How One Style Penetrated Two Cultures

All About Beer Magazine - Volume 35, Issue 4
October 9, 2014 By Nora D. McGunnigle

Sidebar: French brewing on both sides of the Atlantic

Both the beers brewed and the lifestyle celebrated by Bayou Teche in -Arnaudville, LA, hearken back to the French farmhouse tradition. Classic Northern French brewing inspired the brewery’s bière de garde and bière de mars. Then, through its Francophile connections, it stumbled onto an even more obscure farmhouse style and brewing culture in the Brittany region.

Although historically bière de garde has been the primary French contribution to the brewing world, the modern craft beer movement is beginning to change that. In addition to breweries like La Bambelle in Brittany and Bayou Teche in Louisiana, Paris brewery Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or is brewing American styles with unusual local ingredients, and Brasserie Des Garrigues Sommières in the South of France has found success with its ESB. Other new breweries in Lyon, Limoges, Chamonix and several other regions also prove the traditional parameters of French brewing are starting to shift.

Additional Reading

To learn more about French farmhouse ales and brewing culture, seek out Phil Markowski’s authoritative book on the subject, Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition. Another source is All About Beer’s March 2010 article, “Bières de Garde: France’s Road Less Traveled,” by Mike Tessier.


Nora D. McGunnigle
Nora D. McGunnigle writes about beer and lives in New Orleans. Check out her work at nolabeerblog.com and follow her on Twitter @noradeirdre.