The Nao brewery opened in Vigneux de Bretagne in Loire-Atlantique - J. Urbach / 20 Minutes

  • A new craft brewery has been created in a vast warehouse in Vigneux-de-Bretagne, in Loire-Atlantique.
  • A microbrewery a little different from the others since its director is also the boss of the big Breton brand Coreff.

It took a year of testing, tweaking, and administrative details before they were "ready," they say. In a vast warehouse in Vigneux-de-Bretagne (Loire-Atlantique), the managers of the new Nao craft brewery are working hard after some 5,000 hectoliters of beer are already out of their gigantic vats. “We distribute in bars, restaurants, festivals, all over Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Vendée, a little in Morbihan, explain Ludovic Martel and Yves Goff, the managers. Until now, we only made barrels, but we are preparing the launch of the bottles for spring. "

Bottles, it is already possible to buy them in their brew pub, this factory bar, with a warm atmosphere. But these are labeled Coreff, a company created in 1985 and which has since become an essential brewery in Brittany. His boss, Matthieu Breton, does not hide his role as general manager and shareholder of Nao, without shouting it all over the place. "It is indeed two different entities, it's like a little sister ..., they say in Vigneux-de-Bretagne. This link offers us the possibility of sharing equipment and investments. But also to allow the parent brand to expand its playing field, without upsetting the identity of the traditional Coreff.

Ludovic Maretl and Yves Goff, managers of the Nao brewery - J. Urbach / 20 Minutes

"We don't claim anything with Nao"

“With Nao, we launched natural beers with various inspirations, Belgian and American, explains Ludovic Martel. We have a year-round menu but we create ephemeral recipes, based on consumer demand and market trends, which are experiencing a big boom. And this far beyond Brittany, even if the creators of Nao (like Naoned or nine in Breton) do not want to forget their roots. “We have our personal opinions and a Breton sensitivity, it's true. Even if we call it Breton beer from Loire-Atlantique, we don't claim anything with Nao ”, swears Ludovic Martel, while the Coreff brand assumes it more openly.

If Nao presents himself as a “young team of daring brewers”, made up of a dozen people, everything is in fact going very quickly thanks to “knowledge of the process, the environment and an already well-supplied customer portfolio”. So much so that the company believes to be one of the biggest players in Loire-Atlantique in terms of production capacity, and announces new hires for 2020.

What to worry about the history of the Bouffay brewery? “Inevitably, there will be tensions, but for the moment we have good relations, answers Thomas Lesoin, the manager. Even if it is not a microbrewery like the others, I think there is room for everyone. Beating each other would be counterproductive, in a craft beer market which represents only 5% of consumption. "

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