Tasting Location- Bières Cultes in Cardinal

Paris, France delivering another boutique beer location, this one with a tasting station and custom sampling classes- Bières Cultes in the 5th district, Cardinal.

With Brewberry being closed during regularly scheduled hours, I was off to find wifi so I could boo hoo on your shoulder when I walked past this joint:

[caption id="attachment_1741" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Bières Cultes Pic from Foodavenue.fr[/caption]

Hellllooo "work research"!

I love the beer business

No camera on hand today and, of course, your truly doesn't have a phone at all, let one with a fancy smancy camera attached. So you get net pictures and built in macbook photos.  And I get to be the crazy lady holding beers up to her monitor.



With four locations in Paris Bières Cultes is one of the craft beer heavy hitters at the moment and, although my store attendant wasn't the greatest, seeing shelves lined with beet bottles is a delight.

Xavier (store owner) working attendant has no sense of urgency (it's a French thing) and not a huge desire to pry into one's beer thoughts, but is a super chill dude with many beer answers who also happens to be a master gamer with sweet xbox skills.

There is a nice rounded selection of beers from around the world, including some French (Craig Allen) and a few American (Sierra Nevada). All the big hitters you'd imagine to be there (the Trappists, Brewdog, Chouffe), are in their place as well as the more commercial brews like Leffe, Pietra and Chimay (all available at the super market).

Tasting

Highlights

6. Multiple locations throughout Paris- accessibility is half the battle.

5. Free limitless wifi- for bloggin, tweeting and general anti-social activities

4. Groovy juke music- via store ipod and junky speakers in the back, I dig. I bet if I asked to play somethin, I'd be welcomed.

3. Outdoor seating area with four plastic chairs- for smokers I assume but still a nice little area for good weather appreciation or exploding bottle openings

2. Xbox with television- wasn't in use, but it's right behind the bar, ready to go so Xavier can show you his masterful gaming skills*.

1. Classes- Most inportantly is education! Shop manager Xavier says that if you give him a call, then we can put together a customized class for you and yours. Price is for the beer- education is free. W00t!

-1. they close at 9- they aren't an effing bar people so calm down. These guys close pretty early-beware, check the website.

[caption id="attachment_1740" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Bières Cultes- Bar area of 4 month old Cardinal location[/caption]

Verdict

It ain't no Cave à bulles but it's a step in the right direction! Bières Cultes is a great beer geeking outlet.

Lets us see about getting one of these classes put together and... a young attractive male with a unicycle (of all strange things) just walked in... he went right to his beer of choice- Gulden Draak

.... oh Parisians, how I love thee.

Thanx for giving my place to rest my lappy, Bières Cultes, and rest my metro tired heels while I enjoy your crafty selection and dig on the groove. Thumbs up for beer!

XOXO

 *master gamer status yet to be varified

Tasting Location- Express de Lyon Paris, France

 

Express de Lyon

Paris, France

Where craft beer and French café intersect

If you happen to be near Gare de Lyon, whizzing your touristy way through Paris, take a metro break and cross the street to one of the most well hidden beer sampling locations in Paris- Express de Lyon. Camouflaged as a typical station stop café-bar, Express de Lyon is a heaven for hardcore beer geeks as well as vanilla beer drinkers.



A Yelp post by Cameron M. explains the secret behind Express de Lyon's unique place in the Paris bar society:

"...BUT the secret is, the owner is a huge beer geek. For me, this is a real Paris bar (well... except [that] there is amazing beer): you have the local flavor, the die hard gamblers sipping on a Heineken, beer nuts (expats and francophones) from around the city trying the lastest microbrew on tap, tourists drinking the classic Belgians (like Chouffe or Karmeliet or worse...Amstel!!), and even some travelers passing through who stopped by while they wait for their train at the Gare de Lyon."

Chidini over at Trip Advisor had this to say:

"This humble café has some of the most exciting tap selections in town, from Evil Twin, Mikkeller, BrewDog, Craig Allan, De Molen, and other rising stars of the European craft beer scene. The atmosphere is laid back and the opposite of pretentious, and the prices are more than fair."

And for those French speaking readers:

"Un bar typiquement parisien ! Une ambiance conviviale et populaire, des bières introuvables à la pression, une clientèle jeune et souriante...Que demande le peuple ! Le service est parfois un peu long mais l'équipe compense par sa bonne humeur et son accessibilité...Chaudement recommandé !"

Trendy Paris guide Paris by Mouth notes Express de Lyon as one if it's favorite Parisian locations:

"Although it appears on first glance like any other train station-adjacent café-bar, this place is a must for serious beer geeks in Paris."

Express de Lyon is owned by two brothers, one more beer addicted than the other. Brother beer drinker wasn't in when Nitch was there, but a return visit is promised. Geek session planned!

