How It All Started

Late 2021, after a few too many beers during our usual weekend hangout in Elassona, someone—definitely not the most sober of us—suggested we brew our own craft beer. The idea was simple: why just drink beer when we could drink our beer? What started as a throwaway joke between sips quickly turned into actual conversations, and once we miraculously sorted out the money (I’m still not sure how), that drunken thought transformed into what we’re now calling a “business plan” for a microbrewery. Of course, most of the planning still happens in bars an cafes, where we’re jotting ideas on napkins like the true professionals we are.

Who We Are

To begin with, not one of us had the slightest idea how to brew beer.
We did, however, have PhDs in beer appreciation—raising our glasses and happily sampling every style known to humanity. 😄🍺
So there we were, the three muskebeers:
Apostolis—a mechanical engineer with the patience of a monk and the stubbornness of a mule. From a young age, he fantasized not about machines working, but about waiting for them to arrive, haggling with suppliers like a modern-day Odysseus navigating the Aegean of logistics.
Vasilis, the banker-turned-beer-evangelist, who slammed shut the lid of his laptop one day, flipped Excel the bird, and declared, “I’m done calculating interest rates—I’m fermenting my future.”
And then there was Thanos, our civil engineer, who envisioned an industrial-chic metal temple rising from the wilderness just outside our town—a sacred space where he could battle it out with every contractor, welder, and eccentric electrician in the land.

So all 3 of us, together from elementary school until today, began this journey with, almost, more questions than answers…

The Original Beer

What kind of beer should we make?” …And then, total mayhem. A flurry of random suggestions, lots of noise, and almost nothing useful. After plenty of laughs, arguments, and a good dose of immaturity, we finally buckled down. A few days later, we had our answer: our first brew would be a fresh, unpasteurized, unfiltered Pilsner! (Insert cheers and wild celebrations here…!) A beer we all enjoy—maybe a little too much—but also one that appeals to beer lovers far and wide.

With that in mind, we dove into some serious research for our recipe… Fast forward one night and 10-15 Pilsners later, and we had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted to create. At first, we brewed our beer at a third-party brewery, but over time, we kept refining it. Now, with our very own Brewer on board, we’re almost (because let’s be honest, it’s always almost 😊) ready to lock it in! (And yes, a special article on our Brewer is on the way—stay tuned!).

Naming the beer? Easy, right? Wrong. Months of discussions, debates, and back-and-forths passed—not just between us, but with friends, acquaintances, and pretty much anyone who’d weigh in. And yet, we still ended up nowhere… What followed was a long and winding road filled with revisions, legal headaches, and unexpected twists, leading to multiple changes for both the beer’s name and the Microbrewery itself. But since this is just an intro (and not the script for a corporate soap opera), we’ll save the full saga for another time. Stay tuned for a deep dive into the names and logo!

For the present article, it suffices to mention that after all of the above, we ended up with the name Lazy Mules, with a logo of 3 cute little mules, under the peak of Mountain Olympus, Mytikas. Mules, laziness, Olympus, Elassona I guess you understand that this particular name seemed to be unavoidable, considering that the name theoretically represents the location and the DNA not only of the product but also of those involved 😊

Alright, in a (slightly) more serious context, the beer that finally took shape is called Lazy Mules—a German Pilsner with 4.9% ABV, 21 IBU, available in 330ml & 500ml glass bottles, as well as on draft. The description that follows is completely accurate and genuine—it even accompanies the beer in our online store. But let’s be real, you’ll never catch any of the three of us actually speaking like that… 😆

The German hops used add spicy, herbal and slightly fruity aromas. With four different types of malt, the beer acquires a rich structure and flavour, while the light bitterness is balanced by a pleasant sweet aftertaste. Fresh and sparkling Lazy Mules retains its predominantly blonde colour, presenting a mild, earthy texture.

Microbrewery’s HQ – Location

We could say that we carefully chose the Microbrewery’s location to offer a breathtaking view of Mount Olympus to the northeast, overlook the vast plains of Elassona to the south, and ensure easy access to the national road network. And while that all sounds great (and is technically true), the real reason is much simpler—the Brewery is being built at the 4^th kilometer of the Elassona-Deskati road, right next to the village of Agioneri, because, well… we had an abandoned field there and decided it was the perfect place for this noble cause!

The video below (Instagram) shows the foundation of the building, but when it’s ready, you guessed it, another article will follow.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC4eQhyo0u_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

There’s still plenty of work ahead, but we’re getting closer every day! In just a few months, we hope to finally open our doors and welcome everyone—those who believed in and supported our small Greek brewery, those eager to taste a fresh, high-quality local beer, and even those just passing by, curious to see what we’re all about. Bottom line? Everyone’s invited! So swing by, say hello, and let’s enjoy a Lazy Mules together