This past week I had the opportunity to attend Mondial de la biere in Montreal for the first time, courtesy of The Malty Tasker. I must say that it is on another planet from Toronto’s Festival of Beer. (Though the latter has improved it’s selection of beers somewhat since I last went.) Mondial is partially indoors, has more brewers, more brands, more beers and no entry fee. Yes, the samples are priced accordingly, but often one is paying for beers that cannot be had outside of festivals in North America.

I enjoy trying new beers a lot, but I am not so concerned with tasting notes. I enjoy participating in a tasting but I don’t need to record them. So here is a list of beers I tried, with a mere number rating to tell you how I liked them. If you are looking for detailed remarks about the qualities of the beers at the festival. I recommend the Malty Tasker’s remarks, which should appear shortly. (Not every single one of these was at the festival.)

• Wals Petroleum: 10/10
• New Holland Dragon’s Milk Oak Barrel Ale: 10/10
• Founders Doom: 10/10
• Dieu du Ciel Libre Echange: 10/10
• Gigantic City that Never Sleeps: 9/10
• Noel Baladin: 9/10
• Pit Caribou Triple IPA: 9/10
• Great Lakes 25th Anniversary Russian Imperial Stout: 9/10
• Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard: 9/10
• Hopfenstark Alcyone Black IPA: 9/10
• Gigantic Black Friday: 9/10
• Lancelot XI.I: 9/10
• Pit Caribou Brown Ale Americaine: 9/10
• Stone Arrogant Bastard: 9/10
• Colorado Gaunabara Imperial Stout: 9/10
• Elysian Savant IPA: 9/10
• Smuttynose Noonan Black: 9/10
• Elysian Doom Golden Treacle Ale: 9/10
• Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine: 9/10
• Hill Farmstead Abner: 8/10
• Bodebrown Black Rye IPA: 8/10
• Gigantic Time Traveler: 8/10
• Colorado Bertho Imperial Brown Ale: 8/10
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti: 8/10
• Gigantic End of Reason: 8/10
• La Succursale Abt: 8/10
• Hopfenstark LouLou Porter: 8/10
• Cheval Blanc Export Porter: 8/10
• Birra Del Borgo Imperiale: 8/10
• Maui Big Swell IPA: 8/10
• Birra Del Borgo Hoppy Cat: 8/10
• Microbrasserie Charlevoix La Vache Folle Double IPA – Simcoe: 8/10
• Hopfenstark Du Repos: 8/10
• La Succursale Specialni Tmave: 8/10
• Karavelle Munich Dunkel: 8/10
• Port Townsend Barley Wine: 8/10
• Dieu du Ciel Moralite: 8/10
• Cheval Blanc Bonheur: 8/10
• Allagash Curieux: 8/10
• Hopfenstark Saison 55: 8/10
• La Succursale Angus IP AAA: 8/10
• Hopfenstark Greg: 8/10
• Benelux Sabotage American IPA: 8/10
• Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre: 8/10 (my second try, down from 9/10)
• Hopfenstark 7 Sisters / La Pleiade Maia: 8/10
• Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA: 8/10
• Guayacan Stout: 7/10
• Hopfenstark Captain Swing: 7/10
• Dieu du Ciel L’Herb detourne: 7/10
• Benelux Heksen: 7/10
• de Fleurac Le Grains de Folie: 7/10
• Birra del Borgo Old Antionia: 7/10
• Bodebrown Wee Heavy: 7/10
• Cheval Blanc Seigle de Garde: 7/10
• Coruja Fora de Serie Labareda: 7/10
• Le Trou du Diable L’amere indienne American IPA: 7/10
• Broadway Pub Sherlock Holmes Imperial Stout: 7/10
• Hopfenstark Ostalgia Rousse: 7/10
• Chatoe Rogue First Growth Good Chit Pilsner: 7/10
• Birra Del Borgo Perle ai Porci: 7/10
• La Succursale 1814 Porter: 7/10
• Le Trou du diable Shawinigan Handshake: 7/10
• La Succursale Barley Wine: 7/10
• Benelux Mont Scharr: 7/10
• New Holland Incorrigible: 7/10
• Port Townsend Hop Diggity Double IPA: 6/10
• Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir: 6/10
• Muskoka Winter Jacket Barrel Aged Stout: 6/10
• Smuttynose IPA: 6/10
• Brutopia Smoked Porter: 6/10
• Baladin Wayon Saison: 6/10
• La Binchoise Strong Pale: 6/10
• Les Trois Mousquetaires Hors Serie Gose: 6/10
• Birrifico del Ducato Wedding Rauch: 6/10
• Boquebiere Barnstown Blanche a la lavender: 6/10
• Bruton Stoner: 6/10
• Hopfenstark Blanche de l’ermitage: 6/10
• Montreal Zwalm: 6/10
• Brutopia Chocolate Stout: 5/10
• Boquebiere Saison: 5/10
• Montreal London Ruby: 5/10
• Church-Key Barley in Cider: 5/10
• Montreal O Fruit Pomme: 5/10
• Hopfenstark Berlin Alexanderplatx Epilogue: 4/10
• Birra Del Borgo L’Equilibrista: 4/10

I would highly recommend anything I ranked a 10 or a 9 (and I would also recommend the 8s, though not as much). I think for all three of us Petroleum was the highlight of the festival and now I have to take Brazilian beer seriously. (Italian too!) In fact, I hope the LCBO is going to start importing more Brazilian craft beer, as some of it ranks among the best in the world.

I would also highly recommend attending Mondial in the future if you have the money. Yes, the samples can be expensive, but I don’t know where else in Canada one would be able to taste a lot of these breweries at the moment.