Northmæn (Brasserie la Chapelle)
Microbrewery in La Chapelle-Saint-Ouen, Normandie, France 🇫🇷
Established in 1997
Contact
Description
It was in the spring of 1997 that Dominique Camus, a chemical technician better known by the nickname Léo, moved with his family to La Chapelle Saint-Ouen. A few months later, Northmæn craft beer was born!
During the first years, the production is done in two, in an old barn of 200 m², with milk tanks, where 700 liters of beer came out every day. In the meantime, the young brewer buys up to 30 hectares of land to grow his own barley, and effectively becomes a farmer. Likewise, the brewery becomes a farm-brewery. The first Norman whiskey, named Thor Boyo, was released Christmas 2002.
Subsequently, to meet the exponential demand for beer (and soon for whiskey), a new 1500 m² building was built in summer 2004. This brewery is constantly evolving, with a current area of nearly 2,000 m², from which 4,000 liters of beer (4,500 hectoliters per year) come out daily.
A new cellar is being built to increase the production of whiskey, and a distillery is in the pipeline to free the brewery and thus allow the production of beer to be doubled, as well as to offer a 100% organic range in the short term.
During the first years, the production is done in two, in an old barn of 200 m², with milk tanks, where 700 liters of beer came out every day. In the meantime, the young brewer buys up to 30 hectares of land to grow his own barley, and effectively becomes a farmer. Likewise, the brewery becomes a farm-brewery. The first Norman whiskey, named Thor Boyo, was released Christmas 2002.
Subsequently, to meet the exponential demand for beer (and soon for whiskey), a new 1500 m² building was built in summer 2004. This brewery is constantly evolving, with a current area of nearly 2,000 m², from which 4,000 liters of beer (4,500 hectoliters per year) come out daily.
A new cellar is being built to increase the production of whiskey, and a distillery is in the pipeline to free the brewery and thus allow the production of beer to be doubled, as well as to offer a 100% organic range in the short term.
4.9/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 4.5
A hazy orange beer with a disappearing white head. The aroma is sweet with primary notes of grapes. The flavor is also sweet, but with primary notes of wheat.
Tried
on 03 Apr 2005
at 04:23
7.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
An opaque brown beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet roasted with notes chocolate. The flavor is sweet of roasted malt and chocolate.
Tried
on 02 Apr 2005
at 13:37
5.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 5
Very fluffy white head, upheld by high carbonation in hazy beer, colour of unripe peach. End of bottle nearly solid flunk. Coriander & faint citrus, textbook, an a light salty (iodium?) whiff. Very high coriander level, getting the beer soupy, little citrus. Sweetness underneath, even a bit liquorice-like. Wheat acidity comes out stronger warming up. Wheat slickness, light to medium bodied, carbonation makes it nearly fizzy. A weak-tasting, flunky Hoegaarden made in Normandy. I utterly fail to see the point. How many in Leuven are making Camembert?
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Mar 2005
at 05:03
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Slight funky, very carbonated red-brown beer, under irregular yellow-amberish fine & dense head. Chalk, perfumed, roasted malts, faint dry - hoppy nose. Coloured, roasted & ambrée malts, sweet cookies, with a faint bitterish hoppy background, and a dry spicey finish. Rather aggressive roasted/burnt MF at first. Once one is used to this, one perceives a rather well-bodied beer with grist slickness. Not bad at all. Surprisingly well-bodied and a good balance. Given 7% ABV, I’d even qualify it as dangerously drinkable. Thanks, Marcus.
Tried
on 10 Mar 2005
at 14:16
7.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Brown-black beer, slight reddish shine; with greige creamy head, quite stable. Chocolate & dark grains, cigar ash in the nose. Again a very tobacco/ashes taste, heavy tobacco flavour and dark chocolage. Not overly bitter however; deep down even some malty sweetness, certainly retronasal. Some saltiness in the finish, and very faint hops. Medium bodied, quite dry. Good brown, stout-like, not very dense, but natural tasting, nice. Merci, MarcusM!
Tried
on 09 Mar 2005
at 10:17
6.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottled. Pale amber colour, almost clear. Aroma of honey and minerals. Sweet and medium bodied, notes of cognac as well as grass and yeast.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2005
at 09:50
5.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottled. Hazy golden. Yeasty, flowery aroma. Fruity and medium bodied with moderate chestnut character. Low-medium bitterness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2005
at 09:46
5.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
An unclear orange beer with a collapsing white head. The aroma is yeasty and citric notes. The flavor is sweet and very hoppy almost like hop dust, but also with notes of yeast and oranges.
Tried
on 15 Feb 2005
at 16:59
5.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Cloudy light blond beer. Yeasty and dry aroma, light malt and old hops, lightly metallic. Ordinary beer.
Tried
on 15 Feb 2005
at 03:53
5.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Hazy blond beer. Yeasty and hoppy aroma, rough. Very yeasty beer, a bit malty, quite strong bitterness (astringent), not bad but… rough.
Tried
on 15 Feb 2005
at 03:51