Auvergne has never been known for its beer, but in recent years, dozens of craft breweries have popped up across the region, each with its own approach to the art and science of craft brewing. Passionate, artisanal-minded, and fiercely independent, these breweries are providing some much-needed disruption to the beer industry, offering their customers unique ways to explore Auvergne’s nascent beer culture. Situated in Mur-sur-Allier, the family-owned Brasserie BILLD is part of this Auvergnat craft-brewing wave. I caught up with BILLD’s Lucas Dutheil to learn more about the brand’s history.
A.D. Manns: Could you tell us more about BILLD’s origins? When and why did you start brewing beer? What do you love most about it?
Lucas Dutheil: BILLD is an Acronym of Beer( Bière), Ingrid (the founder’s wife), Lucas (me, the son) Laurent (the founder), and Dutheil (our last name). The story of our brewery starts in 2016. I was watching a documentary about Quebec. We are passionate about travelling; we’ve travelled a lot around the world. So I told to my parents to watch this documentary. And in it they were making beer in their kitchen.
My father (who doesn’t like wine) said: “If it’s so simple to make beer, why not try it?” So in December 2016 he did an internship in Paris to learn brewing. Then he bought some kegs, a 20-litre tank, and a book to learn more. Initially, he made some very good beers but also some bad ones. His colleague loved the beer and asked him to sell him some bottles. My father went on to create BILLD in June 2017.
We grew in 2018, so we moved from the garage to the workshop behind our house. We had a 500-litre tank at the time. The 80m² space became too small and we started looking for something else. Eventually we found a spot and built the warehouse in 2020. We also bought 2,000-litre vat. Now we have a 2,000-litre brewing room with a fermenter capacity of 26,000 litres and and additional 700m² for the office, brewing room, storage, and brewpub/taproom.
What I like the most is the spirit of beer-making. It’s a very difficult market but the spirit is more unconventional than other businesses.
AM: What’s the story behind the artwork on the beer labels?
LD: Like I said, We travel a lot. We’ve taken a lot of pictures. We put on them on some drawing filters. The new design integrates the localisation code near the barcode.
AM: How many types of beers do you currently produce? Which ones are your favourites?
LD: We’ve got six beers all the year, but we make a lot of seasonal ones. In general, we’ve got around twenty beers at the same time. I like sour beer the most — or any others that have fruit.
AM: Does BILLD also offer beer tastings?
LD: Yes! At the brewpub, you can drink a beer (we’ve got 10 on tap) and have Auvergne saucisson (cured sausage). Outside, there’s a beautiful view of the Chaîne des Puys.
AM: What in your view is the best part about living and working in Auvergne?
LD: I think Auvergne is the best place to live, the view is beautiful and the mountains aren’t too huge or too flat. The weather is also better than what you find in Paris but not too much like in the South of France.
For more information on Brasserie BILLD — click the logo below!
