Mondial de la biere

[Lubiere]

Read this on

http://www.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca/


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Le Mondial de la bière 2002:
five days of taste and celebration in downtown Montreal.

(Montréal, February 26, 2002) – On its ninth annual run, the Mondial de la bière moves closer to the downtown business sector of Montreal. The Windsor Courtyard and the Salle des pas perdus will play host this year to North America’s largest international beer tasting event. The Mondial 2002 takes place from May 29th through June 2nd.

“The Windsor Station site definitely adds to this year’s event recipe. It offers participants and exhibitors an interior and exterior experience, both within the exciting downtown backdrop,” says Jeannine Marois, Mondial de la bière President. “This year’s Mondial will continue to feature both sophisticated and mouth watering discoveries. An emphasis on specially picked North American and European product in categories such as Porter, Barley Wines and India Pale Ale will make up the menu with beers from as far away as Mont Blanc, France,” adds Marois.

The Mondial de la bière 2002 offers the full range of beer styles to those searching for an international thirst quench and palate satisfaction. On the American menu: Alaskan Brewing Co (Alaskan Summer Ale Kolsch, Alaskan Smoked Porter), Allagash Brewing Company (White Beer, Dubbel Reserve), Anderson Valley Brewing (Boont Amber Ale, Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout), Atlantic Brewing (Atlantic Barley Wine), Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn Pilsner, Brooklyn East India Pale Ale, Brooklyn Monster Ale), Casco Bay Brewing (Casco Bay Pilsner), Deschutes (Quail Springs India Pale, Black Butte Porter, Obsidian Stout), Dogfish Head Brewery (Raison d’Etre, Chicory Stout), Flying Fish Brewing (Flying Fish Porter, Flying Fish Belgian Style Abbey Dubbel), Harpoon Brewery (Harpoon India Pale Ale, Un-Filtered Offering), Lost Coast Brewery (Great White, Lost Coast Barley Wine), Magic Hat (Blind Faith, Humble Patience, #9), Otter Creek (Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter, Wolaver’s Certified Organic India Pale Ale), Shipyard Brewing (Sea Dog Blue Paw, Shipyard Summer Ale), Samuel Adams, The Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams Triple Bock, Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic, Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat,Samuel Adams IPA, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Samuel Adams Cream Stout, Samuel Adams Weiss Bier, Samuel Adams Utopias), Sierra Nevada Brewing (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Porter), Smuttynose Brewing (Weizenheimer, Smuttynose Robust Porter), Stone Brewing (Arrogant Bastard Ale), Victory Brewing (Hop Devil Ale, Golden Monkey Tripel, Whirlwind Witbier), Weyerbacher (Esb Ale, Hops Infusion Ale) as well as few others yet to confirm.

European brewers include Brasserie Bourganel (Bourganel aux Marrons, Bière Bourganel aux Myrtilles), Brasserie Castelain (Ch’ti Blonde), Brasserie des Cimes (Aiguille Blanche, Piste Noire), Brasserie du Mont Blanc, (Blanche Mont Blanc, Blonde Mont Blanc), Fuller Smith & Turner P.L.C. (London Porter), Brasserie Thiriez (Blonde d’Escuelbecq) and others.

The Canadian menu will definitely not be dry with featured names like the Creemore Springs Brewery (Creemore Springs Lager), Bear (Black Bear Ale), Fort Garry Brewing (Fort Garry Dark Ale, Pale Ale, Frontier, Light), Magnotta (Magnotta Classic India Pale Ale), Okanagan Spring Brewery (Extra Special Pale Ale, Premium Lager, Old English Porter, Traditional Pilsner, Classic Nut Brown Ale, Honey Blonde Ale), Shaftebury Brewing (Cream Ale, Rainforest Amber Ale, Honey Pale Ale), Yukon Brewing (Lead Dog Ale) as well as others.

Participating Quebec micro-breweries include Unibroue, McAuslan, Braseurs R.J., Brasseurs du Nord, La Seigneuriale (represented by Sleeman). Local participating brew-pubs such as Dieu du Ciel and Le Sergent Recruteur and others will also be represented.

Le Mondial has also created a new participation formula: this year’s event admission will be free and participants will have access to more than 250 different beer brands offered by more than 70 breweries as well as assorted scotch and whisky brands coming from all five continents. 1 to 5 coupons costing $1.00 each will give tasting access to the public.

