Cider (cidre)
The table drink of Brittany, from the dry, tannic AOP Cornouaille to the sweet, light cidre doux. Brut with savoury food, doux with dessert.
When · Through the whole meal
The Breton cider guideGuide · Food and drink pairing
What to drink with Breton food: the pairing guide
Brut cider, cidre doux, chouchen, Muscadet, Breton beer. The golden rule is cider, from savoury to sweet. Here is which glass to pour with kig ha farz, galette-saucisse or kouign-amann.
- Cider · chouchen · Muscadet
- Savoury and sweet
With Breton food, drink Breton cider: dry brut cider with savoury dishes such as kig ha farz, galette-saucisse or Guémené andouille, sweet cider doux with kouign-amann and far breton, and chouchen, pommeau or lambig as an apéritif or a digestif. Ty Louis, a Breton restaurant at 240 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, between Bastille and Nation, pours Breton ciders and beers with its dishes and stocks the rest of the family in its own Breton grocery, so you can test these pairings at the table.
The golden rule
Cider from start to finish
In Brittany the drink of the meal is cider, and there are enough styles of it to carry a whole menu, from the apéritif to dessert. One rule to remember: brut cider with savoury, doux cider with sweet. Everything else is nuance.
Two words decide it on a French menu. Brut is dry, around 4 to 5%, sharp enough to cut through butter, smoked pork and buckwheat. Doux is sweet, around 2 to 3%, gentle enough to sit next to caramel. The stronger Breton drinks, chouchen, pommeau and lambig, belong to the two ends of the meal, before it or after it.
The pairing chart
Which glass with which dish
| Dish | What to drink | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kig ha farz | Dry brut cider (AOP Cornouaille) | The tannins and acidity of a brut cut through the richness of the slow-cooked meat and the buttery lipig sauce. |
| Galette-saucisse | Organic farm cider | A crisp, fruity farm cider answers the grilled sausage: the Rennes football-ground pairing, only better. |
| Seafood platter | Muscadet or dry brut cider | Muscadet, from the neighbouring Loire, or a dry, briny cider brings out the freshness of the shellfish. |
| Andouille and smoked charcuterie | Demi-sec cider | The roundness of a medium cider balances the smoke and salt of andouille de Guémené. |
| Buckwheat salad | Light brut cider or a Breton blonde beer | A dry, thirst-quenching drink leaves room for the toasted taste of the buckwheat. |
| Kouign-amann | Cidre doux or chouchen | The sweetness of a cidre doux, or of chouchen, goes along with the caramel without drowning it. |
| Far breton and Breton desserts | Cidre doux | A fine bubble and a gentle sweetness carry butter-rich desserts without weighing them down. |
| Apéritif | Chouchen or kir breton | Chouchen, the Breton mead, or a kir breton (cider with crème de cassis) opens the meal the Breton way. |
Rule of thumb: brut cider with savoury, doux cider with sweet.
These are the classic pairings of Breton cooking. Not every dish here is on our menu: see the full menu for what we serve this season.
Going further
Choosing your cider
Not all ciders are equal: between a tannic AOP Cornouaille and a light cidre doux, the pairing changes completely. Our cider guide explains the styles, the words on the label, and where to drink or buy them in Paris.
Breton cider guide Kig ha farz Galette-saucisse Kouign-amann
Breton drinks
The whole family, and when to drink each
Most Breton drinks start with an apple, a few with honey or grain. What changes is the strength, and with it the moment of the meal each one belongs to.
Chouchen
Fermented honey, sweet on the tongue and as strong as a wine. Its sweetness flattens a savoury dish, so it opens or closes the meal, in small glasses.
When · Apéritif or dessert, never mid-meal
What chouchen isPommeau de Bretagne
Two thirds fresh apple must, one third lambig, aged in oak. Amber and round, served cool with foie gras or on its own.
When · Before the meal
Lambig and pommeauLambig
Cider distilled then aged at least two years in oak, also called fine Bretagne: Brittany’s answer to calvados. A digestif, or a “trou breton” mid-meal.
When · After the meal
Lambig and pommeauBreton beer
Brittany relaunched craft brewing in France: Coreff, founded in Morlaix in 1985, was the country’s first microbrewery. An amber suits smoked charcuterie and stews, a blonde the galette-saucisse. At Ty Louis: Britt on draft and the GX range from the Île de Groix in bottles.
When · Apéritif, charcuterie, slow-cooked dishes
Breton whisky and liqueurs
Brittany distils single malts and a pure buckwheat whisky, plus liqueurs such as Plougastel strawberry and élixir d’Armorique. Digestifs, or a trickle of crème de cassis in cider for a kir breton.
When · After the meal
Bottle by bottle
From our shelves to our menu
Bottles from independent Breton makers on the shelves of our Breton grocery, each with the dish from our menu it suits best.
Cuvée Sarrasin
4%Kystin, Saint-Avé
Buckwheat in the glass, buckwheat on the plate: an all-buckwheat pairing.
GX Brute IPA
5.5%Brasserie GX · La Bière de Groix, Île de Groix
The hoppy bite cuts through the sausage and the hand-cut fries.
