I am in Montreal for a couple of days. Mostly meetings, so there will be very little time for beer exploration. However, I did have the evening to myself before things get going today. I used it to hit two places that I have not yet experienced in my recent trips to Montreal. And they happen to be around the corner from one another.

For some reason, in my various Montreal adventures, I have yet to make it to Le Cheval Blanc, a longstanding brewpub in town. It has an interesting atmosphere, a blend of formal and casual. The place was busy, even for a Wednesday night. Many will know of the bottled witbier of the same name, but that is not the same beer as the blanche offered at the pub (the bottled version is made by Brasseurs RJ).

Even if it is different, I still found the blanche to be a bit odd. It had some clove and spicy notes not normally associated with a wit. It seemed more like a hybrid between a witbier and a weizen. I tried a few of the pub’s offerings, and generally found them interesting but uneven. All of the beer seemed a bit over-attenuated, giving a drier, lighter palate than some of the styles would have called for (e.g., the Oktoberfest and the India Pale Lager).

The highlight was the Harvest Cream Ale, which was made with fresh Centennial hops grown in Quebec. It has an attractive piney, citrus hop flavour, a creamy, smooth body (aided by nitro dispensing) and just enough hop bite to keep the beer interesting. I should also note their Taboula Rasade, a “session Indian roggen farmhouse Vienna lager”. Yes, you read that right. To be honest for all the things they tossed into the beer, it ended up a bit boring. I would have liked more yeast character to bring out the saison features.

The other place I hit is a new restaurant in Montreal – Saint Houblon on St. Denis. Twenty-four taps from a variety of Quebec breweries (plus one Ontario brewery). It is cozy, hip and friendly. The food is simple but effective (the mac & cheese is a must-try). I sampled a few quality Quebec craft beer. Some of the highlights include the contrast of Brasseurs Illimite’s IPA Classique and Dunham’s Cyclope Delta. The former is a fruity English-style IPA and the latter a sharp, dry West Coast IPA. The Trois Mousqetaires Gose may be the most stylistically accurate version I have tasted in North America.

A bit of a something old, something new night for me. And another reminder that the Quebec craft beer scene is one of the most vibrant in the country.