Demi-Jean

Maine Brew Bus Tour

2015-10-09T16:29:00.003-04:00

While in Portland we took the Maine Brew Bus and got a tour of three of Maine's alcohol producers, a meadery, a brewery, and a cidery/ kombuchery. Got to taste their fresh brews and get a behind the scenes look at their manufacturing process.

Allagash Brewing Company

2015-09-25T11:54:00.001-04:00

Here are photos from out trip to Portland, Maine this past August. Naturally we went on a brewery tour of Allagash Brewing Company and here are some photos from that.

Vermont, Part 1: Hill Farmstead

2014-12-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

It's been a few months since our weekend in Vermont but I thought I would still share some photos from that trip and I think I am a little overdue for a post. I was busy all summer working on my thesis and once that was finished I was occupied with converting my garage into my new beer making space, so before I get started on my beer production I wanted to get some other beer related events on the blog first.

Mondial de la Biere: Beer, Food, and a Media Pass

2014-06-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

SO last week we celebrated the 21st edition of the Mondial de la Biere here in Montreal. This year, like last year, Palais des Congres reprises its role as the beer mongers haven. The event took place between the 11th and 15th of June. And I - being the responsible blogger that I am - took the Wednesday off to indulge in geographically inaccessible brews.

Specialty Beer Shops: La Consigne

2014-05-09T23:34:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to get around to this post for a while, but just have not found the energy to do so. Well, here we are in Ahuntsic, on Fleury near St-Urban, and guess what? Yeah. You guessed it. We are hitting up another specialty beer store.

Specialty Beer Shops: Veux-Tu Une Bière

2014-04-16T21:11:00.002-04:00

While it was still cold outside (though, not much has changed...) Adri and I took to the not-so-mean streets of Villeray to visit Veux-Tu Une Bière, neighbourhood beer shop, fish shop, nut shop, coffee shop, you name it they sell it. It had been a couple years since the last time I walked in, but it was just as small as I remembered it. The space is separated by a shelving unit, with refrigerators stocked with beer on either side of the unit. The shelves themselves display a multitude of fun products, though mostly too expensive or too niche, e.g. the pickled goods jars. Pickled goods are not even the half of it, they also sell fresh fish every Friday, interesting cheeses, an assortment of nuts (beer and nuts, nuts and beer), Le Bruloir coffee, and your everyday beer-lovers fare: chips and salsa. Oh, and lest we forget to mention the fresh chocolatines and croissants for sale at the cash register. But all that is less important than the beer - well, if you are me that is.

Brewpub Series: Benelux (Verdun)

2014-04-02T21:26:00.001-04:00

The weekend of Montreal's unforgivably cold St-Patrick's day weekend we spent our Saturday afternoon in the warm comforts of Benelux. We took the drive to Verdun's Wellington Street to finally check out Benelux's second location.

Specialty Beer Shops: La Glacière de l'est (Boucherie AAA)

2014-03-11T21:23:00.001-04:00

When Adri and I heard about a hybrid beer store-butcher shop we thought to treat ourselves to some nice (non-prepackaged) steaks, but when we heard that it was in Tétreaultville - well - we just had to go, so we put on our jackets and hopped in the car. Weekdays can be busy so we do not always have time to eat a nice, thick, juicy steak, come Friday night I could almost hear my stomach calling out to me, "Steak! Beer!!". So off we were to La Glaci ère de l'est (Boucherie AAA), situated on des Ormeaux Street right below Sherbrooke Street.

Specialty Beer Shops: Les Délires du Terroir

2014-02-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

Back to our Beer Shop Series, not far from Marché Station 54, Les Délires du Terroir is situated along Montreal's infamous St-Hubert Plaza between Bellechase and Beaubien. If you're familiar with the plaza, you might associate it with wedding dress boutiques and cheap clothing shops, but it has gone through somewhat of a revival over the past years especially the section in which Les Délires du Terroir is located.

Beer Recipe: Chocolate Stout Cake

2014-02-22T18:14:00.000-05:00

I had been craving dessert the entire week, and then Adri had the great idea to make a chocolate stout cake! I went into the cellar (garage...) to see which stout we had on hand. It turned out to be a bottle of Imperial Stout, Corriveau, by Le Bilboquet; this one aged 3 months in bourbon barrels. Adri found this recipe from Barrington Brewery on the Epicurious recipe site. Here it is.