Tasting

[caption id="attachment_1587" align="alignright" width="696"] Note how the Funky E-star (in the foreground) has bigger, more round fat bubbles while the Green Gold has a tighter, more creamy head.[/caption]

MIKKELLER- Funky E-star 9.39% 4.90/5.50

Funky indeed.

S: Steeped malts, fermenting fruit like a cider in the fermenter

T: bitter and dry, with sweet beery hop notes and a skunky hop undertone, no strong alcohol presence

M: Dry with a light resin coating

O:  Likely to be better in the bottle than on the tap line, Funky E-star is one of my least loved Mikkeller beers to date. The off fruit tickles the nose and the hops are hidden under the malts.

MIKKELLER- Green Gold 7% 4.90/5.50

Smells Green!

S: Hops, citrus hops and a distinct uh.. hop smell

T: Fresh hops pop out bitter then a tart cherry bitter finish

M: More creamy then Funky E-star, smoother on the palate but still light to medium in body

O: More fresh and enjoyable then the first beer, Green Gold lives up to it's name as a treasure of golden green hop goodness.

[caption id="attachment_1588" align="alignnone" width="696"] Things are hand written on a chalk board, bistro style and, as you can see from the hand, are willingly explained but the bar man.[/caption]

Findings

Both beers tasted were a bit flat, green gold a bit less so, but there was a mild question mark as to rather or not the tap lines need a little cleany up. Dive bars aren't known for their cleanliness so, lets chalk it up to authenticity, shall we?

If you want to save yourself some piggy bank money, then sit at the bar (if possible) rather than a table. There is about a .60 cent mark up for table service. Not saying that you'll get better service at the tables or anything, more like you are charged for renting the table space; 4.90 for bar Mikkeller, 5.50 for table Mikkeller. Drink 8 bar beers and you've paid for your 9th in savings!

As we learned from Brandon over at Cave à bulles, Express de Lyon is owned by two brothers who recently were converted to the hop loving order. Brother hop maniac wasn't in attendance at the time of our visit, but we were assured by brother hop enjoyment that he would hold a lengthly vigil with us upon our next visit.

I like it- dive, dirty and divine

XOXO

Tasting- Les 3 Brasseurs

Finishing up our home brew day, Nitch grabbed the car keys and took a grey day drive to a location recommended by a friend: Les 3 Brasseurs. It being out of the way and an international chain restaurant wards craft beer geeks away, but pacing the same kitchen area for over four hours (and using the same wash sink more times then countable) will inspire a need for a change of view and something to gurgle while viewing it.

"Our mission is simple – to share with our patrons our passion for beer"

Tasting Location- Les 3 Brasseurs

Upon arrival one is greeted by a massive outdoor seating area that the French so require for restauranting and pubbing. What made this one so delightful was the hop laced fencing- beauty and functionality!

The entrance is guarded by a shiny copper brew kettle that gleams in it's darkly lit euro pub style restaurant. The ceilings have pho-newspaper coverings and beer related paraphernalia is spread tastefully about, reminding one of a beer'ed up Shenanigans. "A stunning authentic microbrewery installation and European décor mixed in with some local flavour makes the atmosphere inimitable."   Although I wouldn't go so far as to agree with the website's "inimitable" (since it's likely that all the locations are immitations of each other), I did instantly feel like I was in a place where a beer lover could geek out and not feel awkward.

Which of course- I was completely wrong. As the partons stared at my picture taking and constant note scratching/beer sniffing and the extravagant why that I held beers up to the light and exclaimed things like, "oh my, hello cascade!" These things might have not only fasinated the dining families but also be the reason why one of the older servers came with two extra tastings: the local brew. La Belle Province is made with all local ingredients and I was immediatly drawn into another bout of, "Ooo! Smell that goodness," while shoving the petite glass as far under my nose as possible without looking like a beer addicted Scarface.

Menus are freakishly well designed with mouth watering pictures creating hunger stirrings through already full bellies.

They have beer cocktails- some are blue- let's discover more about those next time.

Today We Tasted 6 Les 3 Brasseurs Bières

Blond

A: Bright hay to sunflower color with a head that isn't there.

S: Banana ester, later yeast, mild earthy hop

T: Traditional lager style with spice, light farmhouse tastes with a delicate hop finish

M: Oily but dry

O: The French Man feels like it is an overly hopped lager, but I disagree and attribute his messed up tasting abilities to him having hovered over the home brew brew kettle for hours. There is for sure a hop element that sticks out, but it feels more like a home brewed IPA lover's lager then a normal French blond.

Ambre

A: No carbonation again, but that will be a pattern, as sampling platters nearly always seem headless and lacking proper carbonation.

