The 21st-century craft brewers giving new life to old tradition

THINK of France and several things come to mind: cheese, beautiful villages...and perhaps paperwork - but wine probably tops many people’s lists.

Recently, winegrowers have been beaming from ear to ear, proclaiming the 2015 vintage ‘idyllic’ and ‘magnificent’.

But they were not the only ones raising a glass to a successful year. France’s brewers, notably the artisans, saw a boost both in trade and numbers, reflecting a growing appetite for beer, which has been spreading out from the well-known brewing regions of the north, creeping into what we traditionally regarded as the wine heartlands.

Beer is not new to France. It can be traced to as early as the 4th century BC.

The nation’s monks would later become master brewers and dominate the beer-making art — until their grip was finally broken by Louis XIV in the 1600s. Today, wine’s popularity has put ale in the shade — but, little by little, beer is making a comeback.

According to Brasseurs de France, a group founded in 1880 to support and protect the brewing industry in France, 2015 saw a 3% rise in sales, as well as the creation of 100 breweries, bringing the number of independent brewers in France to 800.

This is music to the ears of microbrewers Paul and Jayne Bayliss. They run Brasserie du Quercorb in Puivert, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrénées, and are delighted at the renewed interest in their chosen line of work.

Jayne said: “People are searching out new beers and flavours. That’s exciting. The more people have a good experience with an artisanal product, the more confident they are about trying another.”

The rise of craft beers has prompted multinationals to get in on the act. Last year Heineken bought a 50% stake in US craft brewer Lagunitas.

But competition from ‘big beer’ does not worry Jayne.

She said: “A mass-produced product is all about volume over quality — you instantly recognise the difference.

“A good artisanal beer is a natural product with complex flavours and textures.

“Ours is naturally carbonated, so it’s likely to be less gassy and more flavoursome than an industrial beer.”

She and Paul set up their brewery after being disappointed by French beer. “Six years ago the beer choices here were pretty limited and dull. Blonde, ambre or brun just about summed it up — that’s the equivalent of offering a choice of white, rosé or red to a wine buff.

“France, including the south, has a strong beer-making heritage but sadly a lot of that knowledge was disappearing.

“French artisanal beers had a reputation for being average with inconsistent results. It was frustrating and we found we weren’t alone in that thinking.”

The Baylisses produce a range of 15 beers, including an English-style IPA, a French bière de garde, a Belgian saison, an American IPA and a dry Irish stout.

Quercorb sells to restaurants and caves, where customers are mostly French, while a 50-50 mix of English and French enjoy a beer at the brewery bar.

“We’re known for being English brewers in France, rather than for brewing English-style beers,” Jayne said. “Artisanal beers and ales are increasingly available in pubs and brasseries.”

Setting up their business was far from straightforward. “The biggest challenge has been navigating our way through the bureaucracy of running a business in France,” said Jayne. “Particularly one making an alcoholic beverage that isn’t wine! I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate how time-consuming that aspect is.”

But the hard work is paying off as the craft beer industry in general — and Quercorb in particular — goes from strength to strength. Jayne said: “We work with some fantastic restaurants and caves. We get to enjoy some great live music while supping beers and we’ve met some interesting people.”