Video: Antoine Robic, co-founder of Fauve Craft Beer in Paris, France talks to the Beer Idiots about his technicolour dream world of beer, craft and art.
When Cyprien Maisonnier and Antoine Robic decided to start brewing as Fauve Craft Bière in Paris they knew they were part of the booming beer market in France and needed to stand out, and not just by crafting a great product.
It is after all audacious to start a brewery in wine-loving France, where Kronenbourg remains responsible for 40% of the country’s beer output. From a slow pace, France is catching up where nearly one new brewery opens a day and there are now 1,600 breweries in the country.
Fauve opened their 80-seat brew pub, Les Cuves de Faive, in Paris’ 11 district in May 2019 with a colourful logo and with “taste, colours and fun” as their slogan and 16 taps.
Robic had lived for six years in London, with a background in mergers and acquisitions, where he experienced the craft beer scene taking off there. Maisonnier, a biologist, also decided he loved beer and arrived in the United Kingdom to spend time in several breweries learning the craft. The two came back to France and bought amateur brewing equipment to start creating their own recipes.
Their first recipe that they felt confident with was an American Pale Ale with Citra hops and Mosaic, before moving on to other styles. After winning a gold medal in a French national competition for another ale hopped to Mosaic and El Dorado, and another in 2018 at the Brussels Beer Challenge, they decided to grow from the 20 litre prototype brews.
They moved on to gypsy brewing, including with Brasserie Effet Papillon in Mérignac, to a line up of six beers. At their Cuves de Fauve, they now brew in their own place.
“We really see our brew pub as a lab to get feedback from our clients,” says Robic.
Photo gallery: BAL – Bière à Lille 2019, Gare Saint-Sauveur, Lille, France.
