…et s’il fait, est-il bon?
That’s the question that one of my favorite bloggers, Croque Camille, has bravely attempted to answer in a recent post about French beers. An American ex-pat pastry chef living in France, Camille is living the dream while eating and drinking her way through the bounty of incredible foods and wines that France has to offer.
But I posed the question to her one day: are there any good French beers? It’s a reasonable question, as one always hears about French wine, but never French beer. Their neighbors all make fantastic beer — Belgium, Germany, even Italy — so why not France?
Camille and her husband purchased a few French microbrews and began their journey towards discovery. Their first beer, Etoile du Nord — a hoppy blonde that sounds terribly promising at first glance — is reviewed here: Worthwhile French Beers.
Does it live up to the standards set by French wine and cuisine? Find out for yourself…
I don’t suppose a Quebecois beer would count, but La Fin du Monde is very nice.
Merci beaucoup pour la mention! 🙂
Mais none – La France fait le fromage, le vin et l’odeur de corps. Pas bière. Excepté Kronenburg 1664, qui est réellement tout à fait gentil.
So when we having French beer night? I think that should be arranged…n’est-ce pas?
I admit it – I’m a lurker who’ s been lured out by this topic. Biere de Garde is probably the most famous native style, and is quite tasty (OK, OK, it’s made pretty much exclusively in Nord-Pas de Calais region – but of course that’s still France!). It’s easily obtained at Specs and lots of other places around town. It’s a lot like Belgian Saison – both farmhouse ales – but I like the French styles better. Usually a little fruitier and grassier tasting.
There are a number of breweries outside of Lille making quite nice ales, some in the Belgian style and I suppose some in foreign styles like the pale ale described above.
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