Paphos, Mandria and Nicosia. More Beer and Fun In The Sun.

As you are probably aware by my previous postings on this blog, (HERE) and (also HERE) over the past few years Jane and I have been extremely fortuitous to have been able to spend a little time each summer visiting friends of ours, Geordie and Lynne, on the beautiful island of Cyprus. Last year, back in June, we would be joined by Doug and Sharon, 2 more of our hosts' friends, also from North East Lincolnshire.

For the first time we would be flying from London Stansted airport, a departure point I last visited during the early part of my taxi driving days in the 1990's. Then, as I recall, it boasted a sizeable and modern terminal building but lacked the air routes and passenger footfall it has now. In fact, on my previous visit, I arrived, parked outside the main entrance to the terminal, as you could then, and was amazed that I was almost the only cabbie dropping a fare off there. How times have changed. It now has around 25 million passengers a year using the facilities with queues seemingly everywhere. This is accompanied by the constant rumble of aircraft noise, as they are either taking off or landing. After we arrived, and dropped the car off at the Meet and Greet, we made our way into the terminal and, after eventually clearing security, we decided on a drink and a bite to eat. Among the adequate number of restaurants, cafe bars and eateries is The Windmill, a Wetherspoon's outlet which, although not as cheap as its High Street cousins, did have a reasonable selection of cask and craft beers and a good selection of food on the menu.We ordered a pizza and, during our wait to be called to the gate, sampled three of the beers on offer. Starting off with the solid tasting fruit and citrus Golden Ale from Hanlons Brewery , the 4.2% Yellow Hammer, before a bottle of Redemption Brewing's Big Chief IPA, 5.5%, a good hoppy beer, with just a hint of honeyed sweetness. These were swiftly followed by a malty, slightly fruity bottle of East London Brewing Co. Cowcatcher APA, 4.8%. After these it was time to make our way to the gate, board our already slightly late Jet2 Boeing 737 aircraft, taxi out and wait.....wait for another 50 minutes. Apparently we, as many others, had become victims of an industrial action within France's Air Traffic Control.

We arrived at Paphos Airport around 10-30pm, remarkably just after it had stopped raining, the last bit of precipitation we would experience for the duration of our trip, and we were soon being chauffeured by our hosts back to Mandria. Tonight would be a quiet night, just a few local Cypriot favourite Keo or Leon beers to wind down, catch up on the gossip and enjoy the company.

Over the next few days we would be out for meals, both in Mandria and Paphos, but the choice of drinks were usually Keo or Leon. There were exceptions, but one must dig around, or do some prior research, to find Real Ales or Craft Ales. Luckily by now I did have that little bit of prior knowledge of the area, and I don't mind the usual Cypriot lager beers on a hot day either. So here is a potted review of what we managed to find on our most current expedition.

Paphos

The Wooden Pub 2,
Tomb of the King's Road.

One bar we had visited on previous trips is The Wooden Pub. Situated overlooking Paphos Harbour and Municipal Baths, it is in a good area to start, finish or base yourself for a few drinks when you are in the resort. It is one of a couple of the local Aphrodite's Rock Brewery pubs in the resort. The selection is quite good, with some cask from Aphrodite's Rock and local beers in bottles from True Ale and Hop Thirsty Friends, nestled with the Greek based Septem brews, alongside which are some British beers, such as Brewdog and St Austell. The vibe is easy going, and if you just want to chill and watch the world go by,it is the perfect place. For the slightly more athletic, there are the options of board games available to help you exercise your brain, if nothing else. Just a 15 to 20 minute stroll away from here is Wooden Pub 2, on The Tomb of the Kings Road. Offering a bigger site, which includes a quite sizeable outdoor beer garden, this a good place to chill out too. I believe it does offer a bit of entertainment, local bands and singers, during some evenings. The beer selection is much the same as its sister pub and the staff are very friendly, taking the time to have some interaction with the punters. During my visits to the two Wooden Pubs I managed to sample the couple of beers on offer from Hop Thirsty Friends. First up was Humor Weiss, 5%. This Wittbier is mildly fruity, some banana notes are evident, before a viscous, fruity finish. The second brew, brewed, incidently, for Hop Thirsty Friends by Greek based Septem Microbrewery, was Humor IPA, 6.5%. Quite a solid, if typical IPA, to be fair. There is a reasonable bitterness, balanced well with citrus fruitiness, and a long dry finish. A good beer to quench your thirst on. I also had chance to re-sample some of the disappointing True Ales I tried last year and some new ones. I started with the spicy Vienna Ale, followed with the reasonably fruity Porter and finished on the quite grainy Blonde Ale, all 5%, which is an improvement in ABV's on the previous offerings. I also bagged a True Ale Ginger Ale, coming in at the same strength, which was quite malty, with yeasty esters at the opening, before the subtle ginger heat kicks in. I would say that they are not quite there with these brews just yet, but there has been a huge improvement in the last year and they are not too far away from producing a decent selection of beers.

