So I’m talking with one of the people I work with, someone I hadn’t met before. Turns out he’s a Greek too, and we immediately begin yapping enthusiastically to each other (in Greek, much to my coworkers’ surprise) about just how awesome it is over there. The conversation turns to beer, as it’s one of the things I recall most fondly from my time there. “Did you drink REAL Amstel?” “Yess!! It’s amazing… I can’t find it here, as hard as I try!” “They don’t import it… I’ve been looking for it for years.” “Damn!”
Such a shame, gentle readers. Regular Amstel, which is NOT available in the United States, is nothing even remotely close to that “Amstel Light” crap they sell here. It’s like a glass of bread, with a sprightly, slightly-sweet bite that puts every other beer I’ve tasted (and I’ve had lots) to utter shame.
This conversation got me thinking about trying to find it again, and my coworker tells me there’s this place (we were in his territory) down the road called “World of Beers” that has something like 800 beers from all over the world. I insist that we stop in on the way back. I was immediately (but not surprisingly) disappointed when the counter attendant told me the usual story: we don’t have it.

I did pick up a custom 6-pack of beers from Europe, though. One apiece of the following:
- Lagorila Special Lager (Bulgaria)
- Zywiec (Poland)
- Staropramen (Prague, Czech Republic)
- Mythos Lager (Greece – hey c’mon what’d you think?)
- Aris Lager (Greece)
- Abita Turbodog Lager (U.S. microbrew)
I’m looking forward to reviewing these beers, one-by-one. (more…)