Paris Beer Week & Paris Beer Festival 2025: The Ultimate Guide for Craft Lovers

Crack open a proper pint, because Paris Beer Week 2025 isn’t just for bearded brewers and Instagram IPA nerds. It’s for anyone who gives a damn about good beer. This is the 8th year I’ve been involved—part guide, part glass-runner, part behind-the-scenes volunteer—and trust me, it’s still one of the best grassroots beer festivals in Europe. Built by beer lovers, run by volunteers, and poured across Paris in every possible corner of the city, it’s a celebration of craft that actually means something. Here’s your chef’s-eye view of what to drink, where to go, and how to sip like you belong.

👉 Want more beer tips? Start with our Survival Guide for Beer Geeks in France and discover what makes the French craft beer world tick.

What is Paris Beer Week?

Paris Beer Week is a grassroots celebration of independent beer. Bars, breweries, and bottle shops across the city host tastings, tap takeovers, meet-the-brewer nights, beer pairings, brewing workshops, and more. It usually takes place in May, with dozens of events spread across the city’s arrondissements.

The week culminates in the Paris Beer Festival—the Grand Finale—where brewers from France and beyond pour their best pints, compete for awards, and mingle with fans.

Why This Festival Matters

French beer used to be a sorry afterthought—but not anymore. The craft scene has exploded over the last decade, and Paris Beer Week has been at the heart of that movement. Think of it as the city’s annual coming-of-age party for beer nerds, brewers, and curious drinkers alike.

I’ve been to the festival multiple times, both as a punter and behind the scenes as a volunteer. In fact, it was a visit to Paris Beer Week with my wife (before we were even married) that convinced me I could live here without missing my craft beer fix too much. The passion, the community, and the quality—it’s the real deal.

👉 Curious where to go year-round? Check out our Best Breweries in Paris for a local’s take on the scene.

What to Expect in 2025

While full details are still to be confirmed, here’s what we know and expect based on previous years:

• Dates: 19th – 25th of May 2025
• Main Venue: The Grand Finale takes place at Ground Control
• Participants: 60+ breweries from France and Europe
• Tickets: Entry to the Grand Finale is just 7€ (book here). You then purchase “jutons” (tokens) for 2€ each, which you trade for tastings.
• Fringe Events: Expect tap takeovers, live music, brewery tours, special bottle releases, food pairings, collab brews, and homebrew competitions. The whole of Paris’s craft beer village is buzzing!

At the Grande Finale, beers are served in small tasting sizes, which means even with 8–10 jutons between friends, you can sample a wide variety. If you’ve got a big thirst and the gift of the gab with brewers (like me), budget around 40€ for tokens to get a full experience.

Paris Craft Beer Festival 2025: Who’s Pouring?

A Taste of France (and Beyond)

One of the best parts of the Paris Beer Festival is the sheer range of breweries you can sample. This isn’t just a Parisian party—it’s a showcase of the best from all over France, plus a few international gems thrown in for good measure.

Some highlights to look out for in 2025:

• Paris Classics like Brasserie de l’Être, Fauve, and Brasserie du Grand Paris—reliable, innovative, and beloved for a reason.
• Regional standouts from Toulouse and Biarritz, bringing coastal vibes and southern flair to the capital.
• International guests, too—was that a brewery from Lisbon on the list? Oui, très cool.

👉 Love these names? Explore more in our Best Craft Beer Bars in Paris guide.

There are over 60 brewers attending, so you can either pace yourself or fully embrace the beer geek pilgrimage. Check out the full lineup here.

Highlights to Look Out For

• The Grand Finale: Two full days of tastings and talks
• Women in Beer events and diversity-focused panels
• Collaboration releases from Paris breweries like BAPBAP, Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or, and Deck & Donohue
• Beer and Cheese pairings (because we’re still in France, after all)

How to Make the Most of It

• Join the association; for just €15 a year you can get discounts all over paris and exclusive year round events for beer lovers.
• Follow the map. Events happen all over Paris—use the official program to plan your hops.
• Buy festival glassware early. They often sell out.
• Talk to brewers. They’re friendly, passionate, and often pouring their own beers.
• Volunteer. It’s a great way to get involved and drink great beer while doing it.

