Hi Everyone, I'm going to Paris, Leon France, and then Switzerland for my honeymoon for two weeks October 14-30th from the United States (Connecticut). I have no idea what to expect for beer over there. Is there any beers/breweries I should be on the lookout for that are worth trying? Thanks in advance!
If you don't get many suggestions from local posters, the Places feature here on BA is a very good resource (at least it is in the US). https://www.beeradvocate.com/place/
It depends on where you go and what you're looking for. You will find everything from excellent to crappy - especially with French craft beers... Do you have a car? Do you have the possibility of visiting special beer shops? (rare in France, but they exist). Google maps (with key words like beer, bière, craft beer, ...) is a great source, as many things in France are not in our database here. I've been to France many times and found great shops that way. The large supermarkets (mainly only reachable by car) also have a decent selection - especially if you've never been to Europe before. If you have any questions feel free to send me a BM
Which part of Switzerland do you plan on visiting? You'll probably find some ideas on this webpage: http://www.bov.ch/beer/swissbeers.htm Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about west and central Switzerland.
One awesome thing about Europe is that you can usually just buy one or two bottles of beer at a time, so find yourself some nice grocery stores and start loading up your cart! It'll be an adventure in and of itself! Another google search term is "Bottle shop". Additionally, you might want to add "France/CH" to your title to attract more experienced user to your thread.
To avoid any confusion, this means you can buy singles (not that you are limited to one or two). I'm sure you got that. But it's a great point worth reinforcing. You might even be able to break into 4-packs (certainly can here) -- look 'n see if others on the shelf have done so. ... It's always a bummer if I haven't been home stateside in a while and I see interesting stuff on a shelf and then I remember I need to invest in a 6. Forget it...
BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes) might be worth looking out for in Switzerland. The things that I've had from them were really full-on acetic sours, almost more like very nice vinegar than beer, but worth a punt if that sort of thing is up your street.
Agreed! Although I do see more and more stores allowing you to buy single bottles around here. I think it's a good trend! Thanks for clarifying my point!
