Pelforth

Pelforth was established in 1914 in northern France and was originally called Pelican – a brand image that still features to this day. The new name derives from a bit of Pelican ‘Pel’; a lot of French character ‘forte’ and finishing with a typically English ‘th’.

The traditional ‘Bière de Garde’ (‘Beer to Keep’) from this region are top fermented ales with notable malt character, fruity, spicy notes and medium to high alcohol. The brewery became renowned for this style of dark beer, Pelforth 43: the ‘43’ referring to the 43kg of malt used in each mash. First brewed in 1937 and using an English top fermenting yeast (as opposed to bottom fermenting lager yeast) this was, and still is, France’s number one dark beer.

Brewing was halted during the Second World War and restarted in 1950. In 1963 ‘Pale’ was created and in 1991 this and the ‘43’ beer were rebranded Blonde and Brune. Pelforth now produce twenty two different beers, including seasonal ones, but are still best known for their Blonde and Brune.