🍻 Fringe Events Worth Skipping Dinner For

Let’s be honest—the best parts of Paris Beer Week don’t always happen on the main stage. The fringe events are where brewers get weird, chefs get wild, and beer lovers discover the good stuff before it hits the hype machine. Here are some of my top picks this year:

🏛️ Underground History & Sudsy Secrets

📍 Visite de l’ancienne brasserie Dumesnil, Ivry-sur-Seine
Take a trip back in time—literally underground. This guided tour of the old Dumesnil brewery explores what’s left of a 19th-century brewing empire, complete with sciencey fermentation methods and a cellar tour that feels part museum, part beer cave. You’ll taste five different styles along the way.
→ Reserve your spot

🍽️ GUSH! x Le Soupir: Wild Beers & Hot Pans

📍 Gush!, 20th arrondissement
One night only: wild, traditional brews from the brilliant minds at Le Soupir, paired with a custom dinner menu by Amélia (yes, one half of the brewing duo is also behind the stove). Expect heat, funk, and flavours that sing off the plate and into the glass.
📅 Thursday, 22 May, 8am–12pm

🍺 Open Brew Day at Goutte d’Or

📍 Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or, 18th arrondissement
Watch the magic happen live as Brasserie de la Goutte d’Or teams up with Brasserie de la Pleine Lune and Octopussy bar for a public brew session. Wander in, chat to the team, soak up the smells of mash and hops, and catch a rare collab taking shape.
📅 Thursday, 22 May, 7pm–midnight

🧀 Beer & Cheese Night at La Fine Mousse

📍 La Fine Mousse Bar, 11th arrondissement
This is not your average “pairing.” Austrian brewery Hopfengrund and alpine artisan La Montagnarde are teaming up to serve three bold beers with three unforgettable cheeses—for just €18. Bonus: 30% off bottles for the cheese-drunk among you.
📅 Friday, 23 May, 5:30pm–midnight
🔗 lafinemousse.fr

🍄 Spore & Penrose at Kilomètre Zéro

📍 3rd arrondissement
Sustainability never tasted so good. Spore (a cooperatively-run brewery) and Penrose (brewers of beer and kombucha with an urban mushroom farm on the side) are coming together for a night of engaged, local, low-intervention pours—and deep chats with the brewers themselves.
📅 Friday, 23 May

🗓️ There are dozens more events happening all week long—tap takeovers, collabs, tastings, public brews. I’m not here to list them all—but the full schedule lives here:
👉 parisbeerfestival.fr/semaine/agenda

🏁 The Grand Final: Where It All Comes to a Frothy Finish

After a week of rare pours, late-night takeovers, and one-too-many sours, it all wraps up with a bang at the Grand Final at Ground Control—and this year, it’s packing serious weight.

This is where the France Bière Challenge unveils the winners of its 2025 competition: the best beers brewed anywhere in France, chosen by a panel of world-class judges with palates sharper than your chef’s knife. We’re talking brewers, sommeliers, and beer professionals from across Europe—meet the jury if you don’t believe me.

The France Bière Challenge is one of the most respected competitions in French brewing—earning a trophy here doesn’t just put a brewery on the map, it can launch them into international stardom. And for the first time ever in 2025, they’ll be awarding Best Non-Alcoholic Beer, proving this scene has range.

💥 Sunday 25 May, 14:00–15:30 at Ground Control
Expect:

• 🏆 5 award-winning beers, available to taste right there on the spot
• 🎖 A ceremony with real bragging rights
• 🍺 A final toast with the brewers who’ve been pouring all week

If you only go to one event this week, make it this one. Come thirsty—and bring your curiosity.

“I came for the girl, stayed for the beers—and ended up moving here. Paris Beer Week changed everything.”

👉 Want more ideas for foodie fun this spring? Check out our full guide to What’s Happening in Paris in May—from market festivals to wine-soaked wanderings.

Still Thirsty? Here’s Where to Go Next

Paris Beer Week might be over in a flash, but good beer in Paris is a year-round affair. Whether you’re chasing rare bottles, low-intervention lagers, or just want a proper pint that doesn’t suck, I’ve got you covered.

👇 Explore more chef-curated beer guides:

• 🏅 Craft Beer in France: The Survival Guide — everything you need to drink smart in a wine-obsessed country
• 🗺️ The Ultimate Craft Beer Map of Paris — 100+ bars, breweries, and bottle shops, curated by a chef who drinks like he means it
• 🇬🇧 Best British Pubs in Paris — for homesick hopheads and lovers of proper pours

Because in Paris, the best drinking stories don’t start with “I followed a trend”—they start with a good map and a better pour. Santé. 🍺

Chef Tris

Food Tour Guide

From the bustling streets of Paris to the heat of a professional kitchen, my life has always revolved around food. A Brit who moved to France at 16, I trained as a chef in a Parisian palace kitchen at 18 and have spent decades cooking, eating, and living like the French.

By day, I run kitchens and events, but Eat Like The French is my side hustle—a way to share my passion for French food through writing and food tours. After a detour into tech recruitment, I returned to what I love most: cooking and storytelling—one dish, one tour, and one bite at a time.