Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Death by Péché: That Time we Drank 18 Péché Mortel Variants and Then Died
An article by Noah Forrest Last Saturday I set into place a tasting that was as high in caffeine as it was in alcohol. It wasn’t an easy task to overcome, but it was certainly delicious – until it wasn’t? Over the years I quietly collected various vintages of a particular beer that is often…
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A Quick Guide to Dieu du Ciel!’s 2019 Bottle Release: Marché du 11ème
An article by Noah Forrest Well, the weather might be trash right now, but at least we can look forward to strong beers and bottle releases. Once again, it’s time for Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!‘s Winter Marché! This annual party out in St. Jérome is a much needed celebration where you can drink amazing rarities…
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Beerism’s Top 13 New Quebec beers of 2018!
An article by Noah Forrest With every coming year, the Quebec beer scene changes and grows. New breweries continue to pop up and new styles get created, while old ones get tighter and more refined. I love seeing the progress with each coming year. 2018 in particular was an interesting year for beer. Although I…
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Brasserie du Bas-Canada Celebrates Their First Anniversary with a Bottle and Can Release
An article by Noah Forrest I can’t believe Brasserie du Bas-Canada has only been around for a year. In this short period of time, they have brought a rather contemporary angle to the Quebec hoppy beer scene; something some would argue was lacking. I’m not always huge on fruited or Milkshake IPAs, but these modern interpretations are…
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A Guide to Brasserie Dunham’s Fall 2018 Bottle release!
An article by Noah Forrest October is here. Winter jackets are being pulled from closets, leaves are hitting the ground, and there are far more pumpkin spiced things out there than we need. And although everyone is exited about Halloween, I’m actually more excited about Brasserie Dunham‘s 2018 bottle release. It’s happening this weekend! Brasserie…
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Brett Never Sleeps: A Beerism and Brouerie Sutton Collaboration (100% Brett Brut IPA!)
An article by Noah Forrest A couple of months ago no one around here was talking about Brut IPAs. It was all haze, all day, everyday. If an IPA was filtered and clear, it had no place on the shelf in this modern New England-focused IPA landscape. And damn it, that’s how we liked it.…
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My Thoughts on Brasserie Dunham’s Foudre Unis 2018
An article by Noah Forrest This past weekend was Foudre Unis. We survived. If you are not aware, Foudre Unis 2018 was the first in a hopefully long series of beer festivals hosted by Brasserie Dunham (held about a ten minute drive from their brewery in a small eastern townships town called Frelighsburg). The festival…
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Ottawa’s Tooth and Nail Brewing Company Releases Barrel Reserve Series
An article by Noah Forrest I’m excited to write this post. Tooth and Nail Brewing Company is a gem of a brewery that I always recommend to people when they are visiting Ottawa. There is something special about the quality, consistency, drinkability, and care behind their products that elevates them to another level. I’ve been…
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Flora Hall and Brasserie du Bas-Canada Create a New Kind of Collaboration
An Article by Noah Forrest Gerald Comeau (a new Brut IPA from Brasserie du Bas-Canada and Flora Hall Brewing) was named after the man who’s been fighting inter-provincial Canadian alcohol restrictions for the last few years. First and foremost, the idea was to brew an innovative collaborative IPA between two breweries that are very close…
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Avant-Garde Releases a Rainbow of Barrel-Aged Funk
An Article by Noah Forrest 2017 was great for Avant-Garde – Artisans Brasseurs. They definitely stepped up their game from previous years, hosting two separate bottle releases and dropping a ton of barrel-aged beers for us to pine over. These bottles were rather well received, helping solidify their place in the province as one of…
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Microbrasserie 4 Origines Opens in Pointe-Saint-Charles
An article by Noah Forrest Microbrasserie 4 Origines opened its doors in April this year, but they are already starting to garner a reputation for quality beer. Located at the eastern tip of Point-St-Charles, patrons can have a beer in their beautiful tap room, or purchase bottles and cans to go. They are currently producing…
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Brasserie Distillerie Champ Libre Hosts Their First Bottle Release!
An article by Noah Forrest Hey! Guess what? Brasserie Distillerie Champ Libre is having a bottle release tomorrow, Saturday, July 14th, 2018! I provided some details about this a few weeks back, so I decided to write a follow up post to let you know how the beers turned out. Guests are welcome to arrive…
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Champ Libre – An Interview with Alex Ganivet, A Review of their Core Line-up, and an Exclusive Look at their Upcoming Bottle Release
An article by Noah Forrest Do you ever just find yourself rooting for someone to succeed and prosper? That’s how I’ve felt about Alex Ganivet-Boileau pretty much the second I met him four years ago (as he hacked into a cask of the first ever batch of LTM’s Saison Brett during La Cuvée). At the time Alex…
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Boreale Continues to Step Up Their Hop Game
An article by Noah Forrest There is just so much to say about Boreale these days. Les Brasseurs du Nord, Boreale’s parent company, has been making quality beer for decades. The Boreale brand is a Quebec staple. For me, their beers were always reliable, very well priced, and usually the best option in a sea…
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Brasserie Artisanale Maltstrom Starts Barrel Aging – Yes Please!
