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French Beer

bunny

By bunny
in Beer & Cider

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jeffperez62

jeffperez62

Posted
Posted

I recently tried an Alsatian beer named Fischer which I thought was nice. Please give us a report on your return....travel safe and have a great time!!

If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How could you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!??

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rstarobi

rstarobi

Posted
Posted

No reference materials at hand at the moment for beer, but I think the style known as "Biere de garde" evolved in France and is supposed to be better there. In addition, you can probably find many Belgian and German beers there.

"Long live democracy, free speech and the '69 Mets; all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in."

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Rail Paul

Rail Paul

Posted
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Many French bars and bistros carry Stella Artois (Belgian, I think), Heinekin, and Beck's. One French beer of some note is Kronenbourg, which is widely available. There are other French beers (can't think of them, though)

Draft beer is referred to as "pression" I believe.

Apparently it's easier still to dictate the conversation and in effect, kill the conversation.

rancho gordo

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Schielke

Schielke

Posted
Posted

I checked out my Culinaria- France book and found a couple mentions that might be worthwhile.

One talked about French monks in northern France being into beermaking. The northern region is second in beer production to Alsace. The book also shows some beer labels:

Amadeus

Ambre des Flandres

Biere du Desert

Ch'ti

Gavroche

Goldenberg

Grain d' Orge

Gayant

Jade

JenLain

L'atrebate

Saint Landelin

Sebourg

Septante 5

La Biere du Demon

3 Monts

Alsatian beer is a definately number 1 in france with seven of their breweries providing 54% of French beer. The oldest running brewery is the Schutzenberger (since 1740). Also Meteor is a family run brewery that still uses traditional methods, so you might want to check that out.

Ben

Gimme what cha got for a pork chop!

-Freakmaster

I have two words for America... Meat Crust.

-Mario

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rstarobi

rstarobi

Posted
Posted

Ok, I've got my Michael Jackson "Great Beer Guide" out now.

For French beers, he lists the following:

Aldescott Noir (Dark Whiskey malt lager - sounds interesting)

Castelain Ch'ti Blonde (lighter Biere de Garde)

Castelain Ch'ti Brune (Biere de Garde)

Castelain Ch'ti Tripel (stronger, golden Biere de Garde)

Duyck Jenlain (Biere de Garde)

Heineken Kylian (Irish Red Ale)

Jeanne d'Arc Ambre des Flandres (Biere de Garde)

Jeanne d'Arc Belzebuth (Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale)

Jeanne d'Arc Grain d'Orge (Biere de Garde)

La Choulette Ambree (Biere de Garde)

La Choulette Biere des San Culottes (Biere de Garde)

La Choulette Brassin Robespierre (strong, golden Biere de Garde)

La Choulette Framboise (Biere de Garde with fruit)

Pelforth Amberley (Whiskey-Malt lager (sounds interesting)

Pelforth George Killian's (Irish Red Ale)

Saint Sylvestre 3 Monts (Biere de Garde)

"Long live democracy, free speech and the '69 Mets; all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in."

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  • 1 month later...
jciel

jciel

Posted
Posted

Oddly enough, I have been researching this thread for a new French restaurant. They are open, but have no French Beer in stock. Tres Mal!

Try this site

www.frenchbeer.info

They have a map, and info on all the French micro-brews as well as the larger breweries.

Hope this helps, and drink well!

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NeroW

NeroW

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Kronenbourg is good. Last time I came home from France I was pleased to find it sold at a liquor store in my hometown. The cheapest beer I drank in France was Amstel Light. This seemed to be across the board what you got when you asked for "cheap." As I like Amstel, I was pleased by this.

Noise is music. All else is food.

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  • 1 month later...
fresh_a

fresh_a

Posted
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I live in Paris. I enjoy Kronenbourg, which is the most popular French beer, along with "33". Pelforth makes nice light and dark beers (Blonde, and Brune). Most beers are much less sweet than American beers, and have a higher alcohol content.

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

blog

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Fritz Brenner

Fritz Brenner

Posted
Posted

I lived in Rennes, a university town in Brittany, for a year. Clearly this doesn't make me an expert, but I did go to a lot of bars during my stay... I agree with fresh_a on Pelforth... this was my favorite French beer, and that isn't because I tasted a great deal of the French ales, but more a result of its availability and price, as well as the quality, of that particular brand. I very much enjoy the Pelforth brune, but both types are frequently served at a very decent price in many bars.

If you order a "demi" at in any bar in France, you will be asking for the cheapest beer on tap (which obviously doesn't always mean a French beer...). often, this is amstel, kronenbourg, "33," etc. At this time i don't remember the exact name, but there was a lovely Breton beer that came in cherry and raspberry flavors. I want to say "Krieg" or "Kriec..." I know that the Belgians also makes this type of beer.

