Ibex Brewery specialises in mountain ales and this year celebrates its fifth birthday. Creating local beers with an emphasis on low ABV and drawing on international influences, their ‘core range’ consists of four flavoursome medium strength beers, which are available all year round. Cabin Fever (a 5% IPA), Salut Kiki (a 3.6% blonde session ale), Nvon (a 4% American Pale Ale) and Piste Basher (a 4% English bitter). The mountain brewers also regularly produce one off beers and seasonal specialties, including Rocket Fuel (a hazy NEIPA 5.8% juicy hop bomb), Hello Coco (a 4.5% stout with chocolate, cherry and coconut), Kodiak Helles (a 4.4% easy drinking classic Helles) and Loopy Juice (a delightful 6% pale ale with mango and passion fruit). Visitors can sample all the beers on offer at the brewery in Morzine, as well as at local bars. Every so often the brewery hosts a themed dinner, each featuring a different world cuisine with expert beer pairings. Their delicious drinks have proved enormously popular, with Ibex Brewery production recently increased to meet demand from locals and thirsty holidaymakers! Export to Switzerland is now in full flow and their sights are set on the UK, so watch this space.

Morzine’s Bec Jaune brewery is the brain child Chrigl Luthy, who originally brewed beer in London at The Kernel Brewery in Bermondsey. He came to the Alps on a mission to bring the best flavours to the mountains, and now lovingly produces three to four ales each week. The hugely popular venue, which has earned a name as one of the most innovative breweries in the region, has a vibrant atmosphere, attracting locals, expats and holidaymakers alike. Alongside easy drinking lager and wheat beers, Bec Jaune offers more potent varieties, including porters and stouts, as well as IPA style hoppy beers. During the summer months visitors can expect some lighter, fruitier and more thirst-quenching sour beers. Bec Jaune brewery, which also serves up great homemade burgers and southern influenced food, is kitted out in a rustic chic style, with vintage snowboards and classic monoboards adorning the walls.

Beyond micro-brewing, Morzine’s dynamic food and drink scene encompasses nearly 50 restaurants and bars, many of which are family friendly, as well as numerous on slope eateries. Visitors can choose from an excellent range of high-end and casual dining, catering to a variety of budgets and spanning an assortment of regional and international cuisine types. Holidaymakers are encouraged to visit local cheesemakers and chocolatiers, and there is even the option to take part in a transformative gastronomic walking tour in the mountains. The tour, hosted by the local Véronique Fillon, combines wildlife watching with foraging for the best natural ingredients, before finishing at a high mountain chalet for a taste of authentic Morzine cooking. The resort also has an enviable apres-ski offering and a reputation for some of the best nightlife in the region during both the ski and summer seasons, with venues like the century old Bar Robinson and lively Cavern amongst the most popular.

Morzine’s reputation for gourmet French cuisine is also a growing one, with restaurants like La Chamade offering both traditional and experimental dishes, that use the freshest, locally sourced ingredients. Specialities of the house include ballotine of rabbit, duck pie, roasted piglet and other rustic plates, all cooked by chef Thierry Thorens. Thorens, who grew up in Morzine and whose mother opened one of resort’s first restaurants in 1969, has worked with some France’s most eminent chefs. His restaurant also boasts a basement cheese bar, where visitors can savour cheese and wine from France, Switzerland, Italy and beyond.

What else is new in Morzine?

Event news: After a successful inaugural event in 2018, the Cyclo Thomas Voeckler by Matra is returning to Morzine this summer. Set to take place 24-28 August 2019, the cycling challenge allows participants to experience some of the world’s best biking terrain, with a range of trek and timed options on offer to suit a variety of abilities. The brain child of the French former road racing cyclist Thomas Voeckler, this year’s event will consist of four cycling routes centred in and around Morzine, ranging from 40km to 120km, each taking in the speculator Alpine scenery of the wider region. The timed races will cater to serious cycling enthusiasts, while the less competitive trek options are more suited to causal riders and e-bikers, allowing everyone taking part to push their own personal limits. Thomas Voeckler, who will be in attendance over the weekend, has personally curated the courses, which include roads that he trained on during his illustrious career. He is also behind a new road and e-bike fair that will take place alongside the racing in Morzine. Registration is now open for anyone wanting to take with entry starting from £21 pp.
The Cyclo Thomas Voeckler by Matra ( www.cyclothomasvoeckler.com)

