Pioneers, the Étienne couple excel with their craft beers made in Saint-Gervais

Marc et Cathy Etienne, à côté d’un de leur dernier investissement, une machine pour laver et stériliser les fûts. Leurs bières (en tout six recettes différentes), La Gervoise, ont reçu les plus hautes distinctions. Midi Libre – C. C.

Gervoise is the result of a long work and an old-fashioned process. Marc and Cathy Etienne have adapted methods from the end of the 19th century and produce a small quantity of a beer for keeping. They organize summer evenings on Saturdays and offer guided tours of their brewery.

They have been making an old-fashioned beer for over thirty years, and their passion is intact! Cathy and Marc Étienne were hooked in 1989… “At the time, there was no internet and no tutorials. We learned at the Eurobière fair in Strasbourg where we met the curator of the Stenay beer museum who had incredible knowledge. He found us a recipe book from the end of the 19th century. The techniques were adapted. We learned to brew by visiting each other's homes, there were about ten of us small brewers in France at the time”, summarizes the couple.

Precursors, well before the great wave of craft breweries that has swept the country since, they built everything, stone by stone, step by step, “with our own funds. At the time, the banks did not follow us,while continuing their professional activity: Cathy worked as a medical secretary until 2017, Marc in industrial welding and boilermaking until two years ago. The company, Brasserie Étienne, was born in 2015 in Saint-Gervais. Their nectar is called La Gervoise.

"Small gestures to brewing"

When the production stages require it, the two brewers are on “coal day and night”.
"We put our hearts into it, so we put in the time", shares Cathy. "We make a real beer for aging, a hundred-day process. We are not chasing profitability", specifies Marc, knowledgeable about this entire manufacturing process. The couple applies itself to de "small gestures when brewing, to respecting three temperature levels while most brewers only do one. And for refining, we respect a true 0°C." A precise work, from start to finish.

First step: crushing the grains. “Our sword of Damocles is the germs.” The grains (special malts from Belgium, Ardèche and German malts) must be crushed. The couple had bought a century-old flour mill… Marc explains simply and precisely the biochemical process, the enzymes, the molecular chain of starches "very complex", then the brewing and filtration ("the separation of grains and wort"). Then, "we go down to the cooling room for fermentation".

Medal winners every year in the most prestigious competitions

Deliveries, production, kegging, "there is a lot of work, and a lot of pleasure".
The couple “loves to entertain and please. We have great encounters”, the place is open for visits, tastings and can be privatized for events.
Their beverages (six different beers) have received the highest distinctions from their peers. Every year since 2018, they have won a gold or Grand Gold medal at the Frankfurt International Trophy. The judges are the appearance, the intensity of the aromas, the texture… Brasserie Étienne excels ! Another competition among the most prestigious, the Brussels beer challenge where they have also been honored several times. Their small production finds buyers in restaurants in the area, in delicatessens, in direct sales&hellip “We are running on a tight schedule.”

A pop rock evening on Saturday 17 August and aperitif visits by reservation

On 3 August, more than 70 people enjoyed a meal prepared by a caterer, and there were about a hundred on the dance floor, “a great evening”. The managers of the Brasserie Etienne announce their fourth and final summer evening “pop rock” with the concert of Ater Egaux, and a meal by reservation (06 62 88 03 71) Saturday August 17 (8 p.m.). Surrounded by trees, the brewery site overlooking the Cèze valley is very pleasant, with its terrace and large glass roof. “It's magic", says a Bagnolais who has come to taste a beer. Customers can come and taste, discover, buy directly, from Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. By reservation, aperitif tour of the brewery. The Etienne couple takes great pleasure in telling their passion… "We take our time, we smell, we taste the raw materials, we taste in the vat…"