Wow. That’s what I kept saying beer after beer after beer. (Les échillons!) This young man, brewer at itty-bitty Brasserie du Mont Salève on the edge of Switzerland, has mastered hops.
In Michael’s hallway of a brewery, the bags of different hops take up a whole wall of shelf space. I thought he was just storing them until I tried the “black bitter”.
To call it a bitter, even an ESB, is a reach. Side-by-side with any American IPA, I’d rather finish this one. The hop maestro isn’t out to just up the IBUs- he orchestrates them. Another example? Mademoiselle IPA is both elegant and commanding. (As in, now you must have another…)
The man behind the beer there is Didier. About 45 minutes from Brasserie du Mont Salève is Au Bon Coin- worth the drive. And the plane ticket! Abbaye de St. Bon Chien au fût, and a beer list to make Dan Lanigan and Max Toste jealous.
Didier carries all the BFM beers (including some special off-menu bottles) and all the Mont Salève beers (au fût, aussi) just for starters. And you get to wake up in the beautiful village of Nernier!
TravelSips 