Active news: The latest escape game craze has arrived in Morzine, with a unique open-air experience now available. Using a tablet, guests take part in an immersive interactive game with challenges to face and enigmas to solve. Taking place outdoors and using the latest in augmented reality technology, Trip Game is ideal for families and groups of friends and provides the perfect way in which to explore Morzine’s hidden gems. The new game takes place twice daily during the summer months and is suitable for anyone aged five and over. Booking in advance is advised, with prices starting from £27 for two people.
Indiana Ventures (+33 450494860, www.indianaventures.com)

Go to Morzine
A seven-night stay in the delightful three bedroom Apartment 101 in central Morzine, arriving 17 August 2019, is priced from £1,436 per apartment / £239 pp based on six people sharing. Return flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Geneva are available on those dates priced from £112 pp.
More Mountain (+33 686021805, www.moremountain.com)

To plan your Morzine trip and for more information, please visit:

The post Morzine brews up a mountain of flavours in the French Alps appeared first on Heaven Publicity.

From boating to brewery-hopping, climbing up the mountain to flying and thundering down it, with a spot of golf to chill out on the green – we’ve got it covered.

Little Amsterdam Short Break with Le Boat
As the weather is really hotting up in the UK, it’s time to cool down by the water and enjoy a pleasant self-drive river cruise through one of Europe’s quirkiest cities. With Le Boat, no boating license is necessary so you can just pootle on down the river from Vinkeveen in the south of Amsterdam, where you can enjoy swimming, diving and yachting to escape the summer heat. Continue on to Amstelveen and stop off for a cultural day at the Museum Jan ven der Togt (a modern visual art museum) or the Cobra Museum of Modern Art before taking time to explore the vibrant city of Amsterdam.
www.leboat.co.uk

Via Ferrata, Vaujany
In case you didn’t already know, Via Ferrata is a type of rock climbing where climbers are secured into a harness and work their way up the rock face using a series of steel handles to grip onto. It’s great fun for those who love climbing…but not so much for those who hate heights, rocks or the great outdoors.
In Vaujany, ‘via ferraters’ start at the edge of La Fare waterfall and edge along the walkways that wind along the wooden slopes of the rock face accompanied by a professional guide. Daring folks with more experience can clamber up vertical passages alongside the cascading water and admire the spectacular view – what could be more satisfying? Apart from the fact that it’s FREE of course. All the climbing equipment can be hired locally and climbers must be at least 14 years old.
www.vaujany.com

Three times the adventure at Grindelwald-First, Jungfrau Region
Thrill-seekers look no further. Get yourself an adventure card for the Jungfrau Region and take a gondola up to the dizzy heights of First where you can admire the view from the First Cliff Walk. You can then whizz down to Schreckfeld on the First Flyer (a huge zip wire), thunder down on mountain carts to Bort and then hurtle along the path on Trotti bikes from there to Grindelwald, leaving your fears and inhibitions behind you. It’s a packed itinerary of fun to be had.
www.jungfrau.ch/en

Cycling Brewery Tour with Freedom Treks
Inspired by the Tour de France but not ready to give up that beastly beer belly? Or just simply looking for a leisurely cycle ride that incorporates some of the finer things in life? Combine both joys and head to Austria and South Germany following Freedom Treks tour. You’ll take in Upper Austria’s gentle hills and bottle-green river valleys as you cycle along, and sample some chilled beers to refresh yourself at each brewery on the way to Bavaria.
www.freedomtreks.co.uk

Practise your golf swing in south-east France with Madame Vacances
Nestled in the heart of the Luberon mountain range, between the spectacular riverside town of Isle sur la Morgue and the historic, rural Saumane, the Residence Provence Country Club (sleeping four to eight people) is ideal for keen golfers wanting to practise their swing in the summer sunshine. The self-catered apartments are light and airy, and all guests have access to a shared outdoor swimming pool, surrounded by loungers and deck chairs. Leave the apartments and walk to the Saumane golf club: created in 1989 by Jean Garaialde, the 18-hole golf course is surrounded by wooded hills and the blue mountains of Luberon, and is thought to be one of the finest in Europe.
www.madamevacances.com

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