The "Original" Turkish Brewpub

[Being without the blogging computer for some time, I'm now doing some blog catch-up work on previous beer adventures.]

Having already been to one of Turkey's two purported brewpubs, we thought we should give the other a try; we were back in Istanbul, where two of the five locations of "Taps" are found.

We hopped a tram and a bus north to Bebek, a quiet and picturesque (and probably expensive) part of Istanbul. Bebek is home to the nicest Starbucks I've ever seen - two stories overlooking the Bosphorous.

And of course, being upscale and a tourist hub, how can it not have fleets of fast food delivery scooters?

I can't imagine the contents of those boxes are worth a delivery charge...

Plus lovely & big yachts moored strait-side.

And much more successful fishermen than down at Sultanamet, often pulling out wee fish on every one of the 10 or so tiny hooks on their lines.

This little fellas end up cooked whole in a hot skillet

But I digress.  Taps Bebek is right across the street from the nice boats and fishermen, and looks very much like you'd expect a brewpub to look, complete with a strong logo and nice views.

Even street level has a decent view

Hmm, the at-your-table taps are a bit gimmicky, but this is set up for tourists rather than locals, so understandable.

Wow, look at this beer list.  It's huge!  Incredible variety.  This look promising.  If only we weren't the only people here... and the only employee appears to be mopping something out back & ignoring us; I wonder where the servers are.

Still, check out the different types of drinks available!  You can get a tourist-friendly brewtender, several different sizes and types of beer, there are happy hour specials - and you can even get a sampler, perfect.  How could this be anything but great?  As long as you avoid the Bud, etc.

Oh there's our server - also the guy with the mop.  He's pointing at the chalkboard.  What's that, you only have what's on the chalkboard?  And no samplers or other sizes, just mugs?  Hmm, well, that's disappointing.  But 3 'real' beers on tap is still excellent for Turkey.  Then again, the list of non-house-made beers is rather worrisome - and EXPENSIVE!  $8.70 Canadian for Bud, Amstel, Heineken, Corona?  Come to think of it, the menu is very western but similarly astronomical in price.  Oh well, we came for the beer, not for a facsimile of north american pub food.

Hmm, my mistake.  So you only have 'light' and 'dark' on tap, despite the chalkboard.  Funny, that's exactly what the Red Tower had on tap.  Gulp.  Well, let's try one of each then.

Yep, looks like beer, smells somewhat like beer.  Tastes...

Well, yeah, that's beer.  The 'light' is passable if not noticeably tasty - but what would normally be a disappointing beer back home is a huge win in Turkey!  Here is a small brewer producing beer that doesn't entirely suck, and that's a great thing, especially in a country not know for beer or brewing culture.  The dark, well, it's a bit watery and isn't the best recipe, similar to Red Tower's dark.  But hey, baby steps.

So, Taps, while you have all the trappings of a brewpub, and are much, MUCH closer than the Red Tower Brewpub was to achieving a good craft beer experience, you still have some work before you're a worthwhile visit.  Start with the beer - I know tourists don't usually taste the drinks they knock back, but it's not that difficult to be a flavour champion when your competition is Efes.  Clearly someone with brewpub/beer knowledge set this place up, you just need to find some employees that know how to brew and set them loose on some professionally-penned recipes.  It's a tough slog when the short path to riches involves dumping cocktails and international-label beer on tourists, especially when it's probably impossible to find someone in the country with a real passion for craft beer - or even someone who has tasted a craft beer or been to a proper brewpub.  But keep at it - you don't appear to have any real competitors, so you've got a leg up!

Turkish "Brewpub"

Some casual web searching revealed that, in addition to one small chain of Istanbul-based brewpubs, there was another brewpub in Turkey - in the city of Alanya.  And I was going to spend a night there!  The website even seemed to hit all the usual notes for a brewpub: www.redtowerbrewing.com

Unfortunately, the day before my intended visit to the brewery was spent enduring acute traveller's diarrhea during a baking hot seven-hour bus ride along an insanely windy coastal road while people all around me vomited from motion sickness.  (When they hand out barf bags before a bus trip, steel yourself.)  The fact I was able to trudge out to the pub at all is testament to my dedication to craft beer.

Red Tower Brewing is located along the Vegas-like main strip in Alanya, an overpriced and overdeveloped holiday haven for Euros.  But if you like urban beach holidays, I suppose it's what the doctor ordered.

Why yes, I DO need a lunch cruise aboard a three-storey plastic ship-of-the-line featuring a giant, glowing-blue-eyed viking head on the stern...

Strangely, Red Tower is supposed to be one of those huge multi-level clubs with a different theme per floor.  As it turns out, only the rooftop lounge (great views) and the faux-fancy patio restaurant they own across the street are open - the remaining levels are essentially empty.

