A Family History:
In Saint-Julien, in the 40s and 50s, hops occupied more than ten hectares of the village.
Almost all Julian families had their fields of this fragrant plant that the townspeople sometimes took for giant beans! The MAIRET family, under the management of Marcel, was one of them. Hops then became a true passion for Marcel, who was promoted to Knight of Hop Merit by the Order of Hops in 1964.
Marcel then passed on his know-how to his son Charles in the 1960s.
At the end of the 1970s, cultivation became less and less profitable and the hop fields were uprooted one after the other.
Charles, the reckless, is one of the last hop growers to practice. He ended his activity in September 1988 after passing on his knowledge to his son Christophe.
The family know-how remains dormant for 20 years.
An encounter :
The story starts again in 2007 when Christophe MAIRET was invited by a colleague to the Brasserie des 3 Fontaines. By talking with the brewer, Virgil, he learns that the latter is unable to source local hops. For a simple reason: it has not been produced in the region since the 90s. This was the trigger for Christophe and his childhood memories: "My parents kept in a corner of their garden a plant of Tardif jaune de Bourgogne, an old, very aromatic variety that was endangered." Following this, Christophe started from this plant, he cut it to relaunch a small artisanal production. A providential strain at the origin of some 3,600 current vines and a harvest for which the 3 Fontaines brewery has had exclusivity since 2010. This is why you can find it for sale, permanently, on our site The Virgil's Mandubian. Building on this first success and a growing demand from microbreweries who want to play the local card, Christophe then decides to convert this production to organic, to develop it with the help of his children.
The birth of two companies:
Organic Meix d’Or:
The main activity of SCEA LE MEIX D'OR BIO, located in Saint-Julien (21490) and created in December 2019, is the production of hops and spices to meet the demand of professionals and individuals in the Burgundy region. Franche-Comté.
It defends, through these activities, peasant agriculture,
organic, sustainable and respectful of our ecosystem. It has been engaged in a process of converting these plots to organic since September 2020.
The priority, in the distribution of our products, is oriented towards the local market of the Burgundy Franche-Comté region by favoring short circuits and artisanal products.
The defense and development of the historical know-how associated with the cultivation of hops in the territory of the Community of Communes Norge and Tille is a strong vector of its motivation and its desire to transmit.
Cultures : Hops, Saffron, Coriander seeds and Rhubarb
Les Brassages du Meix:
Company created in 2022 by the 4th generation of the MAIRET family which aims to introduce hops from its cultivation to its processing as well as to highlight the different cultures of Meix d'Or Bio. It offers for sale derivative products based on Meix d’or Bio crops. It also sells 100% Côte d'Or products, products from brewers who are members of the Meix d'or Bio network, hop-related services, Bourgogne Franche-Comte box subscriptions, "La Brebis Noire" beers brewed only with the different hops grown by Le Meix d'Or Bio.
A project: Offer a sensory, cultural, taste and tourist experience around hops.