Beer Drinking....in Paris?

Drinking beer, a lot of beer... to the point of extreme inebriation, is something I did in college, not Paris.

My first visit to Paris was suppose to be surrounded by Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy or Bordeaux, not losing my phone and nearly missing my train back to Italy after an all-nighter drinking beer. Where did the American style IPAs and Belgium Pale ales come from? Especially, how did Fox News piss-off so many people in Paris that they even named a beer after the event. Recently in Europe we’ve seen an upswing in production of craft beer, but also a demand for it; I'm talking countries normally praised for their wine. Paris exposed its hand to the future. Their momentum for an evolution in gastronomic culture is remarkably attractive and apparent, but still with the occasional asshole manners you anticipate, and lets be honest, wouldn’t be any fun without.

After the very unfortunate and terrifying events that took place in Paris in January involving Charlie Hebdo, the opportunistic and ignorant news organization Fox News inaccurately reported on the situation. Fox News alleged there were “No-Go Zones” in Paris where non-Muslims were unwelcome and sharia law was now present. Eventually, Fox News came back to reality and apologized for their atrocious reporting. After pissing all Parisians off, the outcry was enormous including lawsuits against the news organization.

One artisanal brewer, whom himself was located within this Fox News reported “No-Go Zone”, decided to capitalize on this. Goutte d’Or brewery, found in the heart of Paris’s 10th arrondissement, named its new double IPA, “NO-GO”. Being a huge fan of IPAs and often very critical if done blandly I was rather intrigued. The NO-GO IPA was impressive and malty with the right amount of hoppiness as to not attract away from complexity, with a roundness that was fairly sweet, thick and aromatic, maybe the wine glass we used to try it had a factor as well. It was refreshing and idealistic for a double IPA, hard to stop with just one but not exactly appropriate for a long night.

The Head brewer was a hardcore beer aficionado, grungy and covered with tattoos, chain smoking, passionate and well educated on the matter of beer and beer history. Starting out of his parent’s living room and growing to have his own brewery was rather impressive and projected a sense of possibilities within a country rife with wine culture. He was unapologetic and called a spade a spade, at times coming off as arrogant and standoffish, but I like to envision it as a battle-hardened brewer who has swam against the current to achieve his place in a business that requires enormous dedication and artistic qualities. Even after the thirty-minute interview the sense of, “I gotta get back to work” hit hard. I appreciate a man like this, he’s a worker and true master of his craft and not interested fully in the trivial aspects of interviews.

After buying 50 Euros of his beer, which he was cheerful of, we hit the streets needing a place to assess the plethora of the fine nectar we just purchased. Surprisingly, this purchase ensued in my phone being stolen, an inability to function on a mature level mentally or physically, and arriving five minutes before my trains departure back to Italy, culminating into the longest 6-hour train ride off my life.. mostly spent in the bathroom; only to be woken up by Italian boarder control, and returning respectfully to my assigned seat.

Europe’s procurement of beer knowledge and interest surprisingly originates from American brewers. Becoming patriotic whenever a positive element of American culture is so highly prized in Europe, which seems very seldom, is a huge enjoyment for me. At the Omnivore world tour in Paris the same week, the headline star was the famous Brooklyn Brewery brewer and historian Garret Oliver.

Seeing a packed room full of French enthusiast listening to an American speak about brewing history, recipes and techniques and eventually a tasting, was energetic to say the least. The French culture that I have always imagined was being influenced not just by happy meals and movies, but also by the good old American past time of beer drinking.

Of course the French can make anything seem more classy and sophisticated, elevating beer within its society seems unstoppable at this point and honestly excites me for future development of artisanal beers throughout Europe and the world. Hopefully now it won’t seem awkward and belittling to order a beer next time I’m in Paris, rather than some fancy wine.