PAN’S TAP, TIRANA

May 2024. Tirana. Albania.

Coming towards the end of the Albanian four-dayer now. A joy of a trip, though lacking a bit on the Chinese takeaway and cask ale fronts.

I had to explain to Mrs RM that Untappd has two categories of bar; the “approved venues” in yellow, the ones where you might find an electronic craft display board, and “everything else”, which might just be a can of Carlsberg in a Mexican restaurant.

Duncan had found quite a bit of Italian, German and Belgian beers on his 2022 visit, even Chimay on tap in one bar.

We were heading for Pan’s Taproom, brand new for 2024 and a guarantee of actual Albanian stuff,

tucked away near the slightly smart area near the despised Enver Hoxna’s former residence.

Think of it as the equivalent of the Port Street Tap or the Kelham Island Tavern, if you must.

In general, Albanian bars open fantastically early (8 am at Pan’s) but often close early too.

So it may be unfair to judge on a fleeting visit, but nothing was really packed, and Pan’s trade was, again, blokes drinking espresso and bottled water in the courtyard.

Pan’s Tap looked smart, and seemed to feature Albanian “guests” from Puka and Dyst. For a small fee Duncan will pronounce Puka for you.

I mucked up big here. We’d enjoyed the Vagabondi in the Irish bar in Gjirokaster, didn’t fancy the lager, so just had their Belgian Wit, along with the Dyst.

“Just a small one“. Who drinks a pint of Wit.

“A small one ?” asks the barman.

“A small one ?“. I suddenly doubt myself.

The beers come, they look decently sized, and are (genuinely) superb. Cool, rich, and barely carbonated.

Within 2 minutes Mrs RM was saying “Is that it ?“.

And the bill revealed the truth; I’d had flight sized beers, £1.30 worth of each. ME ! The bloke who says “a pint’s a sampler” on Discourse. I felt ashamed.

A place I’d head straight back to next Tirana visit, I reckon.

The New Irish Pub, the lone other “approved venue”, had more of a “continental feel”;

Tennent’s Super ? Now we know why Tandleman likes Albania so much !

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

9 thoughts on “PAN’S TAP, TIRANA”

    1. They’re only evident when you’re in a new place and you look at the map, Paul. So in Salisbury you’d see about 50 red dots (all the pubs and some restaurants with beer) and just one yellow dot for a “Nearby Venue”, in this case Sips, where you might see the beers in real time. The yellow venues tend to be craft bars, often keg, rather than the top cask pubs.

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      2. Ha ! Should have guessed that. In Sheffield the famous Kelham bars don’t have a yellow dot but Heist does, and that’s the one where your little Untappd emoji shows up.

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      3. A friend runs a bar in Hereford that either is or was an Untapped member. His predecessor once complained about them doubling their fees. I think at the time that was to £800.

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      1. Four pints over the last four years and one so far this years means I’ve not been there much more than you.

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