Sister City
Association
Seattle-Nantes
Seattle-Nantes Colla-beer-ation
Celebrating four decades of jumelage between our cities
In 2021, Seattle Nantes Sister City Association (SNSCA) announced the arrival of 8000km Beer, a collaborative production of Nantes' Bubar Brasserie and Seattle's Lantern Brewing. Nine months of planning, refining the recipe, and brewing of countless test batches has culminated in the final product, a cranberry-infused gose style ale that was sold in Nantes and Seattle.
The name of the beer 8000km was named for the approximate distance between Seattle and Nantes. The beer celebrates the sister cities’ unique cultures by infusing two flavor profiles that embody the spirit of both localities: cranberries sourced from Washington State and sel de Guerande from France. The gose beer style, which traces its origins to 13th century Germany and is akin to modern-day “sour” beers, blends the sweet and salty mix into a flavorful concoction perfect for any summer day.
A 1-year journey
The genesis of a trans-Atlantic collaboration beer started in summer 2020 as a way to pay homage to the growing partnership between Seattle and Nantes. The goal was to not only brew a beer that captured the distinct flavors of the region, but to also partner with local brewers that aligned with the cross-cultural values of Seattle, Nantes, and the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association. SNSCA brought together Lantern Brewing owner-brewer Chris Engdahl (a proponent of French and Belgian brewing traditions with extensive experience in the region) and Bubar Brasserie owner-brewer Stéphane Blanc. They enthusiastically accepted the challenge to imagine a shared recipe and brew that collaboration beer 8000 kilometers apart. Despite the global pandemic and never meeting in person, Chris and Stéphane pushed forward with brainstorming ideas over cross-time zone Zoom calls and brewing numerous taste batches to get every detail right.
Illustrations
The beer's label, designed by Nantes-based Tang Artwork’s Julien Gaudronneau, depicts a mirror image of the cityscapes of both Seattle and Nantes, and is oriented based on where the beer was purchased. A bottle of 8000km in Nantes featured the Seattle cityscape right-side-up, with many known landmarks such as the Space Needle, Mount Rainier, the MoPop Museum, and the Troll under the Fremont Bridge. Those in Seattle who enjoyed 8000km, saw Le Grand Éléphant, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes, “les anneaux” art installation, and the Loire River right-side-up.
