When we think of France, the last thing that comes to mind is... beer. I think we can easily identify several types of French wines or cheeses than one brand of French beer.

I am ashamed to admit it, but not so long ago, I too saw France and its beer market in a similar way. Although I could mention a few names of French breweries known to me from the shops, they were mainly from Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the northeastern region bordering Belgium. They were mainly beers very similar in taste to Belgian one, often similarly classified as blonde, brune or ambree. It is also important to remember about biere de garde, the French equivalent of Belgian saison.

Luckily, I discovered some time ago that France is not a beer desert on the European map, and that the number of breweries in France is astonishing. At the beginning of the 20th century there were almost 2000 of them, but as a result of the turmoil of wars and the economic downturn, a significant part of them had been ceased. Today, at the time of the Beer Revolution, there are three times fewer breweries than a century ago, but the golden liquor boldly conquers the French palate and number of breweries is constantly growing.

Like mushrooms after the rain, new artisanal breweries, restaurant breweries are being created, which serve mainly local beers that are not inferior to the most recognized English or American brands.

One such craft brewery is La Brasserie Mélusine from Chambretaud (west France near Nantes). The family-run brewery was founded in 2001, in its early years it focused on supplying its products mainly to catering establishments, only after the takeover of Brasserie du Canardou in 2009 did it develop its activities and increase the production of a full range of organic beers, as well as changing the distribution method.

During the brewing process they pay special attention to the quality of the selected ingredients. In order to achieve the best results, there are no shortcuts, no extracts, no additives or dyes in the composition of their beers, all ingredients and the production process is 100% natural. Thanks to this, beers from this brewery can be found mainly in BIO shops with healthy food. Of the fifteen beers brewed in this French brewery, I had the opportunity to try Hellfest IPA. Graphics on the label refers to the "HELLFEST" heavy metal festival now held in Clisson in a simple way.

Very good IPA, copper-coloured with fine white foam, exotic fruit, malt and hops. The mouth feels bitterness, orange peel and malt. The whole is well balanced with quite a lot of bitterness on citrus fruit.