Drinking in the French Countryside

England, Belgium, Amsterdam, Germany and even the Czech Republic rank as noted European beer travel destinations, but what about France?

- Owen Ogletree

Sure, some cities across France offer the occasional French bière de garde, pils, blonde, amber and witbier – along with ubiquitous Belgian-made brews, but beer trekkers who venture northward into the rural regions of Brittany and Normandy can discover entirely different drinking cultures.

Inspired by creative American, U.K. and Belgian craft brewers, independent breweries are popping up across the entire French region of Brittany. Just to the east, a bit closer to Paris, farmhouse cideries dot the idyllic landscape of Normandy.

Brittany – Eccentric and Isolated

Brittany seems like a completely independent country, quite different from any other district of France. Similar to Wales and Cornwall in the U.K., the citizens of Brittany (known as Bretons) even have their own baffling, multisyllabic, Celtic-based dialect. Many Breton brewers claim that Parisians see Brittany as a strange, backward, isolated countryside, filled with odd outsiders. Most Bretons accept this as a compliment.

The majority of small breweries in Brittany offer no regular tours or public tasting rooms, but with an advance email, many will welcome interested visitors. With a little research, seeking out the top beer pubs in Brittany makes it easy to sample an interesting range of local craft beers. However, don’t expect to rent a car and see all of Brittany in a single day, as the region is close to the size of the entire country of Belgium.

Actually found just south of the actual Brittany border, the city of Nantes offers a few interesting beer bars such as Le Sur Mesure, Le Perrok, Le Coup de Pompe and a branch of Belgium’s Delirium Café. Brasserie Will’s, a popular nano-brewery just north of Nantes, is run by Guillaume Certain who brews a range of traditional and experimental beers and offers craft beer workshops and public brewing sessions.