Hey everyone, I'll be traveling to France in two weeks for about 10 days and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of great bars, breweries, or bottle shops to visit? I will actually be in Monte-Carlo for a day, in Nice for 2 days, and then making smaller trips to Eze, Arles, Avignon, Versailles. I'll spend the most time, and have the most free time, in Paris, being there for about 3.5 days. I guess my main questions are: 1. Are there any good breweries in any of those cities that are worth visiting? 2. Are there any good bars in any of those cities that will have a lot of good French beers on tap? 3. Are there are good bottle shops in any of those cities that I'd be able to buy European beers at (such as Belgian beers like DF or Cantillon)? I imagine most suggestions would be in Paris which is fine, but any help would be appreciated. I've checked out Beerfly but figured locals might have good suggestions.
Hi, Can only help you with the parisian leg of your trip. So : 1. Few brewerys around Paris : - Outland in Bagnolet - Brasserie ZYMOTIK in Montreuil - My Beer Company - La brasserie de la Goutte d'Or Not sure you can really visit. 2. The only bar that will have "a lot of good french beers on tap" will be La Fine Mousse. You can check what the have nowadays here : http://www.lafinemousse.fr/carte?locale=fr You can also check Le Supercoin, they only have french beers but bottles only (except Craig Allan beers). A great bar you should check : L'Express de Lyon but I don't think they have french beers at the moment 3. You HAVE to go to La Fine Mousse, you will find a great selection of french beers, belgian, dutch, danish ... and Simon (the owner will help you in your quest). You can also check The Brewberry and Bieres Cultes. You can find a map here : http://goo.gl/maps/7icrv Voila, hope it was useful
Thanks for the tips! Based on the feedback I've received, I'm thinking of hitting the following: Nice: Vini Mundo Avignon: Le Vin Devant Soi (for wine and beer) Paris: La Fine Mousse for a bar and La Cave a Bulles for bottles. Maybe hit up The Brewberry if I have time. Random question; do you know if Simon, the owner of La Fine Mousse is the same Simon who owns La Cave a Bulles? I might contact him ahead of time so was just curious.
It's the same guy. Simon owns La Cave a Bulles and is the co-owner of La Fine Mousse with 3 other guys.
Have a look and see if there is a V and B shop near your destinations. They carry a decent range of French beers, and also international ones. They have a few shops spread round France. http://vandb.fr/
I really liked Brewberry. Not the same selection as La Cave a Bulles, but the people there all seemed really passionate about beer which is important to me.
I live and blog in France on all things Beer related! If you have any other questions about France and craft beer scene, pop me in an email and I can help you plan out your travels. XOXO! http://tastingnitch.com/2013/06/tasting-my-beer-company-citra-galactique/
Thanks again everyone. I ended up drinking mostly wine on the trip (as expected), but did make visits to La Cave a Bulles and La Fine Mousse once in Paris. Both places were great and had great selections. Was able to bring back some cool-sounding French sour beers and some Cantillon from La Cave a Bulles, and was able to try some more Cantillon and some new French/Belgians I had never heard of on site at La Fine Mousse. Would highly recommend both places in Paris.
From France, I had the following while in the country: Kronenbourg 1664 Pietra Desparados (woof) Pelforth Brune Thiriez's La Rouge Flamande Craig Allan's Cuvee D'Oscar and brought back the following bottles: Thiriez's Dalva Millésime Thiriez's Vieille Brune I enjoyed the La Rouge Flamande and Cuvee D'Oscar quite a bit, and was told the two bottles of Thiriez beers I brought back were both French sours, so very interested to try them both.
Should anyone check this topic out, Brune Rousse Houblon in Nice has a nice, little selection of bottles to go. Grabbed 375's of Rose de Gambrinus, Kriek 100% Lambic and Guezue 100% Lambic Bio (and 1 750ml, too).
Sorry for hijacking the thread , but can anyone point out anything in Brittany worth looking for? I'm a little clueless about good French breweries besides those in Nord pas de Calais, so it would be great to discover something local to where we're staying (near Pontivy). I did find an expat run micro brewery/pub an hour away, and Kerisac cidre in the other direction, Domaine Dupont isn't too far off our route in Calvados either. I've tried to find good bottle shops in the area or way back to Calais that might have the likes of Cantilon etc., but drawn blanks, that would be fantastic for the obligatory haul (haven't been for a few years, this is the first time the beer isn't going to let the wine down )
Britanny is one of the most active area regarding craft beer. You can check those breweries : BIERES LANCELOT – MORBIHAN : DUCHESSE ANNE, CERVOISE, BLANCHE HERMINE, BONNETS ROUGES, LANCELOT, TELENN-DU, MORGANE, BOGUE D’OR Site de la mine d'or - 56460 Le Roc St André BRASSERIE TOUKEN - PHILOMENN Blonde, Stout, Blanche, Rousse, Spoum, Tourbée Kervenec, 22220 Minihy-Tréguier BRASSERIE DE BRETAGNE : BRITT, DREMMWEL, AR-MEN, SANT ERWANN, GWINIZ-DU Kerouel, 29910 TREGUNC BRASSERIE DU TREGOR – COTES D’ARMOR : SAINT PATERN, SAINT GUENOLE, SAINT-ERWANN BRASSERIE MOR-BRAZ : MOR-BIHAN, MOR-BRAZ, EXCALIBUR, GWENED BRASSERIE WARENGHEIM : MELMOR BRASSERIE DES ABERS : FLEUR DES ILES, OUESSANE, DOLMEN You should try the Duchesse Anne and the different Philommenn.
Visited Simon at La Cave a Bulles, what a great guy. Stayed open later than usual to accomodate those that came in right at closing. Grabbed a Brewdog/Ballast San Diego Scotch Ale, 2005 3F Oude Geuzue and a Rose de Gambrinus because I cant get enough of it. Wish I could have gotten more but I didn't want to ship any more back to Nice. For anyone that goes, hit him up beforehand, he said he is open to trading too.
Definitely! btw, I tried a Desperados as well. Drain pour. I can't understand how so many places carry it!
