I’ve just returned after a few days in Paris. It was a family trip but I managed to visit a few places on Thursday. Before then I should mention a couple of places of note; L’Avant Comptoir, a small wine bar with good, quite rich tapas. Not really suitable for kids but they did tolerate them and supply apple juice. Boullion, across from the Palace of Versailles, was quite the opposite, a family friendly bistro with a welcoming atmosphere.
Back to the beer, I asked some of my well travelled friends for a few recommendations, and some more were volunteered. I kicked off my evening in Hoppy Corner, and I have to say, I liked it straight away. My first beer was Brumaire et Frimaire from Deck and Donohue. It’s a locally brewed Pumpkin Beer and was an easy one to enjoy. Next up was a 9.2% Imperial IPA from Canadian brewery Dieu de Ciel! (exclamation mark theirs) called Immortalité. It was really well executed and I appreciated the absence of hop burn. But the best thing about the place was proprietor Remy. He’s a cool dude and we had a great chat about beer and music. He reckoned we may have met at the Lyon Bière Festival last year too but my memories of that event are a little hazy. This place has to be on your agenda the next time you’re in Paris.
La Fine Mousse had been on my list of places to visit for a while, and more recently Mario from Garden had also recommended it. It was a bit quiet when I arrived but it was still early in the evening. They have a great selection of beers and I enjoyed Galipot, a Pale Ale from Normandy brewery Spore. This was accompanied by a chunk of comté and half a baguette.
I’d heard of the Pigalle area before, possibly in Anthony Bourdain’s books, so perhaps it’s not a coincidence that Bourdain fan Dave directed me to a couple of bars there.
When you’re a ‘beer guy’ you sometimes forget that there are other alcoholic beverages available. So, I had never had a Mai Tai, and also had never been in a Tiki bar before rocking up to the bar at Dirty Dick’s. It’s a ridiculous, unwieldy concoction and I managed to knock most of the almonds on to the bar, are you supposed to eat them first? Nevertheless, it was tasty, and definitely worth a try for the craic. Next time I’ll wear a Hawaiian shirt.
Just up the street is the misleadingly/ironically named Pigalle Country Club. It’s very much a dive bar but, with €4 pints at happy hour you can’t argue. I had an IPA of unknown origin.
I concluded the evening with a burger in the neighborhood where I was staying. The novelty for me was being asked if I wanted it medium or rare. I washed it down with a Paranoia from Delirium which was grand. Le Chalet du Parc is a pleasant bistro if you are in the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris area.
Bonus content: it was going home day but we had some time to kill so we headed to Montmartre. I had a Chouffe whilst waiting for what looked like a promising spot to open.
À La Bière Comme À La Bière is a wee gem. I walked past it completely by accident. And there wasn’t much time before we needed to make our way back to the airport. Undeterred, I swiftly perused the massive selection before opting for a whopper Pastry Imperial Stout from UK brewery Beak. It was €11 but at 11% I was getting bang for my buck, and it was very tasty. I belatedly noted that there were a few taps at the back of this Aladdin’s cave and had a small drop of Mazout, an Imperial Stout from French brewery Hoppy Road. It was a more traditional impy with some nice bitterness, if you happen to be there I would say maybe try them in the opposite order. Thanks for reading. I hope you get to visit some of these spots on your next trip to Paris. Sláinte!
