Five beers (and a wine) to impress relatives

The holiday season is certainly the ideal time to share your finest brewing, cider or wine finds. With the unequaled offer of excellent Quebec products, we are certainly spoiled for choice. We asked for a helping hand from specialist retailers, who give us some straightforward suggestions here.

Proposals by Nicolas Ratthé

Au Vent du Nord, Sherbrooke

Western Townships

dunham
West Coast IPA
6.5% alc/vol
473ml

This beer brewed by Dunham celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Au Vent du Nord boutiques. “I told Eloi [Deit, maître-brasseur chez Dunham] that I was bored of beers like in the old days, says Nicolas Ratthé. The Cantons de l’Ouest brings us back 10 years, with its ruby ​​color, its more resinous hops, more on citrus fruits. I wanted something that makes me nostalgic, a beer that when you take a sip, you feel like you’re alive. It makes you realize that we stretched the NEIPA style, here we come to reframe all that. Nicolas Ratthé admits he’s lucky to have convinced Dunham to make a beer for them, but the microbrewery seems to have benefited from it, since it distributes it everywhere and plans to brew it again in January.

20 northern barley

Siboire
barley wine
9.9% alc/vol
750ml

Another product concocted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Le Vent du Nord, which once again received the title of Ambassador of the Association des microbrasseries du Québec, the most prestigious award for a beer retailer in Quebec. Brewed at Siboire, in Sherbrooke, the must of 20 d’orge du Nord was boiled for 16 hours before being refined in barrels of port and Canadian whiskey which also contained red wine. “The texture is soft, it’s really the kind of drink you get out in a good conversation, suggests Nicolas Ratthé. We will seek the acidity of the port which comes to cut on the sugar, while the whiskey gives a touch of vanilla. In fact, you will find what your taste buds are looking for in this product. It’s very complex, but also very accessible. »

Proposals by Martin Mercier

Titte Frette, Brossard

Christmas Reserve

The three Musketeers
Spicy Red Lager
10.5% alc/vol
750ml

“Red” lager brewed annually for nearly 10 years by the Brossard microbrewery, it has become a holiday classic. Brewed with a blend of spices to which Les Trois Mousquetaires have the secret, it offers notes of gingerbread, candied fruit, conifer, vanilla and oak. “It’s really a reference on the market, I also went to look for it myself, teaches us Martin Mercier. With its size and 10.5% alcohol, it’s the kind of bottle that goes well on the table after a meal. Personally, this is a beer that I will always have around the holidays. »

great darkness

Good Lord !
Imperial Stout
9% alc/vol
341ml

A great classic from the microbrewery on Laurier Avenue in Montreal. Robust and powerful with its aromas of coffee, molasses, dark fruits and roasted grains, its sustained bitterness is balanced by a malty and caramelized side, as well as by the discreet presence of alcohol. “Once again, it’s a benchmark on the market,” says Martin Mercier. Moreover, in the same spirit, God of Heaven! will soon be offering its Winter Collection, still made up of four products aged in barrels. Of course we stay in the dark, it’s stronger in alcohol, that too, it’s part of my holiday season. »

Proposals from Xavier Roy

Le Fridge – beer and coffee, Lévis

Robin Oudé

Collaborative assembly
Robin natural beer/Avant-garde
5% alc/vol
500ml

A complex blend of Spelled Grisette, Jet Set, Hopped Saison, Doux bisous and Barrik 1, all matured in barrels for 4 to 24 months. “The brewers took some of their beers and sent them to barrels for up to two years before blending,” explains Xavier Roy. It is a complex and balanced assembly, at the confluence of their respective houses. With its floral character and spicy notes, it really is a great aperitif product. For the microbrewery beer lover, it’s impressive, that’s for sure. »

dare

orange wine
Pomona vineyard
12.2% alc/vol
750ml

Pellicular maceration wine made from Chardonnay, Prairie Star, Riesling, Frontenac Gris and Frontenac Noir. The nose is reminiscent of a white beer with aromas of cereals, straw and sourdough. The palate also offers notes of white peach, a hint of lemon and a lovely thirst-quenching bitterness on the finish. “It’s a product that can be confusing for many people, with tannins reminiscent of red wine, but with the freshness of white,” says Xavier Roy. Raised mainly in stainless steel vats, it is not at all wild, its profile is more classic, on the fruit; its hint of bitterness is reminiscent of candied orange and hazelnuts. »