Σολο Your Cretan Craft Beer
Originated from Crete, Σoλo is not just any beer but a craft beer with soul.
Anthropocentric, proud and uncompromising by nature, obsessed with the idea that good beer is a human right, Σολο is addressed to all of you who desire a perfect beer.
Furthermore, rather than brewing for the sake of profit, Σολο creates & experiments while calling beer lovers and enthusiasts for interaction with the belief that much more than beer, craft beer is human contact. In other words, Σολο comes into existence through people, togetherness, friendship and sharing of ideas, emotions and everything that makes our moments worth living for.
Thank you for appreciating craft beer!
"good beer is a human right"
Fresh
Most beers should be ideally consumed fresh. The main reason why ... is hops. Hops have wonderful aromas, but after a few months these aromas start to fade. On the other hand, dark and malty beers, and in particular strong dark beers, can be quite aggressive when they are young. These beers can greatly benefit from ageing, becoming rounder, softer and actually more complex by time.
To keep beer fresh, one should keep it cool and away from direct sunlight or other sources of heat. In Σόλο we keep our beer fresh by using refrigerated trucks and a refrigerated warehouse with stable temperature between 2-5 degrees. This is not easy or cheap, but it is the only way we can ensure that when you drink Σόλο, you will always enjoy the best possible experience.
Unfiltered
Most commercial beers are filtered. This is done to make the beer clearer. Filtering takes away yeast and proteins. A filtered beer looks certainly prettier than an unfiltered one, but filtering comes at a cost. Here are the disadvantages:
1)By filtering one takes away lots of the flavours and aromas.
2) By filtering one takes away proteins.
Proteins are usually clear, but when cooling a beer down, by for example putting a bottle in the fridge, then the protein binds together with polyphenols from the hops and beer gets hazy. But there is a problem with taking the proteins away: The proteins help head retention (the foam of the beer). Hence filtered beers often have better foam and the foam stays for longer time.
Σολο is not filtered, because we believe that beer is better unfiltered.
Unpasteurized
Most industrial beers are pasteurized. Pasteurization is the process of heating up the beer and then cooling it down again. During this process we kill bacteria and denature enzymes.
Is this a good thing? Well first of all, the art of brewing is a lot about being sanitary. A well brewed beer is without bacteria. But if you brew in unsanitary ways, then it is necessary to pasteurize the beer or else the bacteria will damage the beer soon. Hence, there is another reason to pasteurize and that is to stabilize the beer. Pasteurization locks the beer’s flavour and aroma, so it does not develop. In that way all the bottles taste the same, regardless of the age. Well, to some extent, because a pasteurized beer does not age well, and needs to be consumed within let’s say a year. Σολο is not pasteurized for two reasons:
We brew in sanitary ways We want the enzymes to be active in the beer, so that the beer can age well. This means that beer will slowly change. But this is the beauty of it. All beers should be enjoyed with respect to how it is now. Just like humans, a person changes over time. But every age has its qualities, charm and strength. Respect the moment. Respect the beer for what it is right now.
regular production
Our Brewery
Much more than brewing high quality beers, craft beer is all about human contact, communication, interaction and sharing of knowledge, ideas and feelings, therefore the gates of our brewery are always open to all of you who share the same passion with us for craft beer. It is really an honour for us when our beers enjoy your appreciation but our real joy comes through human contact and building of an interpersonal – interactive relationship with craft beer lovers.
Our brewery is housed in a contemporary, 300 sm industrial building at the countryside settlement of Kalithea (next to Heraklion’s industrial zone) where, much more than a craft beer production unit, we have created an interactive space to share our knowledge and passion for craft beer and its civilization through seminars, events, tastings, workshops and guided tours. You are all welcome to visit us, taste our brews, meet each other, and share our passion for craft beer!
Pls contact us prior to your visit so that we schedule it.