Reflections on the revolution in France

The Economist shows us a vision of the France we could have had:

FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE’S announcement that he intends to raise taxes on beer in France by some 160% could well be yet another repercussion of the French revolution.  Had trappist monks not fled northern France to escape its anticlerical zeal, taking their beermaking expertise with them, the French might have developed a tradition of brewing more akin to winemaking, thus making it equally hard to attack.

Last orders for French brews?

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Paris: Return to La cave à bulles

Just time for a visit to la cave à bulles to fill my suitcase before going to the airport. I had e-mailed Simon beforehand, so he knew I was coming. I remembered his request from last year, so I had even brought along an Imperial Brown Ale from Nøgne Ø for him.

It is very pleasant to be in the company of real beer enthusiasts, and Simon knows excactly what he is doing. Personal advice for all customers in the shop, and, as all the beers are carefully selected, you are likely to get excactly what you need.

A fine range of French beers, a few imports such as Mikkeller and BrewDog and some Belgians.

No need to look closely at the imports, I just asked about new beers and the table soon held a dozen French craft beers which were then carefully packed in bubble wrap at no extra cost.

Simon tried to call me a taxi, as my luggage was getting quite heavy by now. I had bought a bag full of food as well…

No taxis to be had, but the shop is just two blaocs away from the rail station with direct conenctions to the main airport. I dragged my loot through the streets, down the escalator and into the train. I was perspirating freely by now. It did not help that the air conditioning was turned off in the train compartment and that is was packed.

But I made it to the airport, the luggage survived all the way home  and I have some hand picked treasures to enjoy when I please. Still, there are occations when I wonder why I bother.

One could, possibly, argue for travelling lignt and drinking beer close to the source. Some other time, maybe.

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Lunch in Paris – Hall’s Beer Tavern

I have stopped by Hall’s Beer tavern before, very centrally located in rue Saint Denis if you are in the Centre Pompiodou or Les Halles area. (Add accents at your pleasure). It is also very convenient for the most interesting Parisian beer shop, La cave a bulles, so I thought I would have lunch there.

Alsatian fare again, fermented cabbage with pig’s knuckle. Tasty autumn food, even if the weather was still pleasant enough for me to sit at a sidewalk table.

The beer list is extensive, though 90 per cent is the same swill you can get everywhere. Nice then that there are a few French and Belgian bottles that are more hard to find. The service was a bit frosty, but fairsly fast.

La Choulotte Ambré is a gently carbonated amber beer. Very fruity, plums and peaches, some sour cherries. Feels related to a German Altbier. Well balanced, quite complex. A little hint of barnyard, a small edge of vinegar.

I almost forgot the food!

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Is this what they call abbey beer around here?

A can of Davelghem Blonde from a Paris supermarket. Biere d’abbaye, they claim on the can. Nice dark blond, I’d call it amber, fluffy head. I’m trying hard to find some positive notes here, right?

Dishwater aroma, boiled vegetables. Malty beer base, flat, no dryness, no sourness, no monkiness. Drain pour.

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Paris: O’Neil brewpub

Paris. I was here last year in the beginning of October, and it has the same lovely weather. The problem is that this time I’m not here as a tourist, I am stuck in a subterranean meeting room for most of the day.

Still a few evening hours left after the official proceedings, though, so I find my way to O’Neil, the one brewpub in town that does not belong to the Frog chain I tried last year but did not enjoy much. And don’t worry. O’Neil might sound as fake Oirish as they come, but there is no need to worry about that. Just don’t go for the no, nay, never singalong if that’s your thing.

I digress.

It’s not only the beer that appeals; they also have the Alsatian specialty Flammekueche.

I get out of my taxi and find the place heaving, the pavement is spilling over with smokers, but I am lucky to be allocated a vacant seat at a bistro-style table. I order a blond beer and a Flammekueche (should be an umlaut in there, I suppose, but in Paris they use the French, not the German spelling.) This Alsace speciality looks similar to a pizza, but is more of a thin and crispy pie, often without cheese – the original has, I believe, no cheese but just some onions and some unsmoked bacon as a garnish.

