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"Diablo":3b33idll wrote: I've never seen good beer in France....although I haven't looked for it outside supermarkets. It's not really taken seriously as a drink there. Good cider in Brittany.[/quote:3b33idll]

"marceldesailly":3b33idll wrote: I think in general you will find it doesnt go much past fischer and maybe Jenlain at a stretch[/quote:3b33idll]

Like here, you have to know where to look. Or, in my case, be clumsily lucky. There's a superb beer culture in the north-east around Nord Pas-de-Calais (under two hours from Bruges). Breweries like Castelain in Benifontaine and L'Audomaroise which has a brewpub in St Omer both make good and interesting artisan beer. There's also the celebrity brewery in Boulogne, Christophe Noyon[/url:3b33idll]who makes absolutely fantastic stuff. There are loads of others scattered around too.

Oddly enough, supermarkets are the place to find them. The Carrefours in this area usually have massive French craft beer selections, yet the bars and cafés are all Stella and Kronenbourg.

"marceldesailly":3b33idll wrote: is this like a souped up version of GBBF?[/quote:3b33idll]It's a souped-up Great Danish (woof!) Beer Festival, where they get in other brewers from all over. It's mostly Danish, though, and there's about a bazillion craft breweries in Denmark. The main difference is that the measures are more American -- 10cl generally, and 5cl for the super-strong ones. It's also tailored far more towards serious enthusiasts than GBBF. White Labs had a stall in 2008, for instance.

&amp;quot;Saruman&amp;quot;:386r74oz wrote: Well as tempting as a boot full of yellow fizzy stuff is, I am sure I can find something more interesting <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D --> I have had good French beer before, it does actually exist believe it or not.[/quote:386r74oz]

Some good Bière de Garde from the Pas-de-Calais and Departments of Nord