The Beer Museums of France

In France, the brewing museums are concentrated along the tree-lined roads of the Lorraine region. From the Meuse aux Vosges, passing by the Moselle and the Meurthe, these places have history engrained in their very architecture. The museum archives hold the memories of long-closed brasseries, and of the golden age of brewing in Alsace-Lorraine.

Containing a rich and rare collection, the Musée Europeen de la Bière de Stenay (European Museum of Beer), found in Meuse, presents an exposition of beer and brewing in their entirity: the history and construction of the breweries, the evolution of brewing techniques, and the art, symbols and the popular traditions.

In the same region, the Maison de la Polyculture in Lucey presents a permanent exhibition on the cultivation of hops, lost from Lorraine since 1971, including a carefully constructed hops storage barn. Also on display are various tools used for brewing as well as for harvesting hops and measuring certain spices to be put in the beers.

The Musée Français de la Brasserie (The French Museum of Brewing) de St. Nicolas of Port, located in Meurthe-et-Moselle, outside of Nancy, is built in the former town brewery. The museum offers both the techical and industrial sides of beer making, and bears witness to the vitality and the modernity of the brasseries in the Lorraine region.

You can visit the brewing room, the subterrainian storage areas, the machine room and the malt area. The step by step process will fascinate of the visitors with the perfect state of the art in brewing.

The jewel of the museum is the reconstructed reception hall of the glorious brasserie, which serves as the official location for the meetings of local homebrewers.

It’s not only industrial, but also the cultural contributions of the brewer that are on show at the Musée Vosgien de la Brasserie. Located in Ville-sur-Illon dans les Vosges, in the former brasserie Lobstein, it is admirably maintained by the St. Bernard Saunier benevolent society, and supported by visitors who come to admire the architecture.

The stories of the breweries are powerfully told, using documents and objects of the era; and through the local Vosgien beers: la Gerbe d’Or (the sheaf of gold) from Val d’Ajol, Samaritain de Veittle , and the legendary KB de Charmes. The creation of masterbrewer Kanter, it would later become Kanterbrau, in the in the Brasserie de Champigneulle, the sole survivor of this glorious era.

The Lorraine Beer Tour

The brewing museums in Lorraine constitute the centerpiece of the beer tour of Lorraine, a tourism project that was the initiative of various conservators.The itinarary takes in the charms of culture and gastronomy, and the sagas of the master brewers of the 19th century in their centers of activity at Xertigny, Vézelise, Gerbéviller,Ville-sur-Illon, Maxéville and Tantonville.Or the vestigesof the brasseries at Bruyères, Fontenoy-le-Chateau, Dommartin-les-Remiremont, BasseYutz, St. Nicolas de Port, Saint-Avold, Longwy, Bar-le-Duc, Baccarat, Thierville and Amos a Metz.

For all information contact: The Beer Tour—Lorraine Region, rue de la Citadelle, Stenay, France 55700, tel. 29.80.68.78, fax. 29.80.31.11.

The Alsace Beer Tour

Beer and brewing in Alsace has always been revered and respected—no surprise in a region with a strong gourmet tradition where people know how to live well. Beer making is a true art, which is cultivated like a garden that is available to all.

When one knows the fine cuisine of the region, and the range of extraordinary beers which ban be found—from four star restaurants to small family farm lunch stops—it’s no wonder that the Beer Tour is a fabulous destination for visitors who want to share the brewing heritage.

The visit to the brasseries and hopperies are celebrated in many folkloric talks, one being “Balade Strasbourgeoise,” which narrates the history of the brewing capital of Strasbourg at a time when where were 80 brasseries within its walls, as well as the ballad of the hopmerchant of Kochersberg.

For all information contact: The Office of Tourism for the Bas-Rhin Area located in Strasbourg, tel. 03.88.15.45.88 or 03.88.15.45.89

Brewing in France reached its zenith in the 19th century. Earlier, the French Revolution of 1789 saw the end of many entrenched privileges, including the power of the coopers (cask makers). This vacuum gave rise to the birth of a new trade of “brewing masters,” who thrived until 1900 in over 1,000 local breweries.

These breweries were the inns that made beer for their own needs, or very small artisan and farmhouse breweries. Two regions dominated the market—Nord-Pas de Calais and l’Alsace—followed by the Lorraine, the Ardennes, Picardie and Brittany, all regions in the northern half of France.

Then, as happened in so many countries, the “industrial progress” of the 20th century and two world wars nearly wiped out the artisan approach. By mid-century, a few large brewing companies dominated the scene, producing beers that had little connection to French tradition.

In the last 50 years, the concentration of brewing interests has intensified. Many small breweries sustained damage during the last war. They were not able to make the investments to modernize, or adapt to new habits of consumption or, above all, adjust to large distribution networks far from their home base.

The large foreign brewing groups have appeared on the French market, too. Heineken of Holland and the Belgian Stella Artois (Interbrew today) arrived, as well as the French Kronenbourg (Danone), and all began to buy up these failing breweries, sometimes only in order to close them. The concentration of beer interests heralded the globalization that continues even today. The last French breweries to be bought include Fischer, acquired by Heineken in 1996, and Kronenbourg, acquired by Scottish and Newcastle in 2000.

