PROFILES

Once upon a time there was a microbrewery in Saint-Martin-de-Vésubie, in the mountainous region of Haut Pays niçois near Nice. Word of the brewery began to spread as its vats produced wildly popular organic craft beers brewed with pristine spring water. But on 2 October 2020, Storm Alex hit. The Brasserie du Comté brewery was swept away by the raging waters of the Boréon. There was nothing left. Only the men and women who had escaped the worst. And their unwavering desire to rebuild the brewery in their mountains. Shaken but united, the team rallied around the three partners, Laurent Fredj, Edwards and Sandrine Dilly: “48 hours later, we knew the story was not going to end there. We instantly started looking for solutions to restart,” says Edwards Dilly, who joined the brewery in 2018 as sales and communications manager, after a 14-year career at NRJ Global Régions advertising. The 48-year-old former rugby player, nicknamed “Captain Courage”, is not the type of person to give up, “especially with a team that will follow you”. There was an immediate show of solidarity – from other brewers, customers, media and local authorities. “The Brasserie des Ligures in Peille and the Blue Coast brewery in Nice Saint-Isidore took us under their wing. Six weeks later we were producing an interim beer, Mounta Cala, which means “Going up and coming down” in Niçois, a nod to all the trips we took back and forth from the coast to the mountains.” Construction began on the new brewery. “It was crucial for us to rebuild a business in the village that was even better than before! We intend to make all our beers again, and plan to launch a 100% Riviera range, lines of soft drinks (lemonade) and spirits (whisky, gin etc.), and a Beer Truck for events, the Estafresca, that’s already very popular. Another project is to become a brewery training centre leading to a qualification.” Edwards is looking forward to the opening with typical enthusiasm: “We’ll have weathered the storm, and we’ll be throwing a big party for everyone to celebrate, a bit like in Astérix et Obélix.” Word – from the die-hard brewers!

Par Christine Mahé