There are, of course, quite a few bars and restaurants in and around these two areas of Paphos, but most other places usually offer just Keo, Leon and Heineken. It is worth just asking, or looking at the beer fridge behind the bar though. Some do carry Aphrodite's Rock in bottles, and I did notice Wadworth's 6X on tap (keg I would guess) in a couple of establishments. Although I didn't get to visit this time, both the Old Fishing Shack Ale and Cider House in the resort, and The Beer Seller beer shop, just outside in the Geroskipou area, are going strong under the stewardship of Athos. There are a few bottled beers, some from the UK and Belgium, appearing in the supermarkets too.

On our last visit we found the major rebuilding works were still ongoing in the Old Town area. Roads were dug up, pavements non-existent and, to be honest, a right mess. I can, happily, report that almost all the work is finished. It has made it a bright and airy place to walk around, steeped in history but with a modern facade, although I haven't had chance yet to sniff out any real ales or craft beers in the bars.

Mandria.

8.5% Duvel in
Klimataria

You will find Mandria just a short drive south of Paphos Airport and, although quite modern, it does have a certain type of old village charm to it. It is a growing area with a mixture of resident ex-pats, holiday home renters and owners, International tourists and, of course, local Cypriots. Raves and night-clubbing it isn't, but more than half a dozen cafe bars and restaurants adorn the village centre, each with its own character. The food choices are more than ample, Italian, Fish and Chips, traditional Cypriot dishes, and take-away options are all catered for. There seems to be a local competition as to whom can supply the biggest pork chop or the most spare ribs so the meals in the village are very good value for money, whoever you choose.The six of us enjoyed quite a few "competitive" meals here. As for beer, two neighbouring bars deserve a mention. Klimataria offers all the usual suspects but, if you ask, you will find bottles of 8.5% Duvel Belgian Strong Beer on offer from the fridge here. They are quite reasonably priced too, and, lets face it, this beer, with its grassy and floral notes, spice at the back leading to a long citrus finish, rarely disappoints. Directly over the road is Kentrpoikon. You can find two of the Erdinger Weissbrau beers, Weissbier Hefe-Weizen and Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, on tap here. Both are 5.3% and as”standard” as you would find anywhere.

A trip to Nicosia

On our first ever visit to Cyprus, back in 2005, we stayed in the Protaras area. One of our many highlights from that trip was a visit to the only divided capital city in the world, Nicosia. It was quite fascinating and crossing the fortifications of the “Green Line”, (UN buffer Zone) showed more than the physical divide between the Greek influenced Republic of Cyprus and The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Back then, a visa to cross over the border cost £1 CYP and restrictions over goods were very strict. Now it's more relaxed and it has more border crossing points, making it somewhat easier, although tensions still exist. But this isn't a history lesson, nor a political analysis. I will leave that to those who are more qualified.