Brewpub Series: Vices & Versa, 10th Anniversary!

2014-02-16T22:58:00.001-05:00

So it has been a week since Vices & Versa's 10th anniversary celebration. Since then I have been thinking about the current state of the microbrew scene in Montreal. This period can be likened to a "Golden Age" of beer, where collaboration, innovation, and conviviality are the pillars of the craft world and they pervade all facets. We are happy to be part of this network with our blog, however small. Joining in on the discussion, and just taking the time to participate in the world of beer is a wonderful experience. And Vices & Versa has played a big part in my beer experience and definitely the beer scene in Montreal, so being able to attend their 10th anniversary was special.

Specialty Beer Shops: Marché Station 54

2014-02-10T11:17:00.001-05:00

Welcome back to our Specialty Beer Shops segment, where we introduce local Montreal microbrew vendors. They are not as pervasive as your typical depanneur, and tend to be located in gentrified/gentrifying neighbourhoods. Today we bring you to Marché Station 54, located in the borough of Rosemont - Petite-Patrie (RPP). More specifically, you can find this artisanal beer store/ grocery store on Rosemont boulevard, between St-Hubert street and St-Denis avenue. Marché Station 54 rents out the main floor of a newly built condo development, Quartier 54, in a quickly changing neighbourhood. The area represents the fluid socio-demographic transition between the hip, trendy and costly Mile-End neighbourhood and the less expensive multi-cultural neighbourhood of Petite-Patrie.

Brew(ery)Pub Series: Dieu Du Ciel Brewery, 6th Anniversary!

2014-02-04T20:02:00.001-05:00

Saturday afternoon, lured by the prospect of world class beer, Adri and I climbed into our car to make the pilgrimage to Dieu Du Ciel's brewery, located in St-Jerome. It was my first time to St-Jerome and I found it to be very typical of small town Quebec, charming and some. Not to mention that the tourist appeal of any town is positively impacted by the addition of a microbrewery - especially one as successful as DDC.

Brewpub Series: Etoh Brasserie

2014-01-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new blog series featuring brewpubs in and around Montreal, which are helping to promote the local craft beer scene. If the freezing temperatures do not bother you too much, head to Etoh Brasserie, in the Villeray borough of Montreal, on the corner of St-Denis and Jarry. It is only a block away from Jarry Metro and just three blocks away from highway 40, depending on your transportation of choice.

Brew Day: The Scotch Ale Adventure!

2014-01-18T22:53:00.002-05:00

To inaugurate our newly bought 15 gallon, stainless steel mash/lauter tun (MLT) with ball-valve we brewed a Scotch Ale. This is a very simple Scotch Ale, maybe too simple. For the grains, I purchased 5kg of two-row pale malt and 1kg of a darker caramel malt. For the yeast, I bought a vial of Burton Ale Yeast (WLP023). And, I already had a 50g bag of Tettnanger hops in my freezer. All ingredients for this brew day were bought at La Chope A Barrock. Sadly, we lost the sheet our recipe was written on during the clean up, so I will give you all the quick and simple version... minus the details.

Beer Party!!

2014-01-10T20:00:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays, a group of friends and I finally got together to enjoy some of the cross-border beauties our friend had legally smuggled over the border this summer. Yes, I am talking about craft beer... Lucky for us we only scratched the surface of his beer stash, that means another beer party will be in order! The selection was awesome, we had representation from 9 distinct breweries and a total of 18 distinct brews. On hand were: Allagash, Dogfish Head, Orkney Brewery, Grado Plato, Stone, Kiuchi Brewery, Anchor Brewing, Southern Tier, and Huyghe Brewery.

Roi des Oies: Holiday Dinner Pary

2013-12-30T22:33:00.001-05:00

The Saturday between Christmas and New Years, Jean and I hosted a holiday supper with some friends. We were in charge of the bird and we wanted to try something different, so inspired by a traditional English holiday meal we made a goose. It was our first time trying goose let alone making it; we first set off to make a beer braised goose but settled with a citrus, all-spice, and honey goose recipe from English chef Gordon Ramsay.

