Portrait. Thierry, an educational brewer near Rouen, breaks down the “preconceptions about beer”
By Valentin Lebosse
Published on
Discover the world of artisanal brewing by allowing everyone tocraft the beer of your choice yourself. It is the concept of My First BeerPayed by Thierry Masurier and his wife Florence a Belbeuf (Seine-Maritime), close to Rouenin 2016. Just before the microbrewery boom in Normandy.
“At the time, we were between 20 and 30; there are now more than a hundred of us in the region,” recounts Thierry, amused to have come across, in his brewing initiation workshops, future colleagues now established in the Rouen region. He himself created his own range of beers shortly after setting up his workshops.
Brew your first beer
This former leader of a water transport company explains that he “clicked” for beer. With the desire to “highlight the educational side”.
People know much less about beer than about wine. They tend to buy a bottle because the label is nice. I wanted to show what was behind the label, the whole manufacturing process.
At its premises in Genetais ZAC, Thierry can receive up to eight people per workshop. “Everyone chooses, by registering, the beer they are going to make (white, IPA, blond, amber, etc.). » Recipes, ingredients… Everything is made available to the participants, who only have to brew following the advice of the pro.
Breaking down preconceived ideas
Then, customers must wait “three weeks” for fermentation, before returning to the store to collect their 16 liters of drink packaged in 48 bottles. Be careful, “you still have to wait three to four weeks before tasting, for the beer to ferment”, warns the brewer.
So many steps to follow which, according to Thierry, are not known to the general public: “Some people thought they could taste their beer right after the workshop! »
” There is a lot of’a priori on beer”, observes the professional who tries to bring them down. “One day, I gave clients a taste of a white and a dark one, asking them the degree of alcohol. I was answered 4-5 for the first, 8-9 for the second. While both were alcohol-free! “Proof that we must be wary of amalgams between color and alcohol content…
A 100% organic range
At the start of Ma Première Bière, Thierry was in charge of a small production of “ephemeral” foams (available temporarily). In front of the pressing demand developed by its customers, it quickly has a permanent range comprising six references (to be enjoyed in moderation): a blonda ambera Browna APIsa triple and an white.
Particularity of the white: it delivers in the mouth the fruity aromas of an IPA. The result of a successful experiment, says Thierry: “We used blackcurrant pepper to enhance our ratatouilles. Florence gave me the opportunity to put this spice in beer. It has more but the pepper was not available in organic so I replaced it with the blackcurrant bud. »
The range carries the organic label for two years. “The malt and hops are organic and the yeasts are GMO-free,” explains Thierry.
“Recycled” cookies
The switch to organic was made when the brewer launched The survivors, biscuits obtained by the “recycling” of spent grains, cereal residues from the brewing of beers. “There couldn’t be organic cookies without organic beer. »
Scented with Countyto rosemary to pepper or at lemon, these creations are sold, like beers, in the brewery shop and organic stores (Biocoop, La Vie Claire). “You can also find it in many delicatessens”, specifies Thierry. And to add that “breadsticks will arrive”.
Moving in sight
Another – major – change to come: the move of the microbrewery to Authieux-sur-le-Port-Saint-Ouen, in larger premises. “Sur will go from 40 to 80 m², which will allow us to receive twice as many people in the workshop (16 instead of 8) and to triple production”, develops each Thierry.
The quantity of beer brewed in the year should increase from 100 to “300 or even 500 hectoliters”. The idea being, for the entrepreneur, to develop his network of points of sale “towards large and medium-sized surfaces”. If the work progresses as planned, the move will take place “end of September-beginning of October”.
My First Beer Brewery. Zac des Génétais, rue du Pacifique, in Belbeuf.
Open Tuesday to Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Brewing workshops on Saturday mornings and afternoons.
Such. : 02 35 02 04 06. Mail: [email protected]
Information on the brewery websiteher Facebook and son instagram account.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow 76actu in the My News space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.