GX Poivre
6%Brasserie GX · La Bière de Groix, Île de Groix
The pepper in the beer lifts the smoke of the andouille. One for spice lovers.
With · The Guémené andouille tasting
Pommeau « Ker » Gilles Leizour
17%Gilles Leizour · Distillerie Warenghem, Tonquédec / Lannion
Served cool, pommeau goes with foie gras the way a sweet wine would.
With · The foie gras tatin, as an apéritif
Cuvée XVII
4%Kystin, Saint-Avé
The candied, woody notes of chestnut stand up to foie gras and to an aged cheese.
With · The foie gras tatin or the Breton cheese tasting
Glann ar Mor
46%Celtic Whisky Distillerie, Pleubian
The salty, sea-spray side of this whisky underlines Breton seafood.
With · The Maison Gonidec sardines
Cuvée Kaïa
Kystin, Saint-Avé
Cinnamon meets the butter and caramel of Breton desserts.
With · Kouign-amann or far breton
GX Noire
4%Brasserie GX · La Bière de Groix, Île de Groix
The coffee and roasted notes of the stout echo the chocolate and hold up to a strong cheese.
With · The cheese tasting or the molten chocolate cake
Lambig Gilles Leizour
40%Gilles Leizour · Distillerie Warenghem, Tonquédec / Lannion
At room temperature to close the meal, or as a “trou breton” halfway through, to revive the appetite.
With · After a kig ha farz
Eddu Silver
43%Distillerie des Menhirs, Plomelin
Buckwheat whisky after a buckwheat dish: the Breton loop, closed.
With · After a kig ha farz
Try it all in one evening
La Traversée bretonne
The easiest way to test these pairings is our set menu in four acts at 53 € per person, served at dinner. It opens with three ciders side by side, natural, chestnut and buckwheat, and ends with three Breton liqueurs alongside the dessert plate: fine de Bretagne, Plougastel strawberry liqueur and élixir d’Armorique. Ciders and liqueurs are included in the price. The glass of wine suggested with your main course is charged separately.
Ty Louis is a Breton restaurant, not a crêperie: the cider here goes with slow-cooked dishes, charcuterie, seafood and salted-butter desserts rather than galettes.
Good to know
Breton pairings: your questions
What should I drink with kig ha farz?
A dry brut cider, ideally AOP Cornouaille: its acidity and tannins balance the richness of the meat and the lipig sauce. A Breton amber beer works too. To finish, a lambig or a buckwheat whisky closes the meal. At Ty Louis, kig ha farz is the winter signature, served from October to May at 29,80 €.
What should I drink with a galette-saucisse?
An organic farm cider, crisp and fruity, is the classic. A Breton blonde beer or a hoppy IPA also works well against the grilled sausage. Our revisited galette-saucisse (17,80 €) pairs well with Kystin’s buckwheat cider, buckwheat with buckwheat.
What do you drink with kouign-amann or far breton?
A cidre doux: low in alcohol and sweet, it goes with caramel and butter without covering them. Chouchen is the stronger alternative.
Do people drink wine with Breton food?
Yes. Muscadet, from the Loire just next door, goes very well with seafood and fish. But the historic pairing, and the most distinctive, is cider, from savoury to sweet. In our tasting menu, the glass of wine suggested with the main course is the one drink charged on top of the menu price.
What is a kir breton?
An apéritif made with cider and crème de cassis, in place of the white wine of a classic kir. Light and fruity, it is the Breton way to open a meal. The Ty Louis grocery stocks Cassis de Lannion from Distillerie Warenghem if you want to make it at home.
What are the traditional drinks of Brittany?
Cider first, the table drink. Then chouchen, a honey mead at 14 to 16%; pommeau, an AOC apéritif of apple must and cider brandy; lambig, the AOC cider brandy; Breton craft beer; and, more recently, Breton whisky. Brittany never had a wine culture of its own, which is why cider holds the place wine takes elsewhere in France.
Can I drink chouchen with the main course?
It is better not to. Chouchen is sweet and strong, and with a savoury dish its sweetness flattens everything. Drink it cool as an apéritif, or at the end of the meal with foie gras, a salted-butter dessert or a kouign-amann.
Which Breton beers do you serve?
Independent Breton breweries: Britt, from Brasserie de Bretagne, on draft, and the GX range from the brewery on the Île de Groix in bottles (amber, stout, IPA, pepper, smoked). Enough to cover the menu from the apéritif to the cheese.
What is a good Breton digestif?
Lambig, the Breton cider brandy at about 40%, is the classic. Chouchen, Breton whisky or an herbal liqueur such as élixir d’Armorique also close a rich meal. In Brittany, a “trou breton” is a small glass of lambig taken halfway through a big meal.
Can I try several Breton drinks in one meal?
Yes, with La Traversée bretonne, our set menu in four acts at 53 € per person, served at dinner. It includes three ciders on arrival (natural, chestnut, buckwheat) and three Breton liqueurs with dessert (fine de Bretagne, Plougastel strawberry liqueur and élixir d’Armorique). Only the glass of wine with the main is extra.
Reservations
A Breton table in Paris 12
Tuesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner, non-stop service.
240 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, between Bastille and Nation.