Specialty Beer Shops: Bières Etc. Second Anniversary/ Christmas Special

2013-12-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

Looking for a gift for the beer lover in your life, dig your car out from under the snow bank and get to Bières etc. they have a great selection of Quebec Microbrews along with beer glasses and artisanal food products that will make any beer lover happy on Christmas day.

Specialty Beer Shops: Depanneur Simon Anthony (Le Paradis de la Biere)

2013-12-20T23:49:00.000-05:00

On a cold Saturday morning in November, Adri and I woke up with the intention of visiting a specialty beer store. We bring you "Le Paradis de la Biere", Depanneur Simon Anthony. This quaint depanneur is located on Beaubien corner Lanaudiere, across the street from Poutine Ville. This was our first time walking into "Le Paradis de la Biere" and it was quite an intense experience. When I first walked through the doors I said to myself that this was a pretty decent setup, a lot of bottles, nice tall shelving units, narrow, but long rows. But, I did not see any refrigerating units, I thought that was strange. They could not possibly call themselves "Le Paradis de la Biere" without an awesome selection. Then Adri popped out of a hole in the wall and said, "Hey, there is another room back here". So, I walked into the other room, smaller than the other, but loaded with fridges, and a wonderful row built upon overstock cases of Le Castor and Unibrou, amongst others.

Vienna: BrewPubs

2013-12-17T22:28:00.001-05:00

A surprise stop in our European beer tour.

We arrived in Vienna not expecting much from their beer scene, we were so focused on our two main beer destinations, Munich and Prague, that Vienna kind of fell to the way side. The information online is sort of lacking, but nonetheless we found some good places to enjoy a pint. Our favorite beer site ratebeer.com always has helpful info on where to find a good beer when in a foreign land. During the day we enjoyed Vienna's famous UNESCO Heritage Viennoiseries but we made time for a couple stop offs at local brewpubs in the evening.

Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour!

2013-12-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

You may have never heard of the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, but I know for sure that you are familiar with their famous export: Pilsner Urquell. They have been brewing beer here since 1842 and they are the original pale lager. The popularity of this crystal clear beer led to the towns name being co-opted as a style moniker, Pilsner. Today, most big commercial beer brands base their recipe on the original Pilsner, but please do not compare the two.

Specialty Beer Shops: Tabagie Ranger

2013-11-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Tabagie Ranger is one of those unexpected gems. The exterior facade screams Molson, but when you step foot inside you are treated to a sizable assortment of Quebec microbrews. It was here that I bought my first microbrew six pack, "L'Accomodante" by Dunham, and my first big beer -- Big Ten not included --, "Porter Baltique" by Les Trois Mousquetaires. I cannot quiet remember when I started to frequent Tabagie Ranger, but I first noticed it when we started to hang out on Beaubien St. near Molson Park and the sign in the window, "Spécialité, Microbrasserie, Bieres du Quebec" sparked my curiosity.

Prague: Bars!!

2013-11-19T21:43:00.001-05:00

What is there to say about Prague? Before our trip we knew that it was one of the most well preserved and beautiful medieval cities in Europe, it had a pretty good night scene, and that the Czech are the biggest beer drinkers in the world. Now we didn't go to Prague to try their everyday beer, which in itself is very good, but we went there in search of the very best they have to offer. I found this awesome site, Beer Connoisseur that is full of the best spots to get a "pivo", Czech for beer. This site is so informative that I should just stop writing now...but I'm just too excited to share my own experience with you all!

Munich: Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall

2013-11-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

The day after our Oktoberfest experience we spent the rainy afternoon wandering around the central parts of Munich. We landed upon the famous Hofbrauhaus, but seeing as we had spent the day before downing their wonderful litres of beer we just sneaked inside to check out the interior and the "Vominator" (if you guessed a vessel made for patrons who have overindulged, you guessed Right!).

Specialty Beer Shops: Depanneur Lalime

2013-10-31T16:01:00.001-04:00

Following our visit to Depanneur A.S. we walked along St-Laurent boulevard, under the overpass separating the Plateau from Rosemont - Petit-Patrie, and towards the shiny, metallic sign indicating Depanneur Lalime. They have been around for a while, though very recently they updated the facade of the building (yelp has an old photo with which you can contrast the new and old facade) and added signs announcing that they now carry microbrews - our reason for the visit. As we entered we were surprised that they not only carried beer and other related products, they also carry canned goods, and have a kitchen where they make pies (meat mostly).