This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
The mining past of Val-des-Sources (the town formerly known as Asbestos) inspired two young entrepreneurs from the region. Ten years ago, Yan St-Hilaire and Danick Pellerin returned home and founded Moulin 7, an independent microbrewery that pays tribute to the historical heritage of this small town in the Eastern Townships.
The uninitiated may not know: the Jeffrey mine had six “mills,” the factories that processed asbestos in Asbestos. This is precisely where the name Moulin 7 comes from, “to remember where we come from,” explains Yan St-Hilaire, whose father worked on the site until its final closure in 2012.
Moreover, the craft beers made on site have also been named with this heritage in mind. They are called, for example, Asbestos, Ciel ouvert, Filon, Factrie or Grisette. “We also created Charbonneau, a Belgian blonde brewed in honor of Monsignor Charbonneau, who took a stand for the miners during the 1949 strike,” says Yan St-Hilaire. The latest, Impérial 1949, is a limited edition stout with aromas of coffee and chocolate as dark as this part of our history. It was launched this year to celebrate the 75e anniversary of this significant event for the rights of Quebec workers.
The most popular of them all? Without a doubt, the Mineur, a multi-award-winning Kölsch-style blonde with a “delicate bitterness and a hint of fruit,” as described on the microbrewery’s website. “The raspberry Grisette, which we released during the pandemic and which won a gold medal at the World Beer Awards in 2021, is also very successful,” the entrepreneur continues.
Since their beginnings, the two friends have been committed to developing beers with accessibility in mind. “We set ourselves the mission of brewing easy-to-drink beers because we wanted first and foremost to charm our region, where there were still no microbreweries in 2013,” recalls Yan St-Hilaire. “So it was with hyper-accessible products, like the Mineur, that we introduced microbrewery beers to many locals.”
A museum pub
The Moulin 7 pub is also a major attraction in Val-des-Sources. Through its decor, it has even given new life to certain artifacts directly recovered from the mine by the two acolytes: from light fixtures to sinks and hand dryers, including carts, parking meters, and the old siren that sounded the alarm when it was time to blast.
“When the mine closed, we wondered if there was any equipment to sell. At first, we were mainly thinking about laboratory equipment, but my father insisted that we go and visit the entire mine and that’s when the idea clicked. We couldn’t let all that rust without doing anything. That inspired our industrial model and we salvaged some stock to invent a sequel to the town’s history, so as not to forget where we had been.”
Because yes, in Val-des-Sources, the story is far from over.
Things to see and do in Val-des-Sources
A new range of malt-based seltzers
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.