Here’s why you should visit Burgundy’s beer trail

Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) is quite literally synonymous with wine. Not just any wine, either: the bottles produced here are some of the most prized on the planet.

This beautiful vine-covered region is home to nearly a quarter of France’s wines with the coveted AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) designation, which means they meet stringent regulations about their origin, methods and growing conditions. Dozens are hierarchy-topping grands crus, aged in oak barrels then bottles, often for decades. 

Today, there’s a twist afoot in Burgundy. The region’s peerless passion and painstaking craftsmanship is being poured into brewing – drawing on terroir, techniques and historical links to blaze a new trail for artisanal beer across Burgundy. 

You’ve probably heard of Burgundy’s famous wine trails…

Maybe you’ve heard of Burgundy’s wine trails, such as the prestigious châteaux along the Route des Grands Crus, with their exceptional reds (made from pinot noir grapes) and whites (chardonnay). 

In any case, wine is all but impossible to avoid: viticultural heritage seeps all across Burgundy. Vines were first planted in Gallo-Roman days. Medieval monks made wine here during Charlemagne’s reign for the church and aristocratic Dukes of Burgundy, whose vast territory extended to Flanders.

Today, Burgundy’s burgeoning brewing landscape is a sort of return to these ducal roots. Cervoise was the pre-beer brew of choice for centuries, until the early 15th-century Duke of Burgundy Jean sans Peur (John the Fearless) created the Ordre du Houblon (Order of Hops), instituting the use of hops for their antiseptic and aromatic qualities to stabilize the output. With the fertile land producing cereal crops, brewing took off.

Yet the region’s breweries evaporated once industrialization arrived in the 1950s. It’s only in this century that artisanal brewing has been revived. And it’s thriving, thanks to a blend of know-how developed from wine making, regional add-ins like blackcurrant and gingerbread – and revolutionary new ideas.  

Today, there are dozens of creative enterprises on Burgundy’s (re-)emerging beer map, and a bottle will certainly set you back less than the region’s most famous vintages.