The medieval fortress city of Laon, between Saint-Quentin and Reims, makes a welcome stop off en route to Champagne – its elevated position, dominated by Cathédrale Notre-Dame silhouetted against the hill, won’t fail to catch your eye as you speed down my favourite French motorway – the A26 Autoroute des Anglais. The French don’t name many things after us Brits (at least none that can be repeated here) but we’ll take what we can. Park your car close to one of the hallowed turreted city gates, Porte D’Ardon, and amble on up. One of the first things you’ll notice as you catch your breath, aside from the quaint, umbrella-canopied cobbled streets, is what appears at first sight to be quite an unassuming community-centre type building. But venture inside Brasserie de la Montagne Couronnée and craft beer enthusiasts, in particular, won’t be disappointed.
Owner Stéphane Lobjois, who opened the tap room during lockdown, even drove all the way from Laon to Peebles in the Scottish Borders to secure microbrewing kit formerly used by Campbell’s Brewery in order to produce everything on site. That’s dedication for you. While its interiors won’t win design accolades anytime soon – think grungy ’90s Shoreditch spit and sawdust minus the wood shavings – ‘BMC, as we’re affectionately known,’ says Lobjois, ‘has a brewing capacity of 1,000 litres, offering seven craft beers brewed with patience, effort and love.’ All of which await your delectation in the heart of the city where punters quaff freshly pulled bières pressions – from La Gargouille Impudique, Grimpette blonde and 1112 amber to Adieu Berthe wheat beer and fruity little number Dame Eve Cassis as well as La Marquette IPA and Caribert stout – alongside plates piled high with potent-smelling fromages and charcuterie. ‘We are committed to brewing our beers in an artisanal manner,’ that is to say, relying on the elbow grease of the brewer, with minimal chemical intervention to allow the hop and malt flavours to truly express themselves.
But it’s not just about the beer, there’s a real emphasis on sustainability and minimising the brewery’s carbon footprint. ‘Our main aim is to showcase a range of local, artisanally made products in the pub in order to develop local consumption – whether that be lemonade, coffee, champagne or local cheeses. For instance, we have reinstated the deposit on all our bottles and intend to sell our products as locally as possible, so you won’t find them in London or Paris.’ Further initiatives include the sourcing of BMC beer bottles from Vauxrot (near Soissons), just 30km from Laon, hops from Alsace and malt sourced from Aire-sur-la-Lys.
A somewhat unusual legend surrounds the microbrewery: it states that monks from the congregation of the Bienheureux Moines Coronatus(Blessed Coronatus Monks), entered the original building where the brewery now resides, to leave their recipe for an ancestral beer. While the mystery remains unsolved, a special saison brew to mark the occasion has recently been launched. Step forward 6.5% Abbé Gonna. But everything in moderation, as they say; stay sober enough to savour the Gothic magnificence of Laon’s cathedral just around the corner.
1 rue Georges Ermant, 02000 Laon, France; brasserie-bmc.fr
Lee Osborne is creative director of Secret Trips
