1996

One evening, the owner of the winery I’m working for takes me along to a party held in a brewery out in the sticks.  There are vats, pipes and tables everywhere, a totally laid back, cheerful atmosphere, no fuss! It is an unforgettable culture shock for a youngster like me.  Suffice to say I often went back there during my stay in Portland…

2008

Time has passed, our business is doing excellently: wine retailer and merchant, seeker of rare wines, luxury concierge service… We have a well-established team, so this allows my dream of making my own beer to creep back into my mind again, but this time the idea is firmly set and long lasting.  A fortunate coincidence occurs: at Rochelle University, in the biochemistry department, a very first “South-West beer brewer” training course is launched!  This godsend turns out to be a marvellous experience for me, validated at the end by a lovely, official diploma.  So here I am: a bona fide beer brewer at last!

2016

This beer has flowed in my veins for all these years; I have its taste in my mouth, its delicately bitter flavour, its extremely fine head… My beer will be different to others or not at all!  Now I’m in search of a brewer who will understand me and finally make my dream become a reality.

2018

Orbaie really exists now; it’s a lager and organic too!  If you are reading these few lines, it means the first sip of this beer I dreamed about for so long has already been poured into your glass…  To taste Orbaie and love it is as though a very small part of me has slipped inside of you.

1995

I am in charge of a property based in Cognac, but one fine day I decide to venture abroad to learn English.  I am 26 years old and for a young man like me, the United States is a nirvana!  While most wine professionals are dashing off to California, I choose Oregon and turn up in Portland, capital city of Hipsters, but back then nobody in France had even heard of that word!

1998

Passionate about wine, I set up a company called Vignobles & Châteaux in Saint-Emilion with my wife Karine.  We put our heart and soul into this business which develops rapidly.  I often think back to Portland and to the promise I made myself: “One day, you’ll make your own beer”… Over the years, I made a few attempts, but nothing really fully accomplished (some of you may remember "Parallèle 45", which was a first version).  These little reminders rekindled my interest and that was already a good thing.

2015

I need to find a name for this beer.  Signs of fate perhaps, but both cities are situated on the earth’s 45th line of latitude, they both stand facing a bay on a Western coast; there is a vast sand dune to the south of Portland and the Pyla dune to the west of Bordeaux; pine forests surround both cities and their names each contain the same syllable, “or”, which also calls to mind (in French) the beer’s golden colour.  So, the name I choose for my beer is ORBAIE.

2017

I have found my partner brewer; he’s called Fabrice Rivière and he’s based in Le Bouscat.  Fabrice and I are alike, passion is our driving force.  When he speaks about beer, he talks about yeast selection, length of time for fermentation, lees for maturation… everything reminds me of wine.  Like the cities of Bordeaux and Portland, Fabrice and I are on the same latitude!

2019

A new Orbaie will be made, a new dream for a new adventure, a fine beer determined to be absolutely different…

Elaborated and bottled by

Brasserie Artisanale Mascaret

33110 Le Bouscat

for

Tant Qu’il y aura des Vins

4 rue du Clocher

33330 Saint-Émilion

contact@biere-orbaie.fr