Efes Pilsen — Turkey's dominant beer brand — was founded in İzmir in 1966, named after the ancient city of Ephesus nearby. The brand is now owned by AB InBev, but its identity remains firmly associated with İzmir, and İzmiris drink it with a proprietary loyalty that extends to mild contempt for visitors who ask for another brand.
Efes Pilsen on draught — draft beer is called bira on tap in Turkish — is at its best in the unpretentious lokanta restaurants and meyhane of Alsancak, where it arrives ice-cold in large glasses with no ceremony. Several smaller craft breweries have also emerged in İzmir in recent years, producing pale ales and wheat beers that are distributed through the city's more experimental bars.