Canadian Beer Roundup

We’ve talked a lot about Montreal lately: It has gorgeous architecture, is the second-largest French-speaking city after Paris, and was the first to sign our Center for Sustainable Destinations Geotourism Charter. That’s all well and good. But the reason I really love Montreal is the beer.

The Quebec region is nationally famous for its beautifully crafted bières artisanales, but for some reason, few of them make it big in the U.S. As something of a beer lover, I have come to regard Montreal as my holy beer grail. In fact, it’s host to the World Festival of Beer, “the most important international beer festival in North America,” held annually in early June.

To make a good thing better, most of the city’s brewpubs are within walking distance of each other near the city’s vibrant Latin Quarter. On a recent weekend trip, I went microbrasserie-hopping, hitting up some old favorites and making new discoveries. I was not disappointed. Here are a few top finds:

Unibroue – This microbrewery is located in the town of Chambly, but the beer is available all over Quebec, including Montreal. This is the producer of my favorite beer ever – La Fin du Monde (which translates as The End of the World). One of the region’s trademark breweries, Unibroue brews strictly according to centuries-old European traditions, which means that no artificial chemicals are used in its production. The beers are fermented right in the bottles, and because of their quality, they have an extremely long shelf life (“Flavour evolves to a port wine after ten years,” says the website). With eight different year-round beers to choose from, Unibroue has something everyone can enjoy. Most of them are available in U.S. specialty beer stores.
Recommended beers: La Fin du Monde, La Raftman

Check out the complete list after the jump.

McAuslan/St. Ambroise – The McAuslan brewery

in Montreal produces about seven different kinds of beers, but their most popular seem to be their four seasonal beers. I’m not the biggest fan of fruit beers, but I fell in love with the St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale, a crisp spring ale with just enough apricot aftertaste. The brewery’s spicy fall Pumpkin Ale

is a hit, too (I heard one drinker refer to it as “autumn in a glass”).

Unfortunately, McAuslan/St. Ambroise beers have yet to be sold in stores in the U.S., although they are available for sale online.
Recommended beer: St. Ambroise Apricot Ale

Brasserie St.-Bock – This unassuming brewpub in downtown Montreal offers not only a generous selection

of its own beers on tap, but also the “largest collection of Quebecois beers in Montreal,” with 125 different locally produced bottles to choose from. Their Offense beer (a bière rousse, or red beer) was my favorite, but I also enjoyed their white beer, Penitente.
Recommended beer: Offense

Reservoir – This brewpub

serves upscale food and has a somewhat snobby approach to its beers, but rightfully so. This was home to the best cream ale I’ve ever tasted – tremendously thick and rich. The blonde ale was also outstanding, although I was a little disappointed in their triple-fermented offering. The brewery is exceedingly small, so the beers are not sold outside of the pub; they can only be tasted right there at the brewery.

If you find yourself in Montreal, this brewpub is definitely worth a stop. Try the Quebecois cheese selection.
Recommended beer: Cream Ale

For more: Check out this complete list of Montreal brewpubs and breweries.

Photo by msconnections via Intelligent Travel Flickr pool