Mondial de la Biere, Day 1

Official Website, http://www.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca/

We finally got all seven of us in two cars and on our way to Montreal. The morning was early but it was well worth it. We arrived to La Belle Provence to find the Montreal beer festival well underway. This year it ran from Wednesday May 29th to Sunday June 3rd. I had been to the beer festival in Toronto a couple of times but this really blew that out of the water. I would guess that there were three or four times the beer represented in Montreal. Of course there were many Quebec microbreweries, some international representation and a very decent amount of American micros available to sample. We quickly found out that the place to position yourself was in front of one tent called "Le Petite Pub". This tent held the not so pedestrian beers. Most samples cost 2~5 coupons. Many of us got the show's glass to get a more generous pour than you would get in a plastic cup. We found out later that some vendors were selling their own glassware at a cheaper price. Well, live and learn...now on with the drinking.


Yes, notes were necessary. I am not one to remember fine details even when I'm sobber. The Titan IPA by Great Divide was hoppy, dry and crisp. (Go to http://www.greatdivide.com/index.php) A good start, but then there was Allagash's Curieux bourbon barrel-aged ale which was sweet, it had a carbonated tongue, a heavy taste of liquor and a long finish. (http://www.allagash.com/curieux.htm) Third was Brasserie Caulier Bon-Secours Brune. With beige rocky head, it appeared dark, opaque brown. It had a light raisin/date smell. It had effervescent bubbles and a long, BIG, raisiny dry after taste.


A view of the crowds in the one building which also housed exhibitors & the washrooms. Yes, very important to find them early.


A night cap at Unibroue's pub, Fourquet Fourchette. I was not going to bed early just because I was drunk and tired - that would not do for our first ever Mondial, so being as it was on the way back to our hotel, I suggested we stop for one more. I ordered a lovely pint of Chamblay Noir. Like Blanche de Chambly but dark. It was similar to Kostrister but more carbonated. Hey, look they have bottles so we can take some to go.


http://www.unibroue.com/index_eng.html

Sean M in San Antonio Texas

A friend of mine often goes away on business. When he's away, he seeks out his own beer adventures. I can only go a limited number of trips each year but when friends share their experiences with me, I can live vicariously through them. Recently, Sean went to San Antonio, Texas. He had to be there for five days so he he had some time to try the local offerings. This is what he reported back about the beers he tried:

Remember Alamo Golden Ale
5.3% alcohol, brewed in Texas
www.alamobeer.com
First impression is a little fizzy, eg too much carbonation. Taste is initially sweet, with some hops taste, but not overwhelming. Almost like a pale ale but not a lot of bitterness. Better on round #2, and I think would be better suited to food (? greasy Tex-Mex) than drinking by itself.



New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber Ale
5.2% alcohol
Fresh tasting is the first thing that hits you. Not over carbonated like many American beers. Easy drinking yet not lacking of flavour. Definite hop taste but the flavour is well integrated to produce a very smooth drinking brew. Very good stuff.



New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat Beer
4.8% alcohol
The crowd was split on this one. Typical of a wheat beer, it had a slight citrus after taste. The label said it was, "... spiced with coriander and orange peel in the Belgium wheat beer tradition". Very wet was one description. 2 for and 2 against. I liked it.

For more information, please see: http://www.newbelgium.com/beers.php



Negra Modelo Dark Ale
? % alcohol (my guess would be 4.8)
Light tasting for a dark ale. Medium carbonation. Very little malt flavour for a so-called dark ale. No immediate after taste (it shows up about 10 minutes later) so it's kinda lame, eg soft, but easy drinking and moderately tasty. Refreshing, but you wouldn't want to drink it all night; 2 max.

Modelo especial
? % alcohol (my guess would be 5%)
Clear bottle. Bla initial taste. Must be a Pilsner. Sort of like Labatt Blue but without the pronounced soap taste. Immediate after taste, a tad skunky. But surprisingly, a more flavourful brew than Corona. But would I buy it again? No. Everyone else in the room thinks I am being a pansy and should be more critical but I think its not THAT bad. Ok they think I'm ghey.

For more information, please see: http://www.gmodelo.com.mx/eng/marcas/negramodelo.html

Brunch Club

I go to brunch with a small group of friends one Sunday each month. Each of us takes a turn at picking the restaurant. Today we met at the Sauter's Inn(109 Old Kingston Road, Ajax). Brunch was good. I had the Eggs Benedict which was highly recommended.

One of the first things pointed out to me was that they have Hacker Pshorr on tap. Unfortunately, alcohol cannot be served until 11am on Sundays. I tried to stall long enough to get one but then someone jokingly said, "You know you have a problem if you're willing to wait that long till the bar can serve." That didn't really get to me but I realized that I would be drinking alone while everyone watched. So it'll have to wait until I can swing back this way. It's close to my sister's place so hopefully that won't be too far in the future.