This is splendid pub food – it arrives within a few minutes, so does my blond beer, a Czech style pilsener. It has a fine hoppy aroma, probably Saaz, and it tastes of bread, grain and dusty hops. Not a great pilsener, perhaps, but a very decent one. The pie is excellent, warm, crisp and fresh.

The English of the staff is not more than adequate, but it is more than compensated by the sheer charm.

The interior of O’Neil is fairly typical brewpub – brick, glass, black painted iron and gleaming copper. The lagering tanks are prominently displayed by the entrance, the brewing itself can be spotted though a semi opaque window next to my seat.

The clientele is mixed, lots of bright young things sharing pitchers of beer, more adult people enjoying the food as much as the brew. I am informed that Thursday night is the big party night for students, as they go home for the weekend on Friday afternoon. They tend to sleep through their lectures on Friday. O’Neil is quite close to the Sorbonne, which seems to be excellent for business.

I sample their other beers as well, a wit, an amber and a brown ale. The amber is the best. Au malt grillé, says the menu. Sure, there are lots of roasted malts here. Chewy, bready cereals. Fine use of hops, too, giving a pumpernickel type of sour dryness. Caramel and a little yeast on the tongue.

What I enjoy here is what you find in some of the best brewpubs. Even when the beers don’t aspire to any elevated status, you get an unpasteurized freshness that lifts the beers and leaves a grin on your face. It is like the Czech beers – best consumed when fresh. This freshness cannot be transferred to a bottle.

A pint and a pie

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French takeaway

The Premier class that Air France offers on their European routes is not recommended. Miniature meals, seating as narrow as at the back of the plane. They even ran out of red wine, and the white was awful.

There is one thing, however. Double luggage allowance. So I bought more than beer. I bought two of the duck confit cans…

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Holidays in France?

If you go for the beer, you should look for the regions with the highest beer consumption per capita. This was unashamedly nicked from the blog Strange Maps.

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A beer cruise on the Rhine

Beer cruises in the Western hemisphere is nothing new, there are a number of options in various climate zones. Stephen Beaumont offers an alternative, a European beer cruise.

It’s on the Rhine, from Amsterdam to Basel. The preliminary programme ranges from a visit to Amsterdam’s  Brouwerij ‘t Ij to tastings at Belgian, German, French, Luxembourg and Swiss breweries, a pub crawl through Cologne, and even floating tutored beer tastings.

It starts in Amsterdam on October 11.

It’s beyond the capacity of my wallet, but I applaud any efforts to expand quality beer tourism.

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English pubs do well in France

The Financial Times has an article today about the success of the Charles Wells owned John Bull Pub Company in France. It initially ran two pubs to promote the beers it sold wholesale, but has now increased to five with plans to grow to 13 pubs by 2013.

While there are lots of fake British pubs around the globe, the John Bull pubs offer both Bombardier and Director’s on hand pumps.

The Frog chain of brew pubs, with outlets in Paris and other cities, also seem to be doing a roaring trade, with new pubs opening at a steady rate – even if I personally did not like their beers.

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Express de Lyon

Another recommendation from Simon at Cave á Bulles.  This was actually five minutes from my hotel, and I had actually walked past it without giving it a second glass glance.

As location is everything in a city like Paris, the street right in front of the Gare de Lyon is filled with brasseries serving food and drinks at all hours. Some of them offer Alsatian specialities, others have shellfish etc. They all have macro beers at rather stiff prices.

But a few steps away from this strip is a simple bar, not far above the hall in the wall level. During my evening, there was soccer on several screens, I assume you may find it more quiet at other times.

They have 11 beers on tap, 11 in bottles. Macro lagers, sure, but also some fine Belgian stuff. I had never tried the wheat beer from St Bernardus, and there was even a sour Belgian ale, Borurgogne des Flandres (which could have been more on the sour side). A French Tripel, too, Secret des Moines.

I found a sidewalk table.

I think more bars like this is what’s needed for French beer culture to really take off. Specialized places which you travel across town to seek out is fine for the converted. A hand picked selection of good beers in places where people pop in for a quick glass before going on with their business is more important.

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