French March beer

The first written mention of this style of beer dates back to 1394, in the archives of Arras , where this beer is likely to come from. After collecting the last barley crop in August, it is aged for about three months and beer is brewed in early winter (December-January), and then consumed in March. With the development of agriculture, this tradition is gradually dying. It was restored in 1980 at the initiative of the French Brewers Association. Currently, March beer is produced by about 300 French breweries with an annual production volume of about 60,000 hectoliters, which is about 1% of the country's beer market.

Traditionally, March beer appears on the market on March 1st. It is produced in limited quantities from various varieties of barley, which was sown last spring and harvested in summer, and cooked with the onset of winter in December – January. March beer is a top-fermented ale, amber-colored and low in alcohol (4.5–5.5% vol.). Unlike German March Martz beer , French March beer is slightly bitter and has a lower alcohol content, but can be darker (due to the addition of caramel or other dyes) and slightly spicy. Another important difference is that the German mayzen is a lager , while the French March beer is fermented with ale yeast and is ale.

These characteristics of the March beer are established by the Association of French Brewers. Some breweries prefer the name "spring beer" so as not to limit sales to one month a year.

Examples of trademarks: Météor de Mars, Jenlain de printemps, Ch'ti de printemps , l'Angelus de printemps, Pelforth de printemps .

• German March beer

• Bière de mars
• Bière de Printemps