German wheat beer was one of the first favorite styles of beer when I began to realize that the world of beers is made up of more than Molson's, Labatts or any of those large, generic, tasteless, characterless, over-marketed breweries. It is an easy to drink style of beer with a clean, thirst-quenching quality that makes it perfect for hot summer days. Some German wheat beers I have enjoyed are Konig Ludwig, Schneider Weisse, Edelweiss, Ayinger, Erdinger, Paulaner andSchofferhofer. I can see how it goes with German sausage or schnitzel because it is a contrast to heavy foods. Of course it takes time and lots of tasting to develop a taste for the other end of the spectrum of beers, more "heavy" beers like Imperial IPA's or Porters or dark English ales. But the journey is the interesting part.

For more information on this beer style, please see: http://www.germanbeerguide.co.uk/hefeweiz.html

Panil Oak-Aged Sour Red Ale

When I first encountered this unique beverage, I did not taste it. I was at a gathering of beer makers at one of my favorite pubs. There was interesting, informative conversation all around and I was, I have to admit, a bit tipsy already when someone said, "You have to smell this if you like sour." I had never sniffed a beer that smelled of grapefruit. Wow, I sobbered up for a minute and I thought that I'll definitely have to try this someday. Unfortunately it was $30, a bit out of my price range even for a 750 ml bottle. But it must be something special, I thought to myself and proceeded to get even tipsier with my knowledgable company.

It wasn't until my trip to Williamsville that I got my hands on a bottle. It was $15 USD but I knew that I just had to bring one home. For a while, I wanted to save it for some special occasion. I guess I had built it up in my mind so much that I wanted to savour just having it around. In the end I opened it to finally try it. Often things seem lacking if there were too many expectations hanging over any experience. It doesn't matter how good the movie or rollercoaster ride or beer may be, it cannot live up to the thing that I've already built up in my head. This was not the case for this lovely, fruity, tart, delicious Flemish style sour beer. And it's really beautiful to look at, isn't it? My only disappointment was that I only had one bottle.

For a commercial discription and a list of reviews, please see:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/panil-barriqu%E9e-(sour)/22395/

For a translation of the Panil website, please see:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.panilbeer.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DPanil%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

To place a private order, please see:
http://www.rolandandrussell.com/HOME.html

Avery's Maharaja

This is the first in a series of guest reviews by Beer Guide. They will tend to focus on double IPAs, imperialized reds, in general, "statement" beers by notable craft brewers.There will also be reviews of more obscure and relatively
new Belgian beers.



The Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale

The Avery Brewing Co. from Boulder Colorado is just one of many notable breweries from that state. I had been very curious about this beer for quite some time; recently I had a chance to try some. I was not disappointed. It poured a cloudy copper colour with a respectable head. At 9.9% alcohol and 102 IBUs, it's substantial. The nose was quite floral with strong citrus notes, very inviting. Up front is malt, sweet but not overly so. This is smoothly integrated with the big citrusy hop finish. Overall it's very smooth, well balanced and goes down easy with a long finish. It has an oily mouth feel indicative of very heavily hopped beers. All in all a good addition to the ever growing style of double IPAs, as pioneered by the west coast brewers.
The Maharaja says: "Bless them all!"

Asahi Kuronama

This European-style dark lager was a gift from Sho Ozawa who is the rep for Asahi for Ontario & Quebec. While most people are familiar with the very popular Super Dry, not many are familar with Asahi's darker brother.



When I poured, it has a bit of a cascade and was very dark like Guiness. It had a good thick, bubbly head. It smelled of raisins, licorice and a tiny bit of smoke and coffee. It was light in body but it had a full taste not unlike Krostritser. It had a sweet, smooth flavour so I suspect that it would pair very well with oysters, mussels or a good barbeque pork. When I get a few more cans, I will have to test it with food!

For opinions posted by others please see: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/716/3969

Fat Belgian

After finding Smokeless Joe's too full we went a couple of doors down John Street to try the Fat Belgian. It has been open for a year now but this was my first visit. As you walk into the beautiful converted historic row house, the bar is just inside the front door. The intimate interior has warm wood and a clean, simple elegance. There's a "boys club" kind of feel except for the whimsical accents scattered around the room - fresh flowers, lit candles and multiple New Yorker Magazine-like caricatures of Rubenesque-bottomed women. It's far more formal than Smokeless Joe's but we were very comfortable and did not feel out of place in our casual attire.

On tap were, Delirim Tremens Blond Ale, Erdinger Wheat, DeKoninck Amber Ale, Fruli Strawberry Wheat and Affligem Abbey Ale. Their bottled selection includes other Belgian beers. Some listed are Achel Brune, Achel Blond, Chimay Premier, Chimay Blue, Chimay White, Chimay Red, Duvel, Golden Draak, Priaat, Westmalle Double, Rochefort 6, Rochefort 8, Rochefort 10, Blanch de Chambly and many more.



It was a bit too late for a full on meal but we did indulge in some light fare. The warm mushroom salad with miso dressing was buttery & rich. We also ordered the Fat Belgian mussels and the grilled calamari salad which were both excellent. The server was friendly and knowledgable. I will definitely come back to another visit and try a full meal next time.


For a profile on Toronto.com : http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-374-145