June and July are moving months in Montreal. Keeping up with that trend the Mondial de la Biere 2011 is moving from beside the Bell Centre to Place Bonaventure. Not to disparage the Cours Windsor, but I think it is step up. The site now has twice the capacity of the previous one. The added space will allow you to circulate more freely. Think of it as the same festival we have loved, but only more.
Mondial de la Biere over the course of its 18 years has become the most important festival of international beers in North America. This year there will be over 650 available products for sampling, including 609 beers from 136 breweries (26 from Quebec). The festival is a place for tasting, meeting brewers, sampling food, and learning about everything to do with beer and its fabrication.
The U.K. is an area that is renowned for its beer, so beer lovers will be excited when I tell you that they are a featured country as this year’s Mondial de la Biere. Ten breweries from there will be at the festival with nine being ones that have never visited our shores previous.
Six different areas have been created to enhance the experience. The European Petit Pub Bistro, Oktoberfest Petit Pub, Silent Dance Esplanade and Stage, Biertrotters’ Beach, Cheese Dome, and Flaveurs Bieres et Caprices Messanine all offer you a different experience.
To help temper the beer consumption and also compliment there will be eleven food stands located throughout the festival grounds. You can have anything from European style sausage sandwiches to pork smoked meat sandwiches to grilled shrimp, lobster sandwiches, deer appetizers, turtle and alligator soup, kangaroo and boar burgers, and finally buffalo on a stick. For desert you can try one of their 40 different types of fudge, sucre a la crème and nougat. Plus there will be the always popular cheeses at the Fromages d’ici booth.
A night not to miss will happen Saturday, June 11th with the Flaveurs Bieres et Caprices Evening. At the Hilton Hotel Bonaventure (Le Portage Hall and Terrace) you will be able to sample 18 beers, 9 gourmet appetizers, 1 cider, and chocolate and cheese. Beers will be from Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.S., and the U.K. The beer and food pairings will be out of this world.
They say that the early bird catches the worm and if you are one of the first 1,000 to cross the gates of the festival on Day One (June 8) between the hours of 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. then you will be given an official glass and a slice of pizza. Not a bad start, I’d say!
Additional Information:
-Website: www.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca
-Ticket Purchase: On site
-Prices: Entrance Fee: Free
Tasting Coupons – $1 each (one tasting – 3-4 ounces – will be from 1 to 5 coupons)
-Hours: June 8 – 11: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
June 12: 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.