S: Belgian spices with clove, coriander, caramel and bread yeast

T: Bitter in the front with a roasted sweet backing that finishes rather bland.

M: Medium body

O: Meh.

Brune

A: Amber almost violet colors when helt to the light, but mainly a deep earthy brown.

S: Toffee and coffe softly, softly

T: Almost creamy on the palate but cut directly with a bitter coffee finish.

M: more bubbles then the other beers, which means it has a medium carbonation. I'm wondering now if there is either something wrong with the beer or the taps. Have to look into that at my next visit.

O: He has that cold, stale coffee direction in sight but turns just before cliffing into gross. As the beer warmed slightly the caramel came to stand out and wrapped the whole beer better together.

"It's so hoppy I feel like I'm smoking weed"

The French Man hates all these beers so far.

The Queen

A: Golden yellow with small motionless bubbles

S: Lager

T: Slightly bitter, so mild. Malty finish. Not displeasing but nothing great. Session style. I don't think the Queen would enjoy this beer but some of her people might.

M: Moving on

Cherry Cuvee

A: Valentine's day red, fading to pink around the edges

S: Smells like juicy juice red flavor.

T: All cherry, maybe strawberry. Oh NO! Vicks Nyquil.

M: Pass

La Belle Provence- Special Local Brew

A: Rose tinted sun rays in a glass

S: The smell knocked my hop loving socks off! Honey hops and apple blossoms. I want to burry my face in it's sweet and tangy head, but am aware of the public location, so I take pictures for later beerporn referral and hope that the olfactory senses will be recreated by my imagination appropriately.

T: There is a great fruit sweetness, like a hard cider with the tartness of the fruit skin substituted with floral hops. There might be cherry juice in there but no matter what, the balance between fruit, floral, sweet and bitter is delightful.

M: Juicy and refreshing, light body

O: I feel like the beer would like more bubbles, but maybe that would turn it directly into more of a cider style. Not with standing this finishing treat is something I'm going to return for and inquire more about. Local huh?

Although I wouldn't call it craft beer and I wouldn't say it's something to seek out, Les 3 Brasseurs is better then nothing.

Les 3 Brasseurs is massive international company (including locations throughout France, Quebec, Tahiti, Réunion, and New Caledonia) but that doesn't mean they can't be spreading the baby step understanding of what beer culture invites. Many'a Joe has stated that their first "craft" beer was Blue Moon. Baby steps, as feeble as they are, begin consumers in the right direction toward freedom. Beer Freedom!

 

 

Tasting Location: Frog Pubs- Paris, France

[caption id="attachment_1268" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Frog Pubs Bercy Location- big, shiny and packed full of the regular type of people[/caption]

Frog Pubs, Paris have seven locations and each one is a mockery of the craft brew pub.

'FrogPubs began life as an MBA project researching the potential for an English pub & micro-brewery in central Paris. The project was a success & since 1993 FrogPubs has been brewing, serving & selling beer. We started out by creating pubs for all the British expats in Paris to meet up in. Today FrogPubs attracts a much wider variety of people and pretty much anyone who wants to have a good time will be well looked after.'

[caption id="attachment_1267" align="alignleft" width="346"] Pretty tap handles[/caption]

What we have here is a case of copy cat research gone viral.

I found that Tale of Ale had been to the Frog Pubs January 2012, giving almost exactly a year separation in opinion: Frog Pubs are all marketing and no soul. Although Tale of Ale had more time to visit more Frog locations and more guts to continue drinking, we were mostly there to feed my visiting American friend, 'chicken wings 'n things'. She was fed up with delicate french portions and I was (as always) seeking a craft beer. Internet told us that our happy ground would be the Frog Pubs.

Alas, you see tourists and locals downing massive pints of multi colored brews with little regard as to the flavor or quality. Better then nothing but with nothing you still have your imagination. The Frog Pub was cram packed busy and served us up fried dishes that my American visitor was more then happy to consume while noting the lack of ranch dressing- disappointing.

I was focused on the beer. Well, I was focused on the beer after I finished half the pint, thus way my excitement in having a beer other then macro lager. I didn't' take tasting notes- no need, beers were blah.

[caption id="attachment_1266" align="alignright" width="300"] Color coded for less confusion in ordering[/caption]

As usual I ordered the darkest thing possible:

Frog Pub Dark de Triomphe 5.0% abv

'Our very own 'pint of the black stuff'. A dry, full-bodied stout, served cold with a thick and creamy head. 'Dark' has slightly more bitterness than some other dark beers you may know, due to our roasted barley, chocolate malts, and English Challenger hops. Goes great with one of our juicy Frog Cheeseburgers!"

 

Ya know what else goes great with juicy Frog Cheeseburgers- a discount. Places like this give 'microbrewery' a bad name.