Making for a Marvelous Mondial: Tips and Tricks to Tasters' Delights

This year's 23rd Annual Mondial de la Bière, beginning this Wednesday (June 8) coincides with both Grand Prix weekend and other smaller events, like the Fringe Festival, which together guarantees that absolute insanity and chaos will reign supreme in Montreal this weekend. Yet, the party vibe threatens to be immense!

Thus, my first tip is to arrive early, to plan ahead, to avoid (likely price-jacked) Uber fares, and to ensure that you accept slower ways home that DO NOT involve drinking and driving! I always enjoy a delightful, early Summer sobering walk home from Mondial, and I hope you also travel responsibly to and from the event.

The event itself (hosted at Palais des Congrès) is free, though you must buy tasting tickets at $1 each with samples costing between 2 and 8 tickets per. Remember to either bring a tasting glass, or be prepared to buy one, and rinse it often!

As always, though, while there, the question of what to do and drink become paramount. Here are some highlights and suggestions beginning, of course, with the beers!

Beers to Wrap Your Lips Around:

On the Overseas front, there are many returning delights, but also first-appearance treats that should not be missed. For 2016, Spain joins Brazil and Italy in the realm of countries with broad representation at this festival. It strikes me as odd that Germany and Belgium are less present than these smaller craft-beer countries, but some strong offerings from these countries share stylistic traits with many of the popular beers originating in these locations.

Amongst the Spanish contingent, Dougall's and La Quince probably rate the highest, though several of the best beers on offer (from them and from other Spanish craft breweries) are of the well-hopped APA/IPA/DIPA varieties. Though more the fault of the import system and both Canadian and Quebec laws, and the SAQ, than Mondial, these beers are unlikely to be optimally fresh. When trying such styles at Mondial, I'd ask to see the bottle or can for dates, and if some later brews have slipped through, these could impress.

Amongst those Spanish beers that may hold up better are Laugar's Aupa Tovarisch imperial stout and La Quince's American Barlywine, Sweet Dreams.

Italy's Birra del Borgo may have been purchased by AB-InBev, but they still bring a strong spread. However, I am most excited for the massive 14 beer lineup from Norway's highly praised Nøgne-Ø.  There are many styles from which to choose and I can personally attest that half of the beers being presented by them are great indeed, while attesting that the other half all rate strongly and you really can't err in buying a treat from these folks.

The Americas List reserves its best for Captain Lawrence, Weyerbacher, and Two Roads  for American options, while Brazilian breweries Bodebrown and 3Cariocas also bring their A-game, though age warnings for hop-forward products remain in effect!

Famed Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, used to say that the best beer is always the freshest one, however, and I am accordingly most excited for the local Quebec offerings.  Not only is Dieu du Ciel! hauling delights such as Isseki Nicho Pinot Noir BA, but Les Trois Mousquetaires bring their IPA and DIPA (and BA Baltic Porter, and regular Gose and Berliner Weisse) to fulfill hophead needs for fresher IPAs amidst imported heavies.

Likewise, Brasserie Dunham's selection runs the gamut of styles, barrel-aged, well-hopped, and bretted marvels, and Brasserie Benelux represents themselves with a likewise impressive array of many of their staples and special releases.

Finally, like many others in the Quebec beer scene, I am looking forward to Vox Populi's exciting new Double Fruit Punch IPA.

On Thursday, Benelux once again hosts a cask event, for which one must register in advance on the Mondial page. As always, these are guaranteed to be the freshest beers on hand.

As you can see, there is really only one thing to fret in all of this: the hangover.

Special On-Site Events:

Gastronomy:

For the first time, Mondial will host a gastronomy area where invited chefs will assemble food and beer pairings to tantalize the palate. This event runs for the first two days (Wednesday, June 8 and Thursday, June 9 only) from 16:00-21:00.

Moreover, guided beer tours and beer/cheese pairing events about. Both sound great and offer vast learning opportuinities, and are free to join while samples must be purchased in tickets.

Meet the Brewers:

Brewers and owners will partake in meet-and-greets on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. This is a great opportunity to pick their brains about their beers, processes, and get brewing tips for those homebrewers out there!

