BREWING METHODS

The Brewery du Canardou’s organic beers are traditionally brewed using artisanal methods. All the beers are pure malt, brewed by a simple infusion of extremely pure water and hops in full bloom, they are not filtered or pasteurised, carbon dioxide is not added and they are bottled on the yeast.

• Pure Malt : No sugar is added to that in the malts extracted from barely, wheat and spelt. A cereal has to germ for the malt to be extracted so it is first soaked then dried. During the period of germination the starch in the grain transforms naturally into fermentable sugar (barley sugar etc.). Sometimes the malt is roasted for the colour and flavour of brown ales. The beer is a genuine malt infusion (200g -250g per litre of beer at 5°Alc.Vol. against only 1g - 2g of hops).

• Brewed by infusion : From the malt a sweet wort (juice) is obtained which is left to ferment. The malt is crushed and left to infuse for the time it takes to release its sugar, flavour and colour. Only very pure water is used in the infusions.

• Hops in full bloom : Hops can be used in a variety of forms - as dried flowers, granules or extracts. The most natural and unrefined form - flowers - provide the finest flavours.

• Non-filtered : Filtered beer is very clear but the process also traps some of the flavour and above all the yeast. Our beers are naturally decanted when cold, a procedure which takes time but which preserves the integrity of the finished product.

• Non-pasteurised : The beers are living entities.

• No added carbon dioxide : The natural fermentation process provides the only gas in our beers - none is added. The beers are more or less flat (like English beers) and so do not provoke a bloated feeling, nor are they rendered acidic by the carbon dioxide.

• Bottled on the yeast : It is the yeast which gives life to the wort (juice) turning it into beer. In suppressing the yeast (by filtration or pasteurisation) a more stable, but sterile, beer is produced. We are careful to bottle or cask our beers with their yeast content. The elements which conserve the beers are their alcohol content, the antiseptic properties of hops and the saturation of the cask or bottle with naturally-occurring carbon dioxide. However, the beer can be naturally slightly cloudy, particularly if shaken, while the yeast settles.

To conclude : our brewing methods remain traditional, gentle and respectful of primary ingredients and the work engendered by the yeast. They are extremely pure beers, rich in both taste and dietary terms, and thus easily tolerated by the body.