Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) is quite literally synonymous with wine. Not just any wine, either: the bottles produced here are some of the most prized on the planet.
This beautiful vine-covered region is home to nearly a quarter of France’s wines with the coveted AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) designation, which means they meet stringent regulations about their origin, methods, and growing conditions. Dozens are hierarchy-topping grands crus, aged in oak barrels then bottles, often for decades.
Today, there’s a twist afoot in Burgundy. The region’s peerless passion and painstaking craftsmanship are being poured into brewing – drawing on terroir, techniques, and historical links to blaze a new trail for artisanal beer across Burgundy.
You’ve probably heard of Burgundy’s famous wine trails…
Maybe you’ve heard of Burgundy’s wine trails, such as the prestigious châteaux along the Route des Grands Crus, with their exceptional reds (made from pinot noir grapes) and whites (chardonnay).
In any case, wine is all but impossible to avoid: viticultural heritage seeps all across Burgundy. Vines were first planted in Gallo-Roman days. Medieval monks made wine here during Charlemagne’s reign for the church and aristocratic Dukes of Burgundy, whose vast territory extended to Flanders.
Today, Burgundy’s burgeoning brewing landscape is a sort of return to these ducal roots. Cervoise was the pre-beer brew of choice for centuries, until the early 15th-century Duke of Burgundy Jean sans Peur (John the Fearless) created the Ordre du Houblon (Order of Hops), instituting the use of hops for their antiseptic and aromatic qualities to stabilize the output. With the fertile land producing cereal crops, brewing took off.
Yet the region’s breweries evaporated once industrialization arrived in the 1950s. It’s only in this century that artisanal brewing has been revived. And it’s thriving, thanks to a blend of know-how developed from winemaking, regional add-ins like blackcurrant and gingerbread – and revolutionary new ideas.
Today, there are dozens of creative enterprises on Burgundy’s (re-)emerging beer map, and a bottle will certainly set you back less than the region’s most famous vintages.
… but its burgeoning beer trail is worth the visit
Of course, serious oenophiles won’t want to skip Burgundy’s wine trails but there’s no harm in trying both. Starting and ending in Burgundy’s magnificent capital, Dijon, you can visit all of these breweries’ tap rooms and shops along this 310-mile (500km) route des bières artisanales de Bourgogne (Burgundy craft-beer trail). You should also feel free to customize your own itinerary by picking among them.
In an old flour mill opposite Dijon’s Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin, dried hops hang from the roof, and a viewing window looks out over the vats, at Un Singe en Hiver. Only organic malts and hops are used to create beers like La Crème de la Crème (amber pale ale made from raw hops).
On Dijon’s northern edge is 90 BPM Brewing Co, where brewers Léo and Victor age beers in Burgundy wine barrels. The 15 on tap include Les Feux de la Mure (sour hazy made with blackberry).
Just outside Dijon to the southeast, Brasserie Elixkir specializes in blondes, IPAs, tripels, and stouts (some barrel-aged). Also to the southeast, Independent House uses local ingredients to make international styles like American IPAs.
To the south, Brasserie des Trois Fontaines collaborates with farmers to cultivate barley and Burgundian hops, and resurrects old recipes using local ingredients.
Deep in grand cru wine country south of Dijon, “nanobrewery” Modélicaus employs a sustainable ethos in brews such as its hoppy Bièrie de Recotte: a favorite with grape pickers during the vendange (wine harvest).
Further south along the Route des Grands Crus, VIF takes its cues from bottom-fermented German beers and American craft ales.
In the rampart-ringed viticultural “capital” Beaune, Belenium, founded by three friends, is the medieval town’s first artisanal microbrewery.
Heading southwest to Chamilly, in a former cooperage La BAB makes organic, top-fermented, unfiltered, unpasteurized beers.
A 17th-century barn in Sennecey-le-Grand is the home of Ammonite, where Simon Lecomte deploys his viticulture and oenology studies.
In abbey-famed Tournus, brewer and chef duo Two Dudes hosts private beer-pairing dinners in its fermentation room surrounded by vats.
Burgundy’s sprawling Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan, a protected area, shelters Tipsy Brewing, whose beers such as Tripel du Morvan are made with spring water from the park.
Beneath Vézelay’s Unesco World Heritage–listed hilltop basilica, Brasserie de Vézelay brews with water drawn from a nearby well plus local malt and hops.
How to make it happen
Dijon is easily reached by high-speed train from destinations including Paris, with its international bus, train, and flight links; and Lyon, which also has onward connections throughout Europe. A car is the easiest way to get around Burgundy; to avoid imbibing and driving, accommodations are plentiful along every route.
