Clara Berlioz, master brewer, in the “3 Brasseurs” establishment, on March 15, 2023 in Ecully, near Lyon (AFP / OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE)
She saw herself as a laboratory assistant in the agri-food industry, but the Lyonnaise Clara Berlioz “chance” drew up a career in beer. Master brewer at 25, she intends to impose herself in a profession that is much less masculine than it seems.
For the past two years, the young woman has been joining her colleagues from “3 Brasseurs” every morning in Ecully, near Lyon, an establishment of an eponymous chain of microbreweries, where she makes the popular “binouze” in imposing vats. Not far from the zinc and in full view.
She owes her vocation “to chance”, she told AFP. In a BTS specializing in quality control in the food industry, “about six years ago, I needed an internship and my mother, then a waitress not far from here, suggested that I apply for the brewery,” she recalls.
“The passion” for the profession was passed on to her by her trainer when she “didn’t really know anything about it” about beers. Barely if she “drank a little”, she admits.
With a master’s degree in fermentation processes in hand, she launched herself into the job market.
Clara Berlioz, master brewer, in the “3 Brasseurs” establishment, on March 15, 2023 in Ecully, near Lyon (AFP / OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE)
Blonde, amber, white, IPA or even triple beers hold no secrets for the young professional, who proudly displays the word “brewer” on the back of her polo shirt.
“When I became a master brewer, among my relatives who did not know it yet, there were first smiles of astonishment and then immediately benevolence”, recalls the Lyonnaise when her parents are not not from the seraglio with a service technician father and a switchboard operator mother. “It’s not something we recommend when you start when you’re little,” she adds, with a smirk.
– France, European champion of breweries –
She says she was “very well received” in the community, both by her male colleagues, “happy to have a few more girls” in the business, and by the customers of her microbrewery, “a little surprised” to find her behind the vats in its early days.
Clara Berlioz, master brewer, in the “3 Brasseurs” establishment, on March 15, 2023 in Ecully, near Lyon (AFP / OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE)
From the selection of the raw material (barley, hops) to the storage of the beer, including the mixing of malt and water with a fork – a large wooden shovel with a hole in the middle -, the heating then the cooling the mixture until it is flavored with hops, nothing escapes his control, with the help of an assistant in the manufacturing process.
“It may be + girly + (Editor’s note: girl) but I can add rosebuds to my beers, pepper, this kind of spices”, confides this lover of aromas who likes to give free rein to her creativity in their preparations.
“We actually love beer just as much as men! We will therefore naturally tend to do this job more and more!”, confides the professional, while the presence of women in the profession has been affirmed these last years.
Some 40% of brewery executives are women, including master brewers: a figure on the rise, particularly with the boom in the sector where “since 2018, a microbrewery has been opening every day” in the country, the country told AFP. professional union Brewers of France.
CAP, DUT in two years, biological engineering, BTS piloting of processes or professional baccalaureate in three years, the gateways are numerous for the brewing professions.
Clara Berlioz, master brewer, in the “3 Brasseurs” establishment, on March 15, 2023 in Ecully, near Lyon (AFP / OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE)
With 2,500 establishments registered to date, France is the leading European country in number of breweries, activities related to the brewing sector representing nearly 130,000 direct jobs for a total turnover of 15 billion euros.
With 386 breweries, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the first region in number of beer production sites ahead of Occitanie (269), according to the union.
Enough to give wings to Clara Berlioz who, in the long term, would like to “manage everything from A to Z and have (s) her own brand”.
Until then, she intends to “perfect” her beers. The smile on the lips, the passion pegged to the body.
© 2023 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends with the buttons below.
