The understated space of Station Ho.st in Montreal

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I was in Montreal on a family trip recently. While that meant not much time for beer exploration, I did wheedle (whine?) a couple of hours of beer time. With such a limited window, I focused my energy on Montreal’s newest beer spot. It is called Station Ho.st (no, that is not a typo – there is a dot in the pub’s  name) and it is, essentially, a tied house for  Hopfenstark, one of the core group of Quebec craft breweries.

Station Ho.st is a quiet, understated pub on the quiet end of Ontario Street, about 10 minutes east of Cheval Blanc. Natural wood and muted tones dominate the decor of the long, narrow room. It is quiet and somewhat dark space for the moment relatively sparsely furnished. It has been open for less than 3 months, which means it is still very much a word-of-mouth operation. Good news I have good hearing.

They have 20 taps. Most are Hopfenstark products but they always make sure to have at least a couple devoted to other Quebec breweries. They have the wise policy of offering 100 ml servings of every beer they sell, so you can essentially build your own sampler tray. It is a bit more pricey that way, but I was able to work through a much larger chunk of their tap list while still remaining coherent. I could even read all my notes afterward, which is a good sign.

There were a number of highlights, but I have to start with their Boson de Higgs, what the very knowledgeable bartender called a berlinerauchsaison. Yes, you read that right. It is a saison with some smoked malt added. It also has some tart Berliner Weisse character (plus it clocks in at the berliner-like 3.8%). I can safely say I have never had a beer experience like this. It is a subtle mixture of clean, fresh tartness, a light citrus and spice note and a hint of smoke playing in the background. It works in part because it starts fairly crisp and sweet, allowing first the smoke and then the tartness sharpen and alter the beer. Subtle yet marvelously multi-layered. I really enjoyed my sample.

They also offer an actual Berliner Weisse, called Berlin Alexander Platz, which I had to try because it may just be the only one brewed in Canada. Very puckering and quite refreshing. I can see why Germans drink it for breakfast. Sure beats grapefruit juice. I can speak to how authentic it is for this rare and difficult style, but it hit the markers I was expecting.

Hopfenstark clearly likes their saisons – there were no less than 6 on tap – and to experiment. They had regular saisons, a rye saison and even a saison with spruce needles (called Voivod: Kluskap O’Kom, whatever that means). Their flagship line – Ostalgia Rousse and Blonde – were well-made German styles (an altbier and a kolsch). They even had a cask ale, an American Pale Ale with Simcoe additions.

There were some misses as well; I found the IPA a bit thin and the Baltic Porter had not baltic character to my palate. However, those were the exceptions and in part, especially with the IPA, a matter of personal preference. In general the beer was consistently well-brewed with creative and inventive interpretations of traditional styles.

As for the pub itself it really felt like a beer person’s pub. It is all about the beer. The bartender knew his stuff, there were no distractions or fancy gimmicks, shooters or the like. Just beer served honestly and without glitz. I felt like a bit of a beer oasis to take a break from the high stimulus streets of Montreal.