Michel Roux Jr. crowns ‘Roux brew’ winner

A beer brewed by a fledgling south London brewery has won the title of “Roux brew” and will be served at the Michelin-starred restaurants of chef Michel Roux Jr.

Michel Roux Jnr

Fourpure brewery, based in south Bermondsey and founded in October, took home the title for its 5.6% Belgian Ale overseen by head brewer, John Driebergen. The Roux Brew competition, organised by the London Brewer’s Alliance, saw 12 London breweries battle it our for the title of “Roux brew” and to be served as a special “house” beer paired with seasonal summertime food at the Michelin 2 starred Le Gavroche, Roux at Parliament Square and the Landau restaurants.

Five finalists were selected which included beers from Fourpure, Brew by Numbers, By the Horns, Hackney and Windsor & Eton, with the winner announced at an event on Friday. Michel Roux Jnr said it was clear early on that Fourpure had brewed something “very special”.

He said: The freshness of the grapefruit and orange zest and coriander seed really stood out  – this is a beer that has a sing about it , and we feel it will partner perfectly with the flavours of our summer menu”.

John Driebergen, head brewer, with his partner, Josie Evans, sales manager at the brewery.

At the event Michel Roux Jnr spoke of the importance of sommeliers understanding how to pair food with beer emphasising that it should be as much of a priority as pairing food with wines. The winning brew featured hand-zested fresh pink grapefruit zest, fresh Sicilian Navelina orange zest and coriander seed.

John Driebergen, head brewer at Fourpure, said: “The beer is unfiltered and un-fined. “As an unfiltered beer it will bottle condition, but yeast is not re-pitched and no sugar or malt extract is added to prime this. “Carbonation is achieved during the fermentation and trimmed in the brewhouse conditioning phase.”

Le Gavroche now has a beer list featuring 17 beers specifically chosen to pair with its food with Michel Roux Jnr keen to further expand that choice throughout his restaurants.