By Martha Gathercole 

‘I didn't say, Xenophon said!’, the banner beckons me to Yerevan’s Beer Days 2025 festival, running from August 22-24.

2,500 years ago, Greek historian Xenophon was the first person to write a review of Armenian beer, which was apparently ‘very strong, but for local people a very pleasant drink’. Clearly this tolerance for strong beer in Armenia has been preserved, as people mill around beer stalls, with steins securely clasped in hand ready for their next top-up.  

Hence my surprise when two tourists at the festival tell me how Armenia is a ‘country of wine' rather than a 'country of beer'. At Yerevan’s Beer Days festival, I explore for myself whether Armenia is a 'country of beer' or not. 

I speak to Armine at Dargett Beer, to find out more about the industry. I am briefed on the seven different types of beer that they sell, including Irish stout, pilsner, even a Viennese beer which I'm told is for women only. Each beer is inspired by a different country, used with ingredients from around the world to simulate tastes from countries such as Czechia, Belgium and Ireland. However, the secret ingredients, she tells me, which make it so unique, are the Armenian water, and the love they put into the beer, which gives this wide range of beer types a uniquely Armenian taste.  

Beer Days providing obligatory education for the next generation

Dargett's original creation is the apricot beer. Armine tells me that as far as she knows, no-one before Dargett ever produced beer using apricots. As the most popular beer for clients at home and abroad, she explains that this is 'because it has the taste of Armenia'. 

Armine pouring me a pint of apricot beer 

"I don't do this for everyone", she says, pouring me a pint to taste. The first taste deceptively feels like a usual beer, but as it lingers on the palate, the fresh, nutty apricot is left with you for far longer than you would ever expect.  

Pilsner and Weitsel also make it to the top three of Dargett's most loved beers.  

Dargett started selling its own beer in 2018, when they decided to bottle the beer that they sold at their pub – established in 2016. Since then, they have participated in Beer Days since its first year in 2021. They were proud to tell me that it has won the award for selling the most beer at the festival. Clearly, the Beer Days festival has been invaluable for rallying beer lovers around their stall – both from Armenia and abroad. Armine tells me how originally, before the festival began, the majority of Dargett's foreign customers were Russian, but that now the business attracts buyers from China, Europe and the United States. 

When I ask why she thinks Dargett has won the prize, I get a simple answer: "Because Dargett has changed the beer culture in Armenia". Previously, Armine tells me, the culture was very segregated, and beer was stereotypically for men. But now, Dargett encourages a family atmosphere where men, women, (though perhaps not children), can drink beer together and learn about the craft. The pub offers tours of the brewing process of beer, so that people can understand where the quality concoctions come from. Rather than beer merely being a way to drink, "in our brew pub we educate people, it can be family entertainment. We make beer that ensures the experience of tasting the high-quality beer of Armenia." 

This shift in Armenian beer culture and focus on quality has clearly caught international attention too. Armine tells me how Dargett has begun exporting to Russia, France, and the USA. Indeed all Armenian beer has increasingly attracted attention from international buyers over the last decade.

As I potter around Beer Days with the apricot beer happily relaxing my step, it strikes me as a relatively calm atmosphere for a beer festival – a sophisticated affair and a far cry from the rampage of something like Oktoberfest. 

Here, people chat and take in the atmosphere, anchored down by their tankards perhaps.

Later, as performers come to fill the evening with music, the festival becomes more concert-like. As more pints are filled, dance moves become more exuberant, but it's a lomg way off from a bender-style Beer Festival that one might see abroad. I'm told by participants that Beer Days is comparatively relaxed compared to Wine Days, which has gathered more popularity and, apparently, booze-induced enthusiasm. We will see if the calm of Beer Days will remain as the industry and popularity of beer grows.

Stomachs can be lined by various food options, including authentic Zhengyalov hats (an Armenian flatbread filled with fresh herbs and greens), fish and chips, and fresh meat from barbecues, which generate an atmospheric smoke machine-type-effect along the street.  

Beer Days, where food is just as integral to the festival as tenuous word plays  

The popularity of the Beer Days festival has shown a clear steady increase since its first holding in 2021: 

The managing company of Beer Days, EventToura, reported that the statistics for the 2025 festival are not finalised yet, but did state that this year saw a record number of brewers participating in the festival, a total of 25 from almost all provinces of Armenia – Syunik, Tavush, Gyumri, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, and many others. This is eleven more companies than in 2024. EventToura also commented on the diversification of beer types over the years at Beer Days: 'While in the first year of the festival, companies producing classic beer were mainly represented, this year visitors could find a variety of craft beers with cherry, honey, tomato and other flavours'.

In comparison, there are 200 wine companies operating in Armenia, half of which participated in the festival. Whereas Wine Days was unable to accommodate twenty wine companies due to limited space, at Beer Days most brewing companies have the opportunity to be represented. Clearly, Beer Days has become an important and useful platform for the presentation of companies' produce.  

Although the number of visitors to the festival has increased, entry to Beer Days is free, and therefore these numbers do not necessarily reflect increased income. Packages must be bought at the festival in order to sample various beer types. This includes a Beer Stein, and a number of tokens, which can be swapped for a beer of choice. EventToura reported that the actual number of packages sold has remained stable at 8-10,000. In 2024 alone, 7,200 liters of beer were sold, but the company believes that this year this figure may have doubled, but they are waiting for their statistics to be finalised. 

Beer Days clearly is set to continue to boost the Armenian economy. In 2024 alone, the company paid a total of 80 million AMD in tax. This year about 70 million Armenian drams (183,000USD) were spent on beer days, and the Tourism Committee of the RA Ministry of Economy contributed 3.6 million AMD (9,400USD) of this. 

The first Armenian brewery was opened in 1892 in Yerevan and closed in the 1920s. The beer industry had a pause in these Soviet years, but has been in the process of revival since 1952, when the Beer of Yerevan Brewery opened in Yerevan. Since then, production of industrial beer has undergone a steady rise, but it is not until the last decade with the rise of Dargett, that craft beer has become popular.

Armine explains the difference between industrial and craft beer: brewers produce industrial beer in bulk, generally focussing on quantity over quality, whereas craft beer is brewed in small batches, with attention paid to quality ingredients and unique flavours. Previously Armenia exclusively sold industrial beer, but now, thanks to Beer days, has a growing craft beer culture."Beer has always been popular in Armenia, but now it's entertainment, an experience, it has a low percentage of alcohol, so you can enjoy it for a long time." Armine says.

Clearly, figures show that the people of Armenia agree, as vodka sales drop and beer sales rise. The beer industry is showing not only an improvement in culture but an improvement in numbers: in 2025, the beer market revenue amounts to US$58.39m, and this is expected to grow annually by 2.91% (CAGR 2025-2030). In comparison, the vodka industry is only expected to grow annually by 1.14%. Finport also reports that overall alcoholic beverage production in Armenia has declined, except for whiskey and beer. Whereas wine production decreased by 33.3% between January and February 2025, and vodka by 3.9%, beer is on a steady increase of 8.1%.

Armine at Dargett mentions that until recently, the vast majority of tourists at Beer Days came from Russia  

It seems that Dargett, and Beer Days more broadly, is intent on a Beer renaissance – creating a culture and quality of beer that is reminiscent of Xenophon's days of old. Through these initiatives, foreigners can be shown that Armenia is not just a 'country of beer', but one with a far older history, and a richer and more inclusive culture of beer than many. 

Photos: Beer Days Facebook page & Martha Gathercole 

Infographics: Nare Petrosyan