So, at some point during this year’s Mondial de la Bière 2015, most of the Beerstitutioneers headed on down to Palais de Congrès to partake. For me personally, it had been over a decade since I attended the beer fest and I was excited to get back on the beer horse!

The main reason I had stayed away for so long was the location. Originally the beer fest was held down in the old port on an island and 100% outdoors. It was glorious. I remember discovering Delerium Tremens, Giraf, and Satan to name a few and settling into a Mechoui well into the evening. As the event started moving locations to become more and more indoor and larger and larger, I fell hard out of love. This year marked my semi-luke-warm rekindling of beer fest love. I tasted some fantastic beers, enjoyed a great time with my Beerstitutioneers and was happy as heck to duck out for some dumplings in Chinatown midway through!

En bref, I enjoyed the MdB this year, but am still in hate with the location. PdC (even with the outdoor area) sucks. I’d even go so far as to say that Windsor Station was better, and even that sucked. I’ll probably pop in again next year if it’s still at PdC, but if it ever returns to the original outdoor Old Port location, I will be there with bells, whistles and lederhosen on!

Here is a short summary of some of my tastings, as seen on Untappd:

1. Hopp Schwiiz by Bier Factory (Switzerland): 3.5/5 – High malt for an IPA, deep fruits on the nose. Sweet. Odd. I like.
2. Saison de la Tondeuse by Loup Rouge (Québec): 4.5/5 – Summer. In a glass.
3. ISA by Boréale (Québec): 4/5 – This. Is. Very good. Hoppy creamy and very sessionable.
4. White Zombie Ale by Catawba Brewing Co. (USA – North Carolina): 2.5/5 – Pretty much nadas across the board. Honestly very meh, very beige.
5. Hopulence by Wormtown Brewery (USA – Massachusetts): 4/5 – Lives up to its IBU (120)! Like.. for real yo! Very very good!
6. Double Black IPA by Revival Brewing Company (USA – Rhode Island): 4/5 – Dbl black IPA – perfect execution. Coffee notes, good bitter. Great!
7. Chateau Jiahu by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (USA – Delaware): 3/5 – Oddly disappointed by a Dogfish Head. promising but underwhelming.
8. Cyclope Alpha IPA by Brasserie Dunham (Québec): 4.5/5 – Hi hops Hi citrus Hi bitter. Gravy.

There were a few other international ones I really enjoyed but i can’t remember… must, take, better, notes…

See you next year Beer Fest!

Corey
That Guy From Beerstitution