A real trend is taking hold in microbreweries in Quebec, with more and more beers brewed using ingredients exclusively from Quebec.
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Reflecting our terroir, stimulating pride and the local economy, and showcasing the work of the artisans of the land are all motivations that drive brewers to prioritize cereals, hops and other herbs, and even yeast produced in the province.
Cultivated by around fifty producers such as Ferme Lamy, Ferme Pharand or Ferme Logi-Grain, the cereals, mainly barley, are then malted in one of the six micro-maltings. It has been 15 years since a hop industry was set up in Quebec, and some forty hop growers now offer their products to flavor beer.
To best reflect the local terroir, and give their beers a unique taste and texture, some brewers harvest wild yeasts from the forest or from fruits, such as apples, while the majority do business with Le Labo Solutions Brassicoles, whose yeasts, taken here or elsewhere, are multiplied in its laboratory in La Pocatière.
The only downside, according to the Association des microbrasseries du Québec (AMBQ) and the Filière microbrassicole, barley grown in Quebec is not sufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand of brewers. Like consumers, brewers are therefore placing a lot of hope in the next season, hoping that more grain producers in Quebec will dare to start growing malting barley in order to be able to create ever more 100% beers. Quebecers!