Divers have found beer from the 18th century in a shipwreck off of the coast of Finland. One flask of beer broke when it was lifted to the surface, so they decided to give it a taste. I’m not sure I would have been the one to taste it first, but once someone else had proved it safe to drink I would have been interested in sip or two.
This blonde beer has very good notes of lemon pith and Mediterranean herbs. It is light and fresh and with the aromatic flavours it makes me want to tuck into a plate of mussels or grilled lobster.
This is a very delicious beer, and all the more so when you consider that it is made in Narbonne which is more known for being a wine hub.
Produced and sold by:
L’Echoppe Médiévale,
Rue Hector Berlioz
11100 Narbonne, France
Tel: 04 68 49 59 47
The internet is truly a wonderful place.
We have lived in a small village in the South of France for a number of years, our local town is Narbonne. We’ve visited Narbonne town centre more times than I can remember, but we never realised that there was a shop there that sold a wide selection of delicious international beers, and which also has a micro brewery.
A month or so ago while I was surfing around the World Wide Web I ended up on
the L’Echoppe Médiéval website. I have no idea how I came to this website. I was not searching for beer – honest! It was just a random link clicking episode that resulted in a mouthwatering destination. I was very happy to land on the website when I realised that it was a beer shop based in Narbonne, because being from England beer is a vital part of my dietary needs. 
Friday was the first day that it was possible for me to head into Narbonne town centre to do some shopping. Having once been a Boy Scout, I made sure to take my wine carrier with me. 
It holds 9 bottles, so a good way for me to limit how much I purchase. 
Entering the shop was like stepping into a beer lovers vision of heaven. Shelves jam packed full of specialist beers from around the word. L’Echoppe Médiéval also brew their own beer which you can purchase by the bottle, or by the barrel with a rented beer tap.
A very tempting idea would be to purchase a barrel at the beginning of the Summer and have beer on tap at home – but I’d never get anything done as I’d spend most of my time prostrate, mouth open wide, underneath the tap!
Now I have the enviable task of drinking the 9 bottles of beer and writing up tasting notes.
It’s a tough life being a blogger – Cheers!
L’Echoppe médiéval
Rue Hector Berlioz
11100 Narbonne, France
Tel:04 68 49 59 47
I’m so gutted. If I had known that there was a competition to become the City of London’s official Ale Taster I would have been on a ‘plane back to England double quick. I know that I’m more known for my love of wine but I’m also a keen beer drinker when I can get my hands on the good stuff. I like the idea of flying back to London for a couple of days each month and spending that time doing pub crawls around the city of London. I’m certain that being the City of London’s official Ale Taster must get you a few free pints
The competition was won by Steve Williams who writes a beer blog called The Beer Justice. I’m sure he will now be planning some extensive ‘Official’ beer tasting jaunts around the City of London. Hard work, but someones got to do it!
France’s thirst for a cold draught beer may be slowly be drying up, but brewers in the north of the country are still making inroads with specially concocted brews, kins to the famous fruit-flavoured lambics and homegrown specialties of their Belgian neighbours.
Published on www.zoqy.net
