Beer fest marks the real start of summer in this city
The weather and the calendar might suggest otherwise, but Wednesday is really the start of summer in this city with the launch of the 25th edition of Mondial de la bière.
Then there’s the Grand Prix and Fringe festival this week, soon to followed by spectacles paying homage to everything from music, comedy, movies, blueberries and lobsters — and it’s a blur right through until liver detox-time in September.
Both a celebration and an opportunity to blot out whatever ails us — the list is way too long to include here — the beer fest is set to welcome about 140,000 somewhat parched visitors until Sunday at the Palais des Congrès and its outdoor l’Esplanade terrace.
Patrons will be able to sample 650 different products — artisanal and craft beers as well as ciders, spirits and even meads — including 334 brews making their festival debut. In all, 112 microbreweries from 14 countries will be represented, with the spotlight on the beers of Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Norway and Quebec. In fact, 46 of this province’s microbrewers will be showcasing their suds this year.
And at least one benefit of our constant road construction and traffic gridlock is that imbibers probably have come to realize public transit is the best way to get there.
Tipplers looking for something to nibble on will find relief at 14 food pavilions on-site. Off-site, 24 Montreal restos, including Montréal Plaza, Toqué! and Au Petit Extra, will be getting into the spirit with menus pairing meals with microbrews.
Credit Jeannine Marois for propelling the Mondial de la bière from a minuscule event at Place des Arts to the macro microbrewery bash it has become.
Marois, the fest’s president and co-founder, became smitten by craft beer after quaffing her first St-Ambroise pale ale decades back. “It was love at first taste,” she is fond of quipping.
It’s interesting to note that as the Mondial de la bière has evolved, so has the microbrewery scene in Quebec. Marois notes that when her fest began, there were seven microbreweries in the province; she estimates that figure will mushroom to nearly 200 by the end of the year.
“I think a lot of our involvement with beer goes back to our connection with Belgium. Their beer-makers had a very strong influence here. But it’s now reached the point where specific regions in Quebec have their own specific beer tastes. The craft movement, while still very young here, continues to grow bigger and bigger.
“But it’s not just Quebec. This is a movement that has been taking place all over the world lately. Craft beer in Brazil, Mexico and Norway has also gone crazy. And, really, who would have believed Italy would be the home of so many microbreweries? These are wine people. In fact, some Italian vintners had to move from making wine to beer.”
This year’s fest will be offering product from seven Italian, seven Mexican and five Norwegian breweries as well as 10 beers from Brazil’s Overhop.
Regardless, Marois is also quick to point out that the Mondial de la bière was the sole beer fest in Quebec 25 years ago, but now there are 27.
“We like to think we are different in the sense that we welcome all breweries to our festival,” she says. “We don’t differentiate between small and big. We don’t have to choose for the visitors — they can choose for themselves.”