud Bruin’ (Flemish for “Old Brown”). In the ‘Provision’ label from the ‘Brouwerij 't Verzet’ we found everything we expect from the style: fruity malty notes, a spicy yeast character, and a moderate sour/vinic note.

  Pairing: We wanted to introduce our guest to a style they don’t see very often. The simplicity of the sweet helped to reduce the perceived acidity of the beer, while the beer’s complexity made the buttery sweet feel elegant. One participant loved this so much he bought a bottle to recreate the experience at home! 🫶🏼

• Melomakarona (Hatzifotiou) & Secret Santa (Amager Bryghus)

  Sweet: This is a perfectly balanced Melomakarona where you can taste every layer: from the sweetness to the spices and the orange peel. After tasting many varieties, I must admit this one from Hatzifotiou (Χατζηφωτίου) is my personal favorite.

  Beer: A Christmas special from the remarkable Amager Bryghus in Denmark. The label displays ‘Christmas Quadrupel’ and the name is perfect for the festivities: 'Secret Santa’. It also works as a great gift for your beer-loving friends! A Quadrupel is also know as Belgian Dark Strong Ale, a very self-explanatory title. This style brings a high ABV balanced by the character of the Belgian yeast and the richness of the malt profile. You can find plenty of Christmas notes like marzipan, clove and orange peel. It has a sweet balance that help us to cope with the alcohol.

  Pairing: By matching the shared Christmas flavors in both the beer and the sweet, we used the Melomakarona to soften the perceived sweetness of the beer. The result was amazing—the clove and orange notes intensified, creating a "dangerous" combination you won't want to stop eating!

• Chocolate Melomakarona (Konstantinidis)& Kleos (Septem Microbrewery)

  Sweet: We searched for a chocolate-covered Melomakarona that didn’t let the chocolate overpower the sweet itself. Konstantinidis nailed it! We tried many that only tasted like chocolate (and sometimes bad chocolate). But, this was a great combination, where the chocolate brings a distinct layer of bittersweet delight to please the senses even more.

  Beer: We knew from the start we wanted to pair chocolate with an Imperial Stout. It is a remarkable beer style that usually display notes of dark chocolate balanced with a coffee-like bitterness. We also wanted to have another Greek beer in our list. In this case, we have a beer that was aged in whisky and rum barrels, which brings complexity linked with its boozy and warming mouthfeel. We got all of that with Kleos from Septem Microbrewery.

  Pairing: Again, we started to build this combination with the chocolate notes coming from the sweet and from the malt notes. Contrasts were added by the spices of the Melomakarona and the bitter coffee-like taste of the roasted malt. The “crazy” here was that the beer alone displayed a more evident whisky note, but together with the sweet, these notes changed to the rum side and worked very well with the orange peel trace. The perfect closing for our experience!

Words often fail to describe feelings, and we are fine with that. Because the feedback we got from the lucky ones who joined us were very rewarding. Many who were lifelong fans of Greek sweets but "beginners" in the craft beer world were shocked at how well they paired. They left happy with the results, promising to try it themselves. 

We could not be more happy and proud of building such an unique moment and having them trust us with it. We also got great suggestions for other similar seasonal experiences and we are very much looking forward to those. We hope you can use our description as an inspiration for your Holiday moments. There are plenty of suitable and delicious beers ready to shine on your tables. If you are not familiar with them, or if you want help navigating this world, feel free to leave us a message. We leave you here with our most sincere wishes for a great Holiday! 🎄🍾🍻

Cheers!