Have a wonderful time. I'm jealous! :biggrin:

Cheers.

"There is no worse taste in the mouth than chocolate and cigarettes. Second would be tuna and peppermint. I've combined everything, so I know."

--Augusten Burroughs

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jeniac42

jeniac42

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Would that maybe be the lambic ales? I've (apparently) never had a real one, just a Lindeman's that we sell at the restaurant (supposedly much sweeter than the real thing; still pretty good though). We have Kriek and Framboise, and I've also tried a Cassis elsewhere.

Jennie

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rstarobi

rstarobi

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Posted
At this time i don't remember the exact name, but there was a lovely Breton beer that came in cherry and raspberry flavors.  I want to say "Krieg" or "Kriec..." I know that the Belgians also makes this type of beer. 

Fritz,

Kriek is the Belgian word for sour cherries. They're often used in the lambic style of beer to make a sour, cherry flavored kriek-beer.

"Long live democracy, free speech and the '69 Mets; all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in."

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Fritz Brenner

Fritz Brenner

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:unsure:

Arrrghh, thanks guys. I believe my misunderstanding was that when my friend told me it was a Belgian beer, I misheard and thought he'd said a Breton beer. Ah, damn language barriers. But yes, it was a lambic, I've had the kriek and the framboise (I don't know the word for raspberry in Flemish). I typed in 'lambic' on google just now, actually, and I guess that is a truly Belgian way to brew beer, which many of you probably could've told me; but I did not know.

At any rate, this beer is (I think) very yummy, and regardless of origin, it's quite available in France!

"There is no worse taste in the mouth than chocolate and cigarettes. Second would be tuna and peppermint. I've combined everything, so I know."

--Augusten Burroughs

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rstarobi

rstarobi

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Posted
:unsure:

Arrrghh, thanks guys.  I believe my misunderstanding was that when my friend told me it was a Belgian beer, I misheard and thought he'd said a Breton beer.  Ah, damn language barriers.  But yes, it was a lambic, I've had the kriek and the framboise (I don't know the word for raspberry in Flemish).  I typed in 'lambic' on google just now, actually, and I guess that is a truly Belgian way to brew beer, which many of you probably could've told me; but I did not know.

At any rate, this beer is (I think) very yummy, and regardless of origin, it's quite available in France!

No problem, Fritz - I'm a big Lambic fan myself. My favorites are the gueze variety - they're more like champagnes than beers, really. Framboise is the French word for raspberries - I think Frambosen is the Belgian word, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

"Long live democracy, free speech and the '69 Mets; all improbable, glorious miracles that I have always believed in."

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tighe

tighe

Posted
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...Framboise is the French word for raspberries - I think Frambosen is the Belgian word, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

'Frambosen' is correct, although I've seen it spelled 'frambozen' as well. Perhaps one is Flemish and the other is Dutch.

I hate to be the dissenter on this thread, but in my experience, France has uniformly mediocre beer. I've tried most of the brands discussed here and they all seem to be at about the same level of quality as the mass-produced American lagers to me. Still better than Italy or Spain, but when in France, I drink wine and save my beer drinking for points north. :smile:

Most women don't seem to know how much flour to use so it gets so thick you have to chop it off the plate with a knife and it tastes like wallpaper paste....Just why cream sauce is bitched up so often is an all-time mytery to me, because it's so easy to make and can be used as the basis for such a variety of really delicious food.

- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink, 1946

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VivreManger

VivreManger

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Posted

"I hate to be the dissenter on this thread, but in my experience, France has uniformly mediocre beer. I've tried most of the brands discussed here and they all seem to be at about the same level of quality as the mass-produced American lagers to me. " Tighe

I want to second and slightly modify this dissent. I don't think they are as bad as Bud, but they come close to it.

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beerguyjim

beerguyjim

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"I hate to be the dissenter on this thread, but in my experience, France has uniformly mediocre beer. I've tried most of the brands discussed here and they all seem to be at about the same level of quality as the mass-produced American lagers to me. "  Tighe

I want to second and slightly modify this dissent.  I don't think they are as bad as Bud, but they come close to it.

It's absurd to equate the artisinal beers of Northern France with mass-produced lagers.

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  • 2 months later...
malachi

malachi

Posted
Posted

Having recently returned from France, I have to say that I had some truly fantastic beers there. Now... to be clear, only one of them was actually brewed in France (Jeanne d'Arc Belzebuth). The rest were either Belgian or German. Personal favorites included Chimay Cinq Cents, Drei Fontainen Oud Gueuze, Wesmalle Tripel and Saison Dupont.

As for Stella, Fischer et al - I would concur that they are at best marginally preferable to Coors.

fanatic...

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