No Craft beer. Just a light lunch,
Northern Cyprus style

On our trip, after taking the bus from Paphos to Nicosia, we stayed just a couple of blocks away from the crossing point in Ledras Street. We cooled down with a couple of Keo's (of course) on our arrival at the nearest street cafe-bar before crossing over to the TRNC for a bite to eat. Now, if you want real ales or craft ales in the north you will struggle. On our trip over, I did have a couple of “possible” bars on my list. Unfortunately, with it being late afternoon, a few bars were not open which curtailed our beer search, so food (which was very cheap, plentiful and absolutely wonderful) and Efes were our rewards. Our next trip here might uncover those elusive brews I have been searching for. Afterwards we wandered around a little while before crossing through the checkpoint and proceeding back over the border. We'd had a rather pleasant afternoon, one we hope to do again. Our next stop was Brewfellas, a friendly craft ale bar, just off Ledras Street. It has a pretty good range of beers on tap, as well as a great selection of botles and canned craft beer. Also there is a beer shop adjacent. We had planned to go out later that evening, so we just had time for a quick drink before heading back to our digs. My choice was Tempest Brewing's Elemental Porter, 5.1%, a nice bitter-sweet brew with coffee and Dark Chocolate, whilst Jane had the Budweisser Budvar Czech Pilsner, 5%. Both were very well kept.

Pivo's beer menu.

After freshening up back at our digs, we strolled out to a microbrewery and taphouse not too far away from were we were staying. This was Pivo Microbrewery, nestled close to the city's divide. This is a bright and airy bar, and has a mixed customer base of tourists and locals, but the love of beer is the the draw, along with knowledgeable staff and what looked like excellent food (although we didn't eat here ourselves after our huge plate fulls of grub we received over the border!). There are quite a few in-house brewed beers on tap and in bottles, and the range should suit most beer seekers. We started off with the 4x 0.2l Beer Tasting selection. This consisted of Pivo's Sitarenia Bavarian Weissbier, a malt driven brew with subtle stone fruit and bubble-gum at the back, 4.5%, Blondie, a 4.3% nicely balanced Bohemian Pilsner, a Czech Dark Lager, 4.2% Noir which imparted a nice mix of dark fruits tempered by light chocolate onto the palate and Hoppy, a quite complex American Pale Ale of 4.5% its fruit, floral notes and a tingle of citrus at the back which forces through to dominate in the finish. After sharing our four beers, Jane carried on with another Blondie whilst I went for the last 2 beers on tap. Smoked Fish, an American Smoked Ale of 4.9%, certainly has plenty of smoke in the taste with sweet fruit and just slight strains of citrus adding to a quite heavy mouthfeel, whereas Hopfish is totally opposite. This Summer Ale is light, hoppy and has a good citrus buzz to it. A very refreshing beer of 4.1%. It was now time to move on, so we headed back to Brewfellas, which, by now, was quite busy. A G&T was Jane's order, which was poured with a very generous spirit measure. I decided to go for a half of Tempest Marmalade on Rye, a big robust tasting DIPA of 9%, where sweet fruitiness is balanced its citrus and a lovely back bitterness. Last up was another half, this time Northern Monk/Against The Grain Collaboration Peanut Butter & Jelly Brown Ale, 10%. Wow! What a big punchy flavour. Jammy,malted caramel and biscuity sweetness on the outset, then the nuttiness of the peanut butter, and more fruit combine to lift the sweetly dry, but balanced, big finish. The high alcohol strength is not noticeable in the least. A surprisingly easy to drink beer, especially with that high ABV.

We had really enjoyed our night out in Nicosia and the following day, as we sat outside another friendly and quaint cafe-bar, sampling more generous food servings and local hospitality, we had already made our minds up to return here on our next break in Cyprus.

Brewfellas, Nicosia.

Another highlight of our visit was Sunday dinner, Cypriot style, taken at a traditional Taverna up in the hills beyond the Asprokremmos Reservoir, overlooking Paphos. There is no menu, or set meal, you book in and sit back and, over a cool beer, wait. Then it arrives, almost meze style. You are not quite sure what will come next, but you will get fresh bread with mixed starters, plenty of vegetables and huge roasted potatoes, piles of whatever meats are being cooked, and followed up with a dessert. Last, but not least, the zivania spirit comes out! Marvellous, and good value for money too.
Our 8 days in Sunny Cyprus seemed to be over so quickly. As we reflected at the airport, awaiting our flight back to Manchester, it was clear that we would returning soon as this is still one of our favourite places to visit.

Cheers and keep it “Real”