Off-Mondial:

Every year, I promise to get to more of the wonderful off-site events, but never seem to make it, what with the commitment that is this festival! Not only are there countless restaurants participating in offering pairings and beer-cooked meals, but several notable events occur throughout the city this week.  Highlights amongst these, for me, are:

On Wednesday, June 8, Dieu du Ciel! hosts A "Funky Off-Mondial Evening" that promises not only DDC's best sours, but Cantillon bottles as well!

Thursday, June 9 sees both a Le Trou du Diable tap takeover at Vices et Versa and the VIII Anniversary party at Broue Pub Brouhaha.

Friday brings the Third Annual Sour Beer Evening at Station Ho.St, and the launch of Le Saint Bock's Mikkeller vs. Evil Twin week-long event.

Something, probably involving casks will also likely happen at Benelux rue Sherbrooke, as they have a TBA event.

For more information on these events, click the "Special Events" link on the Mondial web page.


As always folks, recognize that there will be some rowdy revellers, but remember to drink responsibly, travel safely, and (as the folks at The Alchemist always like to remind us) don't be a douchebag!

Have fun!

Visiting Benelux Brasserie Artisinale et Cafe

Having finally attended the Sherbrooke location of Benelux, I remain anxious for their (apparently delayed) opening of a second location near my home in Verdun.

Though not unquestionably fantastic, there are enough good things about this craft brewpub to keep me intrigued and returning for more, even if there is some room for improvement.


Benelux offers an excellent evening atmosphere with a fine trendy/art deco/loft-like interior, nice furniture, very clean bathrooms, and sells flights to a decent-sized crowd (even on a weekday evening).  The service was good and, though the flights may be a bit pricey (at $10 for 5 four-ounce samples), you do get 20 ounces for your money and two flights lets you taste ten of their rotating twelve beer selection.

This diversity and quantity are assuredly pluses, though for a craft beer bar, perhaps a cask would be a nice addition.  Nonetheless, I tried the following and offer my brief thoughts on each and then collectively afterwards in the most important part of the review:

Eponyme (a saison at 6.5% ABV) which was very pleasant and a bit peaty alongside its yeasty breadiness.  I would gladly drink this again and (if consuming less without company) will offer more detailed notes then!

Armada (American Brown Ale at 6% ABV) is also quite nice, though a touch experimental insofar as it brings a substantial pine-like hoppiness to the style that is bolder than most (even American) browns.  Still, quite enjoyable and a successful experiment/intensification of the style descriptors and this could almost be called a dark IPA (though without the prevalent cascade signature of most such ales, even if piney on its own terms).

Yakima (American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV) was quite pleasingly citrusy and crisp to the tongue.  A very fine pale ale and probably my favourite of the three listed so far!

Anniversaire 2012 (double IPA at 8% ABV) was nice, if paler than expected, though cascade hops to a fair degree met with style expectations.  Good and as expected, if not exceptional.

Cigogne (Pilsner at 5.2% ABV) was quite nice with just enough bitterness to nuance the style.  Best pale lager I have had in a while - though I don't have many.  Easy drinking and will probably do well on a hot summer day!

Croc-en-Jambe (American IPA at 6.3%) walked a fine line between drying to a nice extreme and astringency.  I quite enjoyed it, but found it to be longer lasting in its citrusy dryness than even the double IPA which is not bad per se, but perhaps odd and noteworthy.  That said, I enjoyed it, though I was neck-deep in hops at this point and wouldn't recommend it for the faint of hops heart.

Cuda (IPA at 6.5%) was quite nice and offered a late forming dryness and aftertaste.  Not as bitter as some of those above, but more like a cross between a good English IPA and a decent US pale.  Though after the quantity I had consumed, I should try this again!

Finally, we come to Lux Rousse, the sole, but substantial disappointment of the night.  I'd presume it was personal or simply quantity consumed, but as this was my first of the night and as my fellow beer geek attendee felt the same, it seems fair to say that this is a drastic failure.  It is sweet, but not in any discernible malty fashion - more like an artificial sweetener like aspartame - while offering a skunky aftertaste without redemption.  Since I have never really tasted these characteristics, it made me wonder if it was off, but if it were draft lines there should be acetyl (which was absent) and for a brew pub with rotating kegs, it should be fresh, so I am left with my initial impression, that this was just dreadful on its own terms.

