Lyon

Hello fellow Ratebeer members!

My husband and I are headed to Lyon in the beginning of September for a couple days. Is there any bar/store that you all recommend? We’d be interested in trying local/French beers as opposed to UK/US imports. Also, if anyone would like to meet up for the evening, please let us know. We’d love to check out your favorite haunt with you!

Cheers,

Tina

http://www.ratebeer.com/places/city/lyon/0/72/

Sounds like Le Palais de la Bière and Le Court Circuit might be your best bets for French beer specifically, as far as bars go.

Drink wine.

I haven’t been in Lyon in the last few years, back then "Le Diable Rouge" had a good selection (more Belgian than others), "Les Fleurs du Malt" (the shop) had less beers but more focused on the French ones.
It’s worth knowing that a few years ago there were much less interesting beers in France, so I expect that the availability improved a lot in the meantime.

For brewpubs, Ninkasi Ale House used to be a better choice; at "Brasserie Georges 1836" the beers are mediocre but the food is good, I had a tartare de boeuf. Les 3 Brasseurs is just a chain.

You can still find some local micros at supermarkets.
If you are into cider, I definitively recommend grabbing some cider from supermarkets, they are super cheap and some are very good; just steer away from the largest producers, such as Ecusson and Loïc Raison, and maybe also Reflets de France.
Supermarkets, honey shops, street markets and wine shops are good places where to find mead (hydromel). They sell it by the glass in creperies as well.
In some wine shop and upscale supermarket (although it was in Paris) I found some Ice Cider from Quebec (La Face Cachee de la Pomme usually).

You can also explore some online shop (check here for a few of them: http://www.ratebeer.com/MailOrder.asp) and get your order delivered at the hotel.



For food, I guess you already know about the bouchons.

We have no (active) RateBeerians in Lyon as far as I know. A shame but the language barrier is one to big for many French to join here. But that doesn’t mean the craft beer revolution isn’t going on in Lyon too. I haven’t been in Lyon myself for beer, but message Jaghana and he will probably know. Besides there places here in RateBeer of course, although our lack of local users means this might not be very accurate. Le Palais de la Bière looks misty interesting! As for brands to look out for, everything from brewers mentioned on the Availability page of La Cave a Bulles is notable. (Yes, I that’s in Paris but it gives a good idea of breweries from France that are worth your time.) Hope that helps!

Originally posted by craftycarl21
Drink wine.

Also, a friend of mine lives in The so I can ask her if you like for food type. She’s not much into beer though so probably no inside info there.

I was in Lyon just last weekend. Finding French beers on tap wasn’t easy. Top rated bars like Fleur du Malt Bar and Dikkenek have a international / Belgian heavy tap lists that won’t be that exciting to seasoned travelers.

Palais de la Biere was probably my favorite spot in the city. It had a nice assortment of French beer on tap served by exceedingly friendly staff.

As for bottles - Fleur du Malt’s shop had a nice selection of French beer. The shopkeeper really knew his stuff and spoke great English. Diable Rouge’s stock was almost exclusively limited to Belgian stuff.

Enjoy your trip! I really liked Lyon. Very pretty place with lots of great restaurants.

Originally posted by erickok
We have no (active) RateBeerians in Lyon as far as I know. A shame but the language barrier is one to big for many French to join here. But that doesn’t mean the craft beer revolution isn’t going on in Lyon too. I haven’t been in Lyon myself for beer, but message Jaghana and he will probably know. Besides there places here in RateBeer of course, although our lack of local users means this might not be very accurate. Le Palais de la Bière looks misty interesting! As for brands to look out for, everything from brewers mentioned on the Availability page of La Cave a Bulles is notable. (Yes, I that’s in Paris but it gives a good idea of breweries from France that are worth your time.) Hope that helps!

Originally posted by craftycarl21
Drink wine.

Wrong site.

Hi Tina, although I’m far from an expert I was in Lyon last year for a couple of days, looking back on my rates I had very few French beers, mostly Belgian and even an American or two.

The best place for beer in my opinion was the Dikkenek Cafe, which is the RB top-rated place in Lyon. Can’t remember too many French beers though, it’s overwhelmingly Belgian. Other places I went tended to either be similarly Belgo-centric (Les Berthom Lyon V, Le Palais de la Bière) or international craft-y (Les Fleurs du Malt).

There are a few Ninkasi burger restaurants in Lyon, they’re attached to the Ninkasi Fabriques brewery in nearby Tarare. The beer is so-so but if it’s French ticks you’re after, you’ll have luck here. Mind you Ninkasi beer is fairly widely available in Lyon.

Are you going anywhere else in France or just Lyon?

I was there in April. I found many local beers (for take away) in the "la chope de lug" store. My favorite bar was "Les Fleurs du Malt - le bar" (I didnt visit the "Le Palais de la Bière") and I liked also the atmosphere in "Dikkenek Café". A stop at one of the Ninkasi places to try their beers (not something special but they serve small glasses of 125ml so you can try some of them) wouldn’t be a bad choice while walking around the city.