The Trembler!

This is my own nickname for Tremblay, the cheapest beer I've found in Montréal. It comes from Les Brasseurs RJ, a regional brewer who make the omnipresent (and quite competent) Belle Gueule as well as a few other fine local and cheap beers. What's nice about them is that you can find their products at almost every bar (except for the stupid tourist spots downtown and on the west island that don't seem to realize they are situated in Quebec and sell only Molson, Labatt's and mediocre Americand and European imports).

But back to the Tremblers. It's a thin lager, with a slight aftertaste. It's not delicious, but it's not bad and goes down easy with still a little bit of interesting aftertaste. The best thing about them is their price. They go for $13.99 a 12-pack (this may come as a surprise to American readers, but that is about as cheap as beer as you'll find in Canada) and every dep* has them in stock with a little sign in their window promoting the cheap price. There was a brief crisis last summer, when they suddenly shot up to $14.99 a case (in Canada, a case is 12 beers, 24 beers is called a "two-four"). They rescinded this policy in the fall and let's hope it stays that way.

What always blows my mind are the McGill students (usually the ones from Ontario or the states) who just completely bypass the domestic beer section and buy Molson's or Miller, despite their obvious student budget. It's like, dudes there's a case of Tremblers for $5 less and it'll taste better, you freaking ning-heads.

I'll definitely be posting about some of the quality Quebec beers, both at the microbrew and local brewery (what do you call a brewery that's not a microbrew, but isn't national?) levels, but I think it's important to give a shout out to a beer that has provided me with a lot of happiness and pleasure on many a summer night and hasn't put a dent into my wallet. Here's to the Tremblers!


*The word "dep" is short for "depanneur" and means bodega or corner store in Québécois.

Delirium Tremens

Hello fellow beer lovers!

I'll start off with a good beer joke that I've learned from living abroad: why do Americans drink their beer cold? So they can tell it apart from piss.

Thought I'd make my first post about one of my all time favorite beers- Delirium Tremens, a hefty Belgian strong pale ale that makes a nice alternative to Chimay. It has a nice scotchy, slightly sweet aftertaste, and at 9% packs a slightly larger punch than you'd expect. Especially if you order the big bottle.

Aside from the smooth taste, you've got to appreciate a beer that derives its name from the "violent sickness induced by withdrawl after alcohol abuse" (from the wikipedia article above). Handy rule of thumb: when the little pink elephants on the bottle start dancing, its time to stop drinking.

Recommendation : Great with your Belgian Mussels or fries, or failing that, just about anytime else.

Rogue Brutal Bitter

A bitter, hoppy beer. Very, very tasty. Kind of had a thick feel to it. Would be great with any meat dinner, but I suspect it would be best with burgers and steaks. Definitely include it at a BBQ.

Recommended if you like: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

possible format?

I was thinking that each post would include a recommendation for what kind of food/meal you think this particular beer would complement and a "recommended if you like" line so that readers can see what family the reviewed beer would live with...I think we should also mention the brewery with the beer, for example, "Rogue Brutal Bitter." It'll make searching the archive easier, I think.