A very long, hot bus trip later we arrived at the villa we would be staying at for the best part of the next week in the hills behind Saint Paul-de-Vence. I felt comfortable that I had enough beer to last the week, but with the nearest craft beer store a couple of hours drive away, slightly nervous… My nerves were eased somewhat when I saw the pool, thinking that the pool could cool me down not just beer. That was before I worked out that pools with views of the TV were great places to drink…
Being American Independence Day I had to have an American beer to start. The only one I had was not particularly weather appropriate though; Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Ale. It was a nice roasty porter, but I needed something lighter… This is where Get Radical’s Feathers of Angels came in. Sitting in that grey area between American Pale Ale and IPA – it was light and full of tropical fruit flavours. It was an impressive beer.
The first beer that I had in the pool was an absolute stunner! Oude Geuze Boon A L’anciene Vat 77. This is a beer for true sour lovers, with big oak and citrus flavours pairing nicely with at times extreme tartness. There’s plenty of Brett there for true sour fans. I would not suggest this one to anyone new to sours, it will be lost on you.
Falsbourg was a perfectly acceptable lager, for 40 Euro cents! It was drinkable and bought purely because I had to buy a beer that cheap. My first experience with a Biere de la Plaine (the only craft brewery in Marseile) was not a particularly good one. The IPA, poured a very murky, unappealing brown colour and was not that hoppy – worrying considering I have two more of their beers to come…
My second beer from Get Radical was their Mars Needs Women. It’s a refermented version of their Train to Mars Saison, which had honey and brettanomyces added and was then left in oak barrels for 7 months. It tasted as you’d expect, with plenty of honey sweetness, some floral and citrus characteristics and finally some sourness. It could have easily had more sourness, but I quite liked the level it was at.
It’s quite rare for me to get my hand on some German craft beer so when I saw Hopf White I jumped all over it. It was still a very German style, being a Hefeweizen, and I very much enjoyed it. Deck & Donohue’s Mission Pale Ale was the first beer the next day after Lizzie’s Birthday lunch. It wasn’t a particularly distinguished Pale Ale but got the job done. Whilst the Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or La Chapelle – a Chai infused Pale Ale was appaling! Sort of a mix between Chai and Corona…
I think the French must almost love Citra hops as much as I do, such is the prevalence of them in their craft beer. Another French brewery producing an IPA with Citra hops was the Brasserie Correzzene. Their HopHopHop range is definitely a Single Hop Series and this Citra was nice. The hops shone through really well, with a malt base designed to let them show off their stuff.
A visit to Cannes the next day meant a day back on the macro lagers, and after walking around the town in the blazing sunshine a couple of Stella Artois’ really hit the spot (never thought I’d say that!). A hoppy Saison called Super 8 from Brasserie Thirez and Brasserie Outland was my first back in the pool for the conclusion of the Tour de France stage. It was what I wished most Saisons were like, with hops allowed to play a part without taking away from the yeast characteristcs.