Fingers crossed - I'm sending out good vibes to you, Red Tower

It has the fake tanks behind the bar, that's a start

Hmm, four levels of empty - at least this floor had chairs

Mrs. Hoplog and the rooftop lounge

Nice view down the Alanya strip

Equally nice view the other way to the iconic Red Tower itself

Despite the stomach bug, I needed at least a bit of nutrition, and at least a sample of Turkish craft beer, so we decided to hit Red Tower's patio restaurant despite the alarming prices (our first day back on the tourist route).

They didn't serve a lot of Turkish food, mostly "international" dishes like spaghetti bolognese and schnitzel.  (A poor showing given Turkey's fantastic food options, but I guess the tourists get what they demand.)  My bad stomach required something plain, so I tried the spaghetti napolitan - both the most expensive and the worst meal I had had in 3 weeks of Turkish travel (i.e. salt and noodles).  The decor and trappings suggested a decent dining experience, but this place was clearly a tourist cash grab.

But there was still hope for the beer, right?

Contrary to the website's claims there were only two beers on offer: "light" (pilsener), and "dark".  Everyone at the restaurant was drinking wine.

We were able to get a sample of each before buying.

Dark on the left, pilsener on the right.  No, that's not a hefeweizen, it's a really CLOUDY pilsener.

Ah, I'm afraid you have some work to do, Red Tower.  Your pilsener is opaque, and I can feel the suspended yeast souring my tongue as I drink it.  The dark is not much better - not a terrible beer, but a poor recipe that suggests chocolate and caramel before quickly fading into a watery mess.  Better recipes and  better processes are needed - it's really just mediocre homebrew right now, and I think I'd prefer an Efes.

Sigh.

Now I know Turkey is not a brewing nation.  They're a Mediterranean nation, so they should be making wine.  Beer is not really a traditional Turkish product, despite the modern-day mass consumption of Efes in Turkey.  So I really appreciate anyone's efforts to brew a non-pale-international-lager beer in Turkey.  It must be an uphill battle.

However, I think there's more to it at Red Tower.  My guess is that a restaurant magnate needed a hook or a twist to attract people to a new restaurant/bar.  Seeing the success of brewpubs in North America, I imagine this person decided to duplicate the look and feel and features of a brewpub, even down to website design.  Wham, bam, a license to print money in brewpub-free Turkey, right?  Unfortunately, the number one thing a brewpub needs is OK beer, and I don't think Red Tower has it yet.  Perhaps understandable, since brewing requires some specialized skills.  However, producing OK food is NOT rocket science, and in my experience Red Tower isn't even doing that, despite its mid-level price bracket.  So it seems to me the "brewpub" name/scheme is just a differentiating label, and there seems to be little interest in providing a good eating or beer drinking experience at Red Tower.

So with a heavy heart, I turn my thumbs down for Red Tower.  Not recommended.

Sympathy beer that Mrs. Hoplog and I took a couple of disappointed sips from.  It looks lovely, but unfortunately looks are deceiving

Unbelievably, I think it's possible to do worse in the food department in Alanya:

Do they serve all those things mixed together in a bowl?

If you're looking for good food in Turkey, I say get acclimatized to the culture in the well-travelled western parts, then take a (very cheap) internal flight to Gaziantep.  It's the pistachio and baklava captial of the world, and their food has a long history, crazy variety, and is both unbelievably good and very inexpensive.  The only price is that English speakers are rare, and you might get some looks if you aren't wearing pants.  (Well, I suppose that's true anywhere, but in this case I was wearing shorts.)  You still won't find great beer, but you'll be so happy gorging on cheap, fresh, wonderful food that you won't notice.

Holding Pattern

You might have noticed the blog has gone a bit quieter of late, if you've been bored enough to check.  Well, I've been in Turkey.

Turkey is fantastic.  I really can't say enough about it.  Modern enough to offer great transportation & infrastructure, different enough to be interesting, and full of history.  The food is natural, wholesome, oh-so-satisfying and cheap.  And the people are friendly and helpful.  Having a great time here.

Then there's the beer situation.

You have the usual international options - primarily Tuborg, along with Heineken, Becks & other identical beers, along with a couple of different big names wherever Germans vacation (Leffe, etc.).  But if you were hoping for some local Turkish beer, you basically have one option:

Efes has completely cornered the domestic beer market - it is EVERYWHERE.  For 99.999% of visitors, it's the only Turkish beer they'll see.  It's a standard American/International pale lager, though it says "Pilsen" on the bottle.  (It is not a pilsener.)  No flavour to speak of, apart from a pronounced tendency to go quite stale within minutes of opening/pouring - which is why I've been drinking it from the can when I drink it at all (less opportunity for the beer to mix with oxygen than pouring into a glass).

For my return to Istanbul, I might make use of this handy guide to beer and pubs in Istanbul, though options are slim at best.  However, an attempt to visit perhaps (one of) the only craft brewpub(s) in the country might be in order.  Until then, I'll try to focus on more promising local drinking options, such as strong sweet tea, and this: