“15 years ago, we wanted to taste all the brewing universes, but today, 80% of craft beer lovers are wondering which IPA to choose. And since the function of a brewery is to sell beer, you have to satisfy the customer by being relevant in the market. This is the lucid observation made by Martin L’Allier before launching Ministère, a brand new brand of beers entirely devoted to very juicy IPAs, set up by the MonsRegius team.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
According to its co-founder, MonsRegius was underperforming in the now-essential niche of dry-hopped IPAs. “We have IPAs that work well, our Extra Brut and our Vinifera series, for example, but we penalize ourselves by releasing something other than trendy IPAs,” admits Martin L’Allier frankly. I would like to make lagers, but it takes so long to sell… In my opinion, the great wave of conversion to IPAs is over, and I personally admit that I too have come to appreciate this type of beer a lot. »
Ministry therefore launched its Initial Declaration (IPA Sabro, Citra and El Dorado) and its Youth Policy (double IPA Azacca, Citra and Mosaic), a few weeks ago, after which Citizen Participation (IPA Simcoe and Mosaic) and Space Exploration (IPA Galaxy, Eclipse and Comet).
another vehicle
Why choose a vehicle other than that of MonsRegius, when the Montarvillois brewery has been well established since 2015? “Today there are so many products on the shelves that merchants no longer know what’s in the cans,” says Martin L’Allier. The store advisor, when there is one, talks about what he knows. By having a product dedicated to a particular brewing universe, it’s easier for everyone to find their way around. »
Impossible to go wrong when opening a colorful can of Ministère, the flavors of exotic fruits exult, it will always be double hopped IPA. “It’s another brand of beer, with its very precise and defined universe, but with creative latitude, explains the brewer. It’s fruity and friendly, but we still want to think outside the box when it comes to hops. »
We also plan to use basic recipes and different yeasts from what we use at MonsRegius, we are even working on new sketches of musts. So it’s the same team, the same equipment, in different languages, in a parallel universe.
Martin L’Allier, co-owner of the MonsRegius brewery
PHOTO CAROLINE PERRON, PROVIDED BY MONSREGIUS MICROBREWERY
The Initial Declaration and the Youth Policy are the first two beers launched under the Ministère brand.
Exploded design
It is also the same designer, because Martin L’Allier was a graphic designer before becoming a brewer. As at MonsRegius, we therefore find at Ministère a visual style that stands out with an advantageously neat and easily recognizable signature.
“When I was a designer, I always wanted to create brand names,” says Mr. L’Allier. In the brewing world, the cliché has often been to name the brewery according to the place where it is located, or to allude to local folklore, but we are moving further and further away from these styles. So I chose to dig into the government thesaurus to find the names of my beers. »
As for the images and the eclectic graphics that illustrate the cans, we do not systematically try to make a link with the name of the beer, even if Martin L’Allier invites amateurs to find what can sometimes hide behind the visual invoice of the labels he imagines. “I do this in an intuitive and artistic way, but I also want to allow myself to be a little subversive on occasion, to short-circuit the official version of the ministry by leaving certain questions floating around. »
The brewers also leave a certain artistic vagueness as to what will happen next; however, there is no question of stripping MonsRegius to dress the Ministry, tenders have already been made for the purchase of new brewing vats if the need ever arises. For now, each brew is unique, distributed in a few specialized retailers in a hundred cases of 24 cans. “But we will adapt according to reality, assures Martin L’Allier. As we are in our infancy, there may be recurring products. I’m actually hoping that one or two products can establish themselves in the long run, but that’s hard to achieve in today’s market. People drink for fun, they try new brews, new brands. It’s a bit like in music, in fact, you don’t listen to the same song again for a long time. »