The new wave of microbreweries and brewpubs (cafés brasseries in French) since 1995 may appear to be a spontaneous modern innovation. Instead, these new breweries herald the renaissance of a once-established tradition. Within a few short years, 136 new brewing establishments have sprung up in the country’s four corners. Like their elders of a century ago, they are flourishing because the innkeeper is brewing his own beer adapted to local taste habits. But, in contrast to the older breweries, yesterday’s empirical approach is being replaced by new technology and modern methods.

David and Goliath

The new microbreweries did not appear on the scene out of thin air. As upholders of French brewing traditions, they were preceded by a few of the industrial “Goliaths” who nonetheless represent the heritage of the past. Often family owned, but above all independent and proud, these large breweries were characterized by their quality and successful brands.

Their names glorify the tradition of brewing: Meteor at Hochfelden and Schutzenberger et Schiltigheim in Alsace, Brasseurs de Gayant, Jeanne d’Arc, Terken (G.B.M.), Duyck, Castelain, Ricour, De Clercq, Dhaussy, Annoeullin in the region of the Nord Pas de Calais. From these national breweries come many beers in a traditional mold.

Many of these breweries produce a bière de garde, a uniquely French ale style. Top fermented, the bière de garde is fruity, most frequently amber in color, generally well structured in alcohol and conditioned between 40 and 60 days in a cave, in the manner of a lager. It is close to the abbey beers of Belgium, but a little sweeter and less malted. It is typical of the regions of Nord Pas de Calais, the Picardie and the Somme, that is to say, in the north quarter of France. The best known include Trois Monts, Jenlain, Sebourg, Choulette, Ch’ti, and l’Angelus.

Trois Mont from Ricour is a northern French blonde bière de garde of great quality, rounded and delicate—ideal with cheeses such as le Maroiles or Munster. For me, it is one of the best beers in France and, indeed, the world.

Belzebuth from la Brasserie Jeanne d’Arc is a very strong beer, similar to Bière du Desert from the Brasseurs de Gayant.

The Alsace region, which lies in the Rhine River basin, clearly imparts its German influence to beers such as Schutzenberger or Meteor, the latter of which offers Pils, Blanche, Ackerland Lager, Ackerland Brown, Mortimer, and Wendelinus Abbey. From Schutzenberger comes Cooper, Tütz (a light blonde beer with an aroma of grapefruit), Beer sur lie (“on yeast,” or bottle conditioned), Jubilator (a blonde beer), and Patriator (a brown beer).

Even the international breweries have played a role supporting distinctive beers. Their main focus may be on the virtues of the goddess Europe and the vices of globalization, but each beer born from the vats of their breweries contributes to French know-how. And through their affiliates, they support innovation. The Dutch group, Heineken, through the ever-creative Fischer, produces the beers Adelscott, Desperados, Tradition, Kingston, Bitter and Dorelei. Karlsbrau Saverne (Alsace), an affiliate of Karlsberg, brings us la Lincorne, and we have 1664 from Kronenbourg—all names that sing and dance on the international scene.

Against this backdrop, and on a marginal basis, the microbrewery constitutes a sort of “David,” linked both to tradition and to new technologies. For their growing numbers of supporters, the micros represent the next taste frontier in a country where gastronomy holds such a predominant place in the art de vivre. These microbreweries bring back nobility and vigor to a product brewed with passion.

School of Taste

Brewing is an art, but the master brewer’s trade is also one that is learned in theory and then applied in practice. Study and apprenticeship with a master brewer are essential for would-be brewers to achieve their dream. A microbrewery needs a specialized person who is able to apply methods rigorously.

In France, the Institute des Boissons, de la Brasserie et de la Malterie de Nancy Brabois, better known as I.F.B.M., located in Vandoeuvre (Lorraine), has been a key actor in this sector. This center specialized in research and development, information and training, and continuing education programs for brewers, maltsters, and hop growers. For years, it trained the majority of artisan brewers in the country.

This is not the case today, as its major shareholders, Kronenbourg and Heineken, judged that the institute contributed to unfair competition coming from the microbreweries. In fact, it is true that the strengths of microbreweries—the originality and complex tastes of their beers—stand in stark contrast to the common practices of industrial breweries in search of quick return on investment.

Although fed up with the taunts of David, Goliath did, however, allow I.F.B.M. in these last few years to train the “beer maniacs” who knew what they wanted but didn’t know how to go about doing it. For this purpose, I.F.B.M. courageously created an affiliate, Qualitech, certified ISO 9002 (the highest international standards). For the last 10 years, Qualitech has continued to train the very best of the microbrewers in all areas—understanding of raw materials, brewing chemistry, sensory analysis and marketing.

Better still, I.F.B.M. helps the young trainees to elaborate on their beers. This creative melting pot can claim credit for successful craft brews, among them the Alsatian Speltor, the Corsican Pietra, the brandy aroma of XO, or Oldarki and the Basque names of Patcharan and Ackerbeltz.