Montreal and Quebec recommendations?

Dieu du Ciel is a must. Both locations are great, but I prefer the one on 29 Avenue Laurier Ouest.

Definitely visit Le St Bock, which probably has the biggest bottle list I've ever seen in a bar. Their micro brew stuff is pretty good, too.

For bar food, Schwartz's is an absolute must for a delicious Montreal smoked meat sandwich. If you want to go somewhere romantic, try Da Emma, which is a truly beautiful Italian dining experience.

 

As for the above also try Au Pied Cochon for dining

 

Joe Beef was excellent. If you're into Ice Cider check out La Face Cachee de La Pomme. One of the best tours I've ever been on and I don't even speak French (they do English tours too supposedly).

Best bottle shop we found was Depanneur Peluso

 

Dieu du Ciel brew pub for sure as stated. Le saint bock has bottles you wont find anywhere else but it can be expensive. Benelux is always a nice stop too. Foods been touched with shwartz's for a smoked meat platter. If you see a La Belle Province you could stop in for a quick all dressed steamie (hot dog with relish mustard chopped onions and coleslaw) and poutine combo.

As for bottle shops peluso will be your best bet. Located at 2500 Rue Rachel E, It looks like a run down corner store but on the inside hes got the nicest bottle shop in town with 400 some odd different Quebec beers!

Also If you have a car and a few free hours in your day Beau's all Natural Brewing Company in Vankleek Hill Ontario is a 40 minute drive from the city. They do free tours and have a kitchen and patio on the premises, They make some awesome beers and are definitely worth the stop www.beaus.ca is their website if you are interested.

Cheers and Have fun while here, its a great city with lots of things to do.

 

Couple remarks to already noted suggestions:
- Joe Beef: you will need reservations WAY in advance, try a couple months if not more
- Schwartz's is where the tourists go, there is better smoked meat in MTL... ask a local. I believe I was suggested one almost directly across the street from Schwartz's.
- Le Saint Bock has a good bottle list, but many of the good stuff is out of stock (Cantillon for one). They may have Classic Geuze but thats it.
- while Depanneur Peluso is likely the best bottle shop in the area, Depanneur AS is right around the corner from Dieu Du Ciel and has a lot of variety of Quebec beers. It makes sense to go there if you are going to DDC.

 

Second the reservations on Joe Beef.

I'll throw Hopfenstark's bar in the mix (bottles are somewhere in town but I can't remember where exactly. NOT Peluso - which will have pretty much everything else fwiw).

The beet list sucks, but Mache on St Denis makes some very good food. Your pitcher of Boreal will probably cost less than your huge Mac and cheese.

 

Vices & Versa is a definite must visit. Good food, good tap list and since Dunham owns the bar, there is always a chance of good American bottles available (like Hill, Jester King...just $$$)

As well, consider Isle de Garde. I've been there a few times and thouroghly enjoyed myself, and they had a good alcohol list as well if person you are with doesn't like beer.

 

Montreal: I second (or third) Dieu du Ciel and Hopfenstark's bar - which is Station Ho.st - and Vices & Versa (great space and deck out back). Benelux was great too, but not a lot of food, nice hot dogs though. I liked Bier Markt which was kind of upscale looking but had a good beer selection; and I thought Le Saint-Bock was a little too collegiate when I went there at night (late afternoon/early evening might be best). I personally don't feel the hype around Joe Beef, but it was OK. And I would completely avoid any of the 3 Brasseurs. Great dumplings in Chinatown at Mai Xiang Yuan.

Quebec City: Le Projet was a place I visited several times because it was that good. And I personally loved the gritty punk-vibe at Bateau de Nuit but I can see how that's not for everyone. For bottles, Capsules Biere L'Axe du Malt.

 

Another vote for Isle de Garde. Very nice place.

 

I guess this is where we recommend certain brewers from Quebec.
Apart from obvious DDC there is Le Castor and Pit Caribou are two I haven't had a bad beer from. LTM does some ok stuff, as does Dunham. Beyond that there is Auval which is newer and pretty limited quantities out there.

 

Lots of good suggestions so far. Here's what I'll second:

Dieu du Ciel is a must, and it's close to where you'll be staying
Benelux makes great beers (particularly hoppy beers), they're downtown
Isle de Garde also makes some great beers, but it's a bit of a zoo on a busy night (seating policy is free-for-all)
Vices et Versa has a pretty big list of Quebec beers on tap, plus a great terrace out back
Peluso has TONS of bottles, but it's a little out-of-the-way (easy to get to if you're driving, though)

I'll also add that MaBrasserie just opened their taproom, look for them on Facebook if you want to know when they're open. I used to be a big supporter of Hopfenstark, but I was disappointed by a number of the beers I tried when I went to the Station HoSt recently. Don't know if I was just unlucky that time or what. Food-wise, Le Pied de Cochon is quite an experience, but book a few months in advance. Otherwise, I highly recommend Alep and/or Le Petit Alep for great Syrian cuisine. They're near the Marché Jean-Talon, which is a really fun place to visit in the summer.

 

Like distant mantra, wife and I will be vacationing during la biere week and staying by McGill. Couple questions:

1) How was biere week last year, and is there a good website that posts information on events? Unfortunately, we do not use social media.

2) some very good recommendations above. Thanks for responding so quickly and offering good tips. We definitely plan on eating poutine, Montreal bagels, and smoked meat while here.

3) any interest in a bottle share, in person trade or both? I live in northern California and have access to most of the stuff here plus so cal (Bruery - everything). Not looking for cantillon (would be nice), but more or less some, nicer, hard to find beers in Canada. We do see limited distribution of DDC.

4) what duties would I be expected to pay if I bring beer here and bring beer back? Thinking about 9 750 ml bottles each way. Might need to bring a couple bottles of wine back too.

Cheers,

Daniel

 

If we're recommending Quebec breweries/beers, I highly recommend Les Trois Mosquetairres. Their Baltic Porter remains one of my favorite beers ever.

 

Hi, Daniel.

Always best to consult the website below, but as a visitor you are allowed to bring in up to 8.5L of beer duty free.
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifcrc-rpcrc-eng.html#a5

On your way back to the States consult this:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/190/kw/traveling with alcohol

I didn't do much for mondial last year, I just kind of hit up the DDC off-mondial stuff so I can't offer too much insight on that one there.

I'm not sure if I have anything you're after, but if I can help you out I'd be happy to discuss.

Joe

 

I haven't tried MaBrasserie yet, but I highly back everything else said here as well.

If I could add that Brasserie Reservoir on Duluth makes a great Berliner in the summer and most of their brews are pretty great.

Vices & Versa has great pub food as well including veggie options.

If you're looking for a good, affordable meal somewhere not too fancy l'gros luxe is a favorite of mine and they are more cocktail heavy than beer heavy (the beer list is pretty awful) to please your wife. They have multiple locations around the city, the one in Mile End on Bernard is close to DDC and could be a good pre-bar meal.

 

I've only had one of the two beers I brought back from Brasseurs Du Monde, but it was fantastic, the Pinot Noir Saison. There were plenty of their beers at Depanneur Peluso.

(p.s. shoulda mentioned you'll need a reservation in advance for Joe Beef - I lucked out and got a single spot, sat at the bar, beside the guy who made the actual bar!)

 

Joe, thanks for the links will check them out. Not expecting Canadian or other rare whales, but would like to bring a few bottles to share while in town. I just want to share something that doesn't show up everyday in Montreal. The festival is Montreal biere week:

http://www.labiereweek.com

Interested in this board's reviews. Also doing touristy stuff with wife too, but there's always time for beers.