Jeremy has the honor of presenting our final oral report. He has driven with his host father Monsieur de Petiville out to Les Clouzeaux, a small village several kilometers inland to visit one of Vendée's only two breweries. The owner, Monsieur Chrisian Plain, has taught Jeremy a lot about the art of the brewmaster. The basics are quite simple, however. All beer is made from three main ingredients: water, grain, yeast. Most beers also have hops, a bitter flower that cuts the natural sweetness of the sugars from the grain. By far the most prevalent grain used in beer is barley, but M. Plain has a special secret. In addition to a base of 80% barley, he adds 20% millet to his grain input. The word for "millet" in French is, you guessed it, "millet." This is the most common grain in Vendée and the patois has a special name for it: "meuille." The the name of Monsieur Plain's beer: l'Epi d'Meuille.
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This page last updated on 6/28/2003 2:32:03 AM.