I am considering retiring in Southern France and would like to know what’s available in homebrew supply? There doesn’t appear to be much available.
Wish I had your problem. If you can afford to retire in the south of France, ordering from Brouland should not affect your pocket book.
A great place to retire if you can afford it. But for homebrewing, there is very little available in France, I’ve looked. Best thing you can do is mail order. Brouwland in Belgium is probably the biggest supplier for homebrewing on the continent, and they ship everywhere. Check them out.
You don’t need to be rich to retire in France. No need for a car or health insurance. Sure can cut costs. Thanks for pointing me to Brouwland!
You don’t need to be rich to retire in France. No need for a car or health insurance. Sure can cut costs. Thanks for pointing me to Brouwland![/quote]
Good points. Funny how it sometimes takes someone else to point it out. Cost of living in France is reasonable compared to most of Europe (a lot cheaper than in Scandinavia). But good luck dealing with the French bureaucracy. I have a friend who wanted to move to Paris for work, and it took him over a year to wade through the process to get his visa, despite the fact he was already an EU resident that supposedly enjoyed freedom of movement within the EU.
Are you going to get your feet dirty making wine when you move there? Can’t think of a better place to get quality grapes.
Good wine is too cheap in France to waste my time. Good beer is another thing entirely. Southern France is a beer wasteland. I want to continue brewing American West Coast style IPAs which are not available to buy there.
Moving there to retire is also easier than if you are relocating for employment. They only want to tax your pension (assuming it meets their minimum standard) and you are all good. Total taxes are not much more than here in Massachusetts, but cover comprehensive health care. I am also deathly afraid of having to drive when over 75. My dad has totaled three cars in the past five years, yet still insists on driving.
Hi Greymane,
I know this is very late, but I, too, have moved to France and find the availability of homebrew supplies very disappointing. Brouwland in Belgium has a very good range, but they are expensive and they won’t mill your malt for you. Having said that, I know many American brewers like Weyermann products and they do stock this malt, but so do others. The other two you might try are Rolling Beer and Saveur Biere.com . I have tried both, they’re ok, but not really homebrew specialists. I recommend you and any other brewers living in France check out themaltmiller.co.uk . They have a full range of everything you could possibly need, you can talk to the staff for advice and their delivery to France is cheaper than any of the three suppliers I mentioned above- and much quicker. Prices are quoted in GBP and in euros. It’s not all 2-row British malt either. While I use a lot of this,being a Brit, I get a lot of my malt from Best Malz (Heidelberg) or Weyermann, via the Malt Miller, more cheaply and more quickly than I can get it from Brouwland.
Hope this helps
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Yeah brauwland belguim. Or brauwmarkt nederland. They do ship outside. Holland as well i do order. Once a while from them. They do ship to bonaire bes islands. So france should be no prop