Having attracted more than 60,000 participants from both Quebec and other visiting regions last year, the Mondial de la bière will continue to be recognized as one of Montreal’s major summer tourist events. Over a period of five days, the Windsor Station location will remain open to the public everyday from noon to 11:00 p.m., rain or shine. Specially devised food menus will also be available to the public. Le Fûtenbulle, Le Montréalais et William J.Walter Saucissier as well as other participating restaurateurs have been asked to create menus with a wide and eclectic range of ingredients to fit this special type of tasting event.

Every individual aspect of the Mondial de le bière 2002 merits recognition: the beer tasting kiosks featuring over ten different countries, the beer tasting kiosks featuring the majority of Quebec’s micro-breweries, the beer workshops and conferences, the beer industry day and the cooking demonstrations as well as selected musical performances. And as one may easily visualize, all these elements promise to co-exist in a festive environment, from beginning to end.
Le Mondial de la bière, an annual tourist attraction has taken place in Montreal since 1994 with the main purpose of revealing the rich and subtle aspects of beer from all over the world, while always assuring to communicate the important message of responsible and moderate consumption.

Le Mondial de la bière 2002
Windsor Station (Windsor Courtyard and the Salle des pas perdus)
1160 de La Gauchetière Street West, Montreal
From May 29th through June 2nd, 2002

[joey_capps]

Is anybody going to Montreal next weekend?

Joe

[joey_capps]

Hello All:

I just returned from the Mondial and it was . . . expensive . . . but good, especially how I was drinking. I took Unibroue's advice: "drink less, drink better." Highlight certainly was the Sam Adams Utopia. I'll report more later.

Cheers, Joe.

[Lubiere]

As far as I'm concerned, this festival was a success! The organizers take great care in choosing the beers in stand 96 (with some exceptions) which are exclusive to the festival,,, US Faves this year included arrogant bastard, Dogfishes Raison d'être and chicory stout, the Deschutes selection...Seadogs Wild Blueberry was fairly popular and actually was quite quaffable, alonside the Shipyard's Summer Ale.

Wasn't really impressed by the French beers (mainly Mont Blanc beers) although Chti had a nice coriander taste as did the darker Piste noire.

Deception :

Valdieu, which were off (too acidic)
Fort Garry---:P


Weirdest beer : Biere au poivre from DDC...interesting but i didnt know the pepper taste would linger so long...ruined some perfectly good beers tasted after.


May have seen you , JCappadocia...i was working at booth 96 ...where you there Sat or Sun?

Lub

[joey_capps]

Hello Once Again:

Here is the report on the Mondial that I promised.

First, let me say (again) that I thought the festival was expensive. Most domestic samples were $2.00, while the premium beers were $3.00-$5.00. As sample sizes were 4 ounces that adds up to $8.00-$15.00+ per standard bottle.

That being said, it was a good festival and worth the money. The beer selection was fantastic and the venue (Windsor Station) was incredible.

I liked that there was no cover charge, and I think that this format promotes responsible drinking. Had I lived in Montreal, I would have gone to the festival everyday, sampled 3 or 4 (or 5) beers and gone home. As it was I spent 2 hours at the festival on Saturday afternoon, wandered around downtown, went for dinner, and returned to the festival for a couple of hours in the evening. I got to taste every beer I tried and my wife got to do some of the things she wanted as well. At the Guelph festival, on the other hand, I had to try as much as possible in one evening so that I wouldn't have to pay the extra-cover charge. This format, I think, is much more conducive to serious connoisseurship.

I didn't drink much. As I had to drive back to Hamilton on Sunday, I decided that I did not want to be hung over. Moreover, I wanted to be able to taste the beers. I tried to choose judiciously. I sampled only seven beers: Alaskan Smoked Porter, Alaskan Summer Ale Kolsch, Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA, Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen, Leffe Brune, Sam Adams Triple Bock and Sam Adams Utopia (more on that later).

The Alaskan Smoked Porter is an exceptional beer. A very big, thick beer with a salty, smoked malt flavour giving way to a spicy bitterness (chocolate?)--superbly balanced with a subtle complexity. I was surprised I liked it so much as I'm not really a fan of the style. In fact, I can hardly stomach Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (sacrilege I know)

The Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA was quite good as well, though not a big as I expected. A very smooth, nicely balanced beer. Sweet and spicy up front, resiny in the middle, and a fresh hoppy, lingering finish, though not overly bitter, certainly not compared to something like HopDevil.

The Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen was not bad, though perhaps a little thin. My notes started to get a little sketchy at this point and I didn't even bother to try to take any notes on the Alaskan Summer Ale or the Leffe.

My primary purpose for going to the festival, though, was to try the Sam Adams products.

The Triple Bock is a good beer, though I am not overly impressed with its style, whatever that may be. It was certainly complex, but I think I'm more of a hophead. It had a myriad of flavours--intensely sweet, malty, with definite molasses, fruity (dates, raisons, prunes) with hints of nuts. I certainly found different flavours with every taste, but ultimately the sweetness overwhelmed me. I can appreciate it; I'm not sure I like it.

And then the Utopia . . .

What an experience. First, I asked if they had any left as I didn't notice the bottles on display. I was met with, "you know it's seventeen tickets for one ounce?" My server seemed almost surprised when I said I still wanted it. I was ushered off to the side and then I had to wait as there was only one person who was allowed to pour the stuff. It was poured neatly and carefully into a shot glass and then every last drop (literally) was transferred to a brandy snifter.

I liked the beer a lot. Here are my notes.

Appearance: thick, copper colour. Dark in the middle lightens to the periphery. Absolutely no head with little carbonation and a slight suspension (I think it was sugar)

Fragrance: malty, burnt caramel, fruity (raisons, dates)

Mouth Feel: Think and syrupy, linger on the tongue.

Taste: very complex. Thickly sweet with caramel and brown overtones and hints of dates and raisons. Warm and dry, lingering malty, creamy middle. Little to no bitterness but a nice spicy finish. A supremely balanced beer.

I certainly can't do it justice here, but if you have the opportunity try it. It's worth the experience. I even finished the day with a second shot. I mean when would I get the chance to try it again. I don't know if I'd buy a bottle, though. Regardless, I could never bring my self to open it.

Anyway, these are my initial thought. Take them for what they are worth. I'm sure discussion will elicit more details.

Cheers, Joe.

Lubiere: As I said, I was there on Saturday. Perhaps a brief description will jog my memory.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jcappadocia on 2002-06-05 06:33 ]</font>

[Lubiere]

I was working in booth 96...I,m , lets say, portly, black hair, balding, wear small glasses, no mustache, probably seemed very rushed (you know how it was saturday) , and probably looking very surprised when people still wanted Utopia...oh yeah, i was the only guy there (heheheh)

Lub

[joey_capps]

Hey Lubiere:

I remember you, and yes you did look busy. I think you poured my Sam Adams Triple Bock, probably around 3:00 on Saturday. Small world. This is why we need those shirts! Anyway, it's interesting how difficult it is to tell gender online sometimes.

Cheers, Joe.

[rabbit]

No offense guys (Lubiere/jcappadocia), but why don't you just exchange e-mail addresses or use the private message function and spare the rest of us your banter. The forums are not for personal communication.

[joey_capps]

Sorry for being a nuisance. Though, I think a little bit of banter gives life and personality to the forums. Moreover, in this particular banter, two points were made, though granted they were off topic. 1)about the anonymity of the internet and the need for some means of identification (i.e., shirts ); and 2) the gender assumptions we all make here. And, perhaps there were others who read the forum who don't post but went to the show. Maybe they want to know who Lubiere is?

We are a small community and I don't think we need the regulations and policing that might be required if there were 10,000 of us. Do we really need to correct every slight faux pas? Even if it's not meant to offend, it can; especially over such an impersonal medium. Also, to chastize publically could be considered a breach of etiquette as well.

If I'm wrong, please let me know. Contact me; via private message if you like, I check daily. If I've offended elsewhere and subjected anyone to unwanted banter, I apologise. Again, let me know so that I can maintain proper etiquette.

I hope I don't sound presumptuous. I respect Cass's authority and I will abide by the rules.

Cheers, Joe.

[rabbit]

I retract my comment and no offence was intended....I had a bad day!

[joey_capps]

And perhaps my response was a little over the top as well . . . I had a bad day too.

Let's a virtual beer to mend fences.

Joe

[rabbit]

Cheers!