Franconian Beer Message Board
OT: Breton breweries once more |
| Posted by Jason on 2017-07-26 03:35:12 |
| They mostly brew an assortment of (mainly) British inspired ales with French/Breton names. There are a lot of blondes, reds and noir/bruns. There is the odd witbier and hoppier ales but these are not so common in Bretagne (yet), thouigh the more 'hip' breweries of the north and east are producing a lot more of your typical modern styles (some breweries are superb). Most beers tend to be on the maltier side. Having spent a LOT of time in Bretagne the quality of beers has improved over the years but they are still relatively hit or miss quality wise. There are a number of breweries that are excellent and consistent but there are also many that are consistent and bad. I also find it very difficult to source a lot of these breweries' beers as they rarely have their own pubs and the pub culture in France is almost dead in the countryside. Cafe bars are often cold places with little appeal to me to be frank. Couple that with the French 'laissez-faire' attitude to opening hours and it's really not easy. There are certainly very few (if any) dedicated beer pubs in the region (unless newly opened). You have to chance your arm a lot of the time and gamble that a local cafe/bar will have bottles or (rarely) draft beer from the local brewery, but the majority of beer drunk remains Kronenbourg or Stella Artois (Spirits and wine remain way ahead). Bottom line is, you need a car and most of the time will either have to buy direct from the brewery, farmers' market or the occasional dedicated delicatessen. If you love the region and want to explore all of it's charms and pick up some beers along the way you're good, but if you want to explore the brewing side you'll be disappointed. Juergen may disagree but I fancy his love of the region may paint a rosy picture :) I can see the appeal of the place, but having spent many holidays there as a child and adult since my parents moved there I am not so convinced of it's pedigree as a great brewing region. Certainly in terms of pubs, it's rarely very interesting outside of the major cities / tourist destinations. And beer is expensive. |
| Followups: |
 OT: Breton breweries once more by Andrew H on 2017-07-26 04:03:20 |
| OT: Breton breweries once more by Andrew H on 2017-07-26 04:06:42 |
| OT: Breton breweries once more by barry on 2017-07-26 05:02:19 |