Brasserie des Voirons

Brasserie des Voirons
Christophe Grellier
Lucinges, Haute-Savoie, France

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Situated in the village of Lucinges, Brasserie des Voirons nestles quietly at an altitude of 712 metres, the Alpine scenery spread below and Mont Blanc a magnificent backdrop. After working as a chef for many years, Christophe Grellier opened a small auberge here, which he ran for a decade before taking the brewery over from friends in 2011. Excited by the opportunity to create beers he personally enjoyed, Christophe began brewing, with a similar approach to developing recipes in the kitchen.

At the heart of these beers and their exceptional quality is the purity of the water they are made with; mineral water from the Gavot Plateau above Évian-les-Bains, slowly and naturally filtered through the glaciers of the Alps. Brewed manually, with the desire to preserve craftsmanship and tradition, the beers are spontaneously fermented and made without additives, using organic, high quality ingredients.

Christophe favours longer fermentations and ageing, both playing an important role in the structure and depth of the beers, which are created in three different styles.

The LUG range are the foundation of the brewery — easy drinking, top-fermented beers made with authenticity in mind, available in blanche (wheat/white), blonde, rousse (amber) and brune (brown). Lightly hopped and refreshing, with the aromas of malted grains.

For the infused beers, citrus, quince, strawberries, walnuts, spices, herbs and many other natural ingredients are selected, some of which are foraged from the surrounding mountain slopes. Macerations take place in sandstone amphorae before 6 to 18 months aging in barrels, and the beers offer a distinct sense of place and delicate blend of flavours.

The ‘Vigneronne’ series are where beer meets wine. Hybrids made with the lees and grapes from winemaker friends, often in the same barrel that the wine was aged in, these spontaneously fermented, living beers are an ode to the winemaker’s work and celebrate the terroir of the vineyards.