Samos Beer Brewery in Pythagorion

Greece

"We make sure our Samos beers have one thing in common: love."

Pythagorion lies on the southeastern coast of the Greek island of Samos, just a short drive from the airport. The town takes its name from Pythagoras, the philosopher and mathematician who was born here. Interesting, certainly. Especially if ancient history and mathematics are your thing. But during our visit, we discovered another reason to take a closer look at Pythagorion: Samos Beer, a small craft brewery producing beer on the island of Samos.

Things to do in Pythagorion

We were staying on the completely opposite side of Samos, but that didn’t stop us from making the drive to Pythagorion to visit Samos Beer. The journey takes about an hour, depending on the route and the island’s winding mountain roads. And honestly, driving across Samos is hardly a hardship. The views are often so spectacular that the real challenge is keeping your eyes on the road.

If you’re visiting Pythagorion, there’s plenty to see besides its craft brewery. The white Panagia Spiliani Monastery is, among other things, well worth a visit, if only for the panoramic views. Behind the monastery, a stone staircase leads down into a cave, where you’ll find a small blue chapel at the back of the cave.

From the monastery, we drove down a narrow road and parked on the outskirts of town in a large unpaved parking area. From there, it’s an easy walk into the town, which was once the capital of Samos.

Pythagorion itself has a charming harbor and a waterfront promenade lined with restaurants and cafés. You’ll also find a large statue of Pythagoras, a reminder of the philosopher and mathematician who was born here. The Blue Street, with its blue-and-white surroundings, is another photogenic little corner of town. It is, however, a bit more touristy here than on the western side of the island where we were staying.

Samos Beer: a craft brewery on Samos

In one of the narrow streets behind the harbor in Pythagorion, we found the small Samos Beer brewery we had been curious about. After exchanging a few emails with owner and brewer Dimitris, we were invited to visit the brewery on a brewing day. That was an opportunity we didn’t want to miss. Dimitris doesn’t usually brew much during the busy summer season, making our visit a particularly lucky one.

Dimitris is originally from Athens, but falling in love with a girl from Samos is apparently a good reason to pack your bags and hop on the ferry. Irini was the reason he moved to the island, and with his background as a teacher, Dimitris was able to find work on Samos as well.

Brewing started as a hobby for Dimitris and Irini, and their friends clearly enjoyed the results. We’ve heard that story before: a hobby becomes increasingly serious and before you know it, you’re running a brewery. In their case, however, they took a more measured approach. Samos Beer was built up gradually, while Dimitris continued working as a teacher, something he was still doing he told us.

Exploring the beers of Samos Beer

The first Samos Beer was actually brewed on the neighboring island of Chios, at Chios Beer. In 2019, Dimitris and Irini brought their first beer to market: Valsamo Ale, a wheat beer made with honey from Samos. The beer takes its name from a secluded beach in the northwest of Samos that the couple visited together. A place that played a role in Dimitris also falling in love with the island. Their second beer was also called Valsamo, this time as Valsamo Lager, a crisp and slightly malty Helles-style beer. On a hot Greek summer day, it’s exactly the kind of beer that calls for another sip.

In 2023, Dimitris and Irini finally realised their dream of running their own microbrewery on Samos. Since moving production to their brewery in Pythagorion, the Samos Beer range has grown considerably. We came across Valsamo Ale and Valsamo Lager in several places around the island, while ONEIPA, their New England IPA, was also available in a number of supermarkets. For beer lovers visiting Samos, that makes it relatively easy to try local craft beer beyond the island’s better-known wines.

During our visit, we were given three beers to take back to the little apartment we had rented on Samos. We started with ONEIPA, the juicy, hazy New England IPA that we had already tasted earlier. Then there was Pothos, an Imperial Coffee Stout. For us, Pothos is like a “freddo espresso on steroids”: strong, rich and packed with coffee (and chocolate) flavours, yet surprisingly subtle despite its 8.6% ABV. The final beer we tasted was Kerkiss, a robust 9% ABV Eisbock named after Mount Kerkis, the highest mountain on Samos.

A visit to the Samos Beer taproom

The Samos Beer brewery is housed in a beautifully restored stone building in Pythagorion, with the restoration carried out by the owners themselves. The building stands on the remains of the ancient city of Samos. During the restoration, the owners uncovered various archaeological artifacts, and if you look closely, you can still spot some very old stones incorporated into the walls.

The brewery has another good reason to stop by: its taproom and courtyard. There’s a small kitchen serving a selection of food and, in the courtyard, a tap wall with ten taps pouring Samos Beer's own beers. It’s hard to imagine getting local craft beer much fresher than this.

When we returned for dinner early in the evening, the taproom was still relatively quiet, but the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. We settled in with a freshly poured beer and a tasty burger. Sometimes, that’s all you need after a day of exploring Pythagorion and surroundings.

Samos is perhaps best known for its Muscat wines, but our visit to Samos Beer showed us another side of the island’s drinks scene. If you’re looking for a place to drink locally brewed craft beer on Samos, this place is well worth adding to your itinerary!

Updated: 26-09-2026