Beer in Turkey: history, traditions and breweries
Two Swiss brothers brought lager to the Bosphorus. Their brewery was nationalised, closed – and reborn as a cultural centre.
History
Long before there was lager, people in Anatolia drank boza: a thick, slightly sour drink made from fermented millet, low in alcohol. On winter evenings boza sellers walked the alleys of Istanbul calling “Booo-zaaa!”. Some still do today.
Istanbul, 1890. The capital of the Ottoman Empire was a world city with traders from all over Europe. Two brothers from Switzerland, the Bomontis, saw an opportunity: on the edge of the city, in the area of Feriköy, they founded a brewery for bottom-fermented lager. Large ice cellars provided the cooling, and they brought the know-how from home.
The brewery was so successful that the whole district soon bore its name: Bomonti. Beer became popular in the city’s coffee houses and meyhanes. In 1902 it moved to a new, larger site, and in 1912 it merged with its rival Nektar. The brothers now supplied almost all of Istanbul.
After the end of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded modern Turkey in 1923. The young state took control of alcohol: in the 1930s the Bomonti brewery passed to the state monopoly, later called Tekel. For decades the state brewed the country’s beer.
That changed in 1969. The Özilhan business family founded the first large private brewery and launched Efes Pilsen, named after the ancient city of Ephesus. Efes became Turkey’s beer and still is today. The name is known in sport too: the basketball club Anadolu Efes won the EuroLeague in 2021 and 2022.
The old Bomonti brewery closed in 1991. But the story did not end there: the brick halls were renovated and reopened in 2015 as the “Bomontiada” cultural centre, and the Bomonti name came back as a beer. Today alcohol is heavily taxed in Turkey, and since 2013 advertising and sales between 10 pm and 6 am have been banned. Even so, young brewers in Istanbul and Izmir are brewing new beers.
Traditions and drinking culture
Beer is drunk in the meyhane, the traditional tavern, with meze: white cheese, melon, olives, grilled peppers. The toast is “Şerefe!”, to honour.
In winter boza is enjoyed warm or cold with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas – more a food than a drink. During Ramadan many people avoid alcohol.
Fun facts
- Istanbul’s first lager brewery was founded in 1890 by two Swiss brothers named Bomonti.
- A whole district of Istanbul is named after the brewery: Bomonti.
- Efes Pilsen is named after the ancient city of Ephesus.
- Since 2013 no alcohol may be sold in Turkey between 10 pm and 6 am.
Typical beer styles
Beer cities and their stories
Istanbul
In the Bomonti district, the Swiss Bomonti brothers founded their brewery in 1890. The old halls are now the “Bomontiada” cultural centre with concerts, exhibitions and beer.
Izmir
On the Aegean, the story of Efes Pilsen began in 1969, Turkey’s first large private brewery. Not far away lie the ruins of ancient Ephesus, after which the beer is named.
Breweries and their stories
Bomonti
Founded by the Swiss Bomonti brothers. Nationalised in the 1930s and closed in 1991; the name lives on as a beer and in the Bomontiada cultural centre.
Known for: Bomonti Filtresiz
Anadolu Efes
Turkey’s first large private brewery, founded by the Özilhan family. Efes Pilsen is the most popular beer in the country.
Known for: Efes Pilsen
Timeline
- 1890Istanbul
The Swiss Bomonti brothers found a lager brewery in Istanbul.
- 1912Istanbul
Bomonti and Nektar merge.
- 1934Istanbul
The state takes over the Bomonti brewery; later it is run by the Tekel monopoly.
- 1969Izmir
The Özilhan family founds Efes – Turkey’s first large private brewery.
- 1991Istanbul
The old Bomonti brewery closes its doors.
- 2015Istanbul
The brewery halls reopen as the Bomontiada cultural centre.