It is a good thing my experiences of the other beers were favourable since the Rousse was the token regret of the evening!  That said, I would give at least a grade of B to all of the others, though I don't think any hit the A range for me.  Admittedly, other than the saison, I never tried their Belgian styles and I did enjoy their seasonal Maple Smoked Porter at another event much more, but this is tempered praise (though praise nonetheless).  By this I mean that Benelux seems consistently good - and that assures my continued patronage - but it won't top my list for those 'must-taste-and-attend' places barring a pleasant surprise in the near future.

I have to add that for a brewpub with rotating taps, it seems odd that the rotation included four (or arguably, with the brown, 5) pale ales and 4 untasted Tripels and/or Belgian blondes (which I wasn't in the mood to try) and yet had not a single porter or stout, nor any other lager styles beyond the pilsner on the eve of my visit.  I did enjoy the pales, I understand that this changes often, and I look forward to the rotations (which are, to me, a big selling feature), but perhaps this diversity could be planned a bit better.

That all said, the service and atmosphere FAR top some other establishments that, despite also having the odd miss, have hit so hard on so many excellent beers.  I'd average the beer grade as a B to B+, but the establishment gets an A, so though I'd call some other places greater 'musts' for the beer geek, I'd much rather go here with the average friend over not only other craft bars, but over basically all bars!

I Need Your Help Finding Montreal Beer and Blue Jays!!!!

So, I need some help.

With my pending move to Montreal (and a no-cable-initially plan), I really need to find somewhere I can catch the odd Blue Jays game.  There has to be a pub of Jays fans somewhere in the city, but my web searches have come up empty.  Anyone?  Post in the comments, then join me for a game, and have a couple on me as thanks!

Also, I am wondering about beer spots.  Yes, I will be frequenting Dieu du Ciel and St. Ambroise, but would love to find pubs with wider selections/imports - a place like Toronto's The Only Cafe or barVolo or even The Rhino rather than a brewery-only selection (as good as they are!)

Finally, while the SAQ selection can't compare with the LCBO, it does have a few nice ones (Rochefort and Bernardus anyone?!), but most beer is purchased in convenience stores/deps and many have standard macro lagers plus a few Unibroue beers and nothing more.  I have found two stores with wider selections (Rahman Le Paradis de la Biere and Deppaneur AS) but both are pricey and in the same area of the city (the Plateau) and I would love to find some others as well.

Thanks for the help!

Lagged but Not Laggered: Delayed for a Reason

Yes, I have been busy and beaten down of late.  I have had far too little time to drink good beer (though not none, so life isn't bad, just hectic!)

Part of that is because I started a new job part-time, but the work hours themselves are not the reason behind my absence and semi-consumptive lack, rather it is because this job is in Montreal and until our pending move I have been commuting Mondays to Thursdays and returning only to do it again week after week.

I promise a pending review of Cheshire Valley Irish Red Ale soon and, though I won't be the first to review it, I did manage to get my hands on a pre-release swig or two so I will try to get the next Toronto blog review of this tasty beer rolling!

But before I get to punching that out upon the keyboard, I am seeking some advice from anyone out there who may know...

Good beer bars/(English)blogs/deps(beer stores)/etc in Montreal.

Yes, Dieu du Ciel and McAuslan's summer terrace will become my staple haunts.  Yes, Rahman Le Paradis du Biere and Depanneur AS will become my likely normal shopping hubs, but I have just pretty much exposed the entire extent of my Montreal beer scene knowledge and will need to expand my repertoire.  I NEED YOUR HELP!!!  Send me tips in the comments!

I do promise to continue keeping up on the Ontario beer scene (as I will visit frequently and hope visitors keep me stocked with non-Belgian style Ontario beers since, by my best estimate, about 99.8% of beers available in Quebec are Belgian-esque or crap - and there is admittedly less crap than elsewhere, but it is nonetheless still a category!)  (Don't get me wrong, btw, I do love a good Dubbel, a fine Quad, and a super Saison, or even a Triple, Blonde, Gueuze, or Lambic from time to time, but I will just miss so many other beer styles that either aren't made or aren't imported here!)

Help me out!