The Bar Towel

I'm heading to Mt. Tremblant in a few weeks and while the focus of the trip is skiing, I won't miss a chance to try/buy whatever beer I can't normally get in Ontario. Having been a few years ago I do recall that there's a brewpub in the Intrawest 'village' (La Diable) but otherwise most of the other restaurants/bars seemed to be Molson/Labatt spots. I noticed this old thread which mentions the SAQ store, in addition to the Diable, so I guess it's worth checking out. Is there anything else in the 'village' that anyone is aware of?

I do have access to a car while there so I could go beyond the Intrawest area, but is there anything close by that's worth going to? I know Saint-Jovite is close by and I see from RBthat there are two possibilities: La Cave à Bières store and the Saint Arnould brewpub. The former though has not been rated in 4 years and has no web presence that I can see from a google search. Is it even still around?

Any information about these or other nearby places would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Spab,

The Saint Arnould brewery is alive and well.
www.saintarnould.com
I know the brewery changed owners 3 - 4 years ago.
Met the new owners a few years ago at Chambly and they are friendly people who are passionate about beer.
I would go there just to drink the local beer.

Cheers

Larry Kress

When I was up there last February, I seached out La Cave a Biers, and sadly it had closed. I was really looking forward to browsing there. I also went up there looking for Dieu du Ciel and only one supermarket in St. Jovite carries it:
IGA Robert Tellier
412 route 117
Mont-Tremblant (St-Jovite)
Phone.: (819) 681-0330
(I unfortunately went to the Metro, and I wasn't about to drag my non-beer obsessed friends all over town) I did pick up a bunch of Unibroue bombers there, Chambly Noir, Blanche with a free goblet, and a 6 of the U Pilsner and Honey (not worth getting, pretty much a Sleeman beer).

The SAQ on the mountain is pretty wine-centric, but I did manage to find a 6 of Unibroue 1837, and a few Duchesse De Borgeone (I regret not buying more of these)

I first went to La Diable about 13 years ago and back then it was first time I had tried beer with orange peels and spices, and I thought it was great, but coming back with a more experienced pallate, I didn't find the beers amazing, the Belgian Strong was my least favourite (L'Extreme Unction) the Blizzard wit beer was the one I remembered from years ago and the Diable Red is not bad. None of my friends could finish their L'Extreme Unctions. It fills up quick too, its a pretty small place

Appreciate the responses. Having returned I can echo a lot of what's above. The IGA in St-Jovite had a pretty good selection. I picked up a couple 6 packs of the Saint Arnould beers (didn't make it to the brewery even though it's right around the corner from the IGA) and a few really nice beers from Brasseurs Illimités (their Simple Malt Double Porter, Simple Malt IPA and Simple Malt Imperial Stout).

Diable's beers were nothing special - I thought the stout was ok, but otherwise pretty underwhelming. That said, compared to the Molson/Labatt taps/bottles that dominated the rest of the Intrawest village they were clearly the best game in the area (next to the bottles I had back at our place). It had a pretty good apres ski atmosphere too.

All in all Mt Tremblant would seem not to be the best place to get a sense of what Quebec has to offer beer-wise, but it's not a total wasteland.

I'm headed to Mont Tremblant for a couple of days in September. Preliminary research suggests that beyond La Diable in town and St. Arnould on the outskirts, nothing new has popped up. Anyone aware of anywhere else worth hitting?

Provost Drunk wrote:I'm headed to Mont Tremblant for a couple of days in September. Preliminary research suggests that beyond La Diable in town and St. Arnould on the outskirts, nothing new has popped up. Anyone aware of anywhere else worth hitting?

I was there last year and the Metro/IGA? had a very good selection. Lots of DDC, Le Castor, cheap Unibroue and tons of cool brews I hadn't heard of. The few small breweries around town aren't all that special and the best beer is to be found at the grocery store. Lots of great stuff there you can't find in Ontario.

ry_kinney wrote:

Provost Drunk wrote:I'm headed to Mont Tremblant for a couple of days in September. Preliminary research suggests that beyond La Diable in town and St. Arnould on the outskirts, nothing new has popped up. Anyone aware of anywhere else worth hitting?

I was there last year and the Metro/IGA? had a very good selection. Lots of DDC, Le Castor, cheap Unibroue and tons of cool brews I hadn't heard of. The few small breweries around town aren't all that special and the best beer is to be found at the grocery store. Lots of great stuff there you can't find in Ontario.

Cool, thanks. Is this the same IGA in St. Jovite referenced in the thread above or is there a new spot?

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Provost Drunk wrote:

ry_kinney wrote:

Provost Drunk wrote:I'm headed to Mont Tremblant for a couple of days in September. Preliminary research suggests that beyond La Diable in town and St. Arnould on the outskirts, nothing new has popped up. Anyone aware of anywhere else worth hitting?

I was there last year and the Metro/IGA? had a very good selection. Lots of DDC, Le Castor, cheap Unibroue and tons of cool brews I hadn't heard of. The few small breweries around town aren't all that special and the best beer is to be found at the grocery store. Lots of great stuff there you can't find in Ontario.

Cool, thanks. Is this the same IGA in St. Jovite referenced in the thread above or is there a new spot?

Yep that's the one. About a 5 minute drive from the mountain.