An article by Noah Forrest Brasserie Artisanale Maltstrom may have only been around a couple of years, but they are already on their way to becoming one of the most sought after breweries in the province. Helmed by owner and brewer Michaël Fiset – as well as brewer Elaura Bussiere – this Notre-Dame-des-Prairies brewery is…
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A Preview of Brasserie Dunham’s May 2018 Bottle Release
An article by Noah Forrest With the approaching summer weather just around the corner, it also means that the infamous Brasserie Dunham May bottle release party is arriving! And this year is as sexy as ever. This Saturday on May 26th, brasserie Dunham invites you to drive out to the eastern townships for an afternoon of…
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Sutton Brouërie Brews Some Big and Burly Brett Beers to Finish off the Winter
An Article by Noah Forrest Most of the time when we think about the illustrious wild yeast genus brettanomyces (or brett for short), we picture sours, lambic, American wild ales, brett IPAs, or maybe bretted saisons. Basically, we think of beers that are dry, or hoppy, or tart, or sour, but generally rather drinkable. However, brett…
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Microbrasserie La Memphré Continues to Bottle Some Brilliantly Balanced Beer
An article by Noah Forrest The folks at Microbrasserie La Memphré have been busy over the last few months, delivering several brand new beers to the public as well as some returning classics. This Magog-based brewery is a must visit if you find yourself in Quebec’s eastern townships. The stand alone brewery and restaurant has…
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I think I have Survived La Cuvée 2018
An article byNoah Forrest Have you ever wondered if you could die from a hangover? Well, I had some time on Saturday morning to ponder this, as I hovered over my toilet bowl. The night before I attended the 2018 edition of La Cuvée d’hiver 2018 – and I think had a pretty good time?…
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Péché Day 2018 – Another Péché Mortel Mixed Case to Excite us!
An article by Noah Forrest It’s February, and the cold has been around so long now that my anger has transformed into a form of cold-complacency. It’s depressing, demoralizing, and I want it done with! Luckily, it is also that time of year where imperial stouts are found in abundance. And more specifically, Péché Day is on…
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Microbrasserie À La Fût – Still Brewing Quality
An article by Noah Forrest Microbrasserie À La Fût is one of the those quality Quebec breweries that has been around forever while at the same time being a brewery that is often taken for granted. It certainly has been from me. I don’t try nearly enough of their products, but when I do, I’m…
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The Wild Shack 3: This Time It’s Personal
An article by Noah Forrest About two years ago I wrote about The Wild Shack for the first time. Back then, you probably had no idea who they were. That has changed. The talented and sexy duo behind The Wild Shack are the illustrious Remi Galipeau and Maxime Dallaire. And this year, they have been…
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Microbrasserie Kruhnen Changes Their Look
An article by Noah Forrest As much as one can say that label art shouldn’t effect how we choose a given bottle of beer, it certainly still does. This is especially true for individuals who are first discovering craft beer (or any product, really). If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll often end…
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Microbrasserie Dieu du Ciel! Releases “Caisse d’hiver” for the Holidays
An article by Noah Forrest This week, Dieu du Ciel! is releasing a new winter mix pack called Caisse d’hiver! Starting this week, it will be available for purchase in stores all across the province. This soon-to-be illustrious case of beer contains four different barrel-aged creations for us to sip on over the holidays. Three…
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Merit Brewing – Modern Beer with Traditional Inspiration
An article by Noah Forrest The Toronto brewing scene is blowing up more and more every year. Bellwoods is quickly becoming one of the best in the country, while countless other Toronto-based breweries produce some exceptional beers. Even when you venture outside the greater Toronto area, there are still some fantastic breweries. Half Hours on…
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Oshlag Releases Whiskey Fortified Imperial Stout Called “Fort Noir”
An Article by Noah Forrest Barrel-aging beer is nothing new at this point. Whether it’s bourbon and whiskey barrels, or even wine barrels, it seems that at this point most breweries have dabbled in the process. Alcohol-infused oak lends new layers of complexity to the beer that’s being aged. Bourbon will impart lots of vanilla…
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Tasting Pit Caribou’s Perséides Spontanée no. 1 – Quebec’s First Spontaneously Fermented Beer
An Article by Noah Forrest Spontaneous fermentation has come to Québec. Microbrasserie Pit Caribou will be the first to showcase this process with a brand new beer called Perséides Spontanée no. 1. It will be released tomorrow (Friday, November 3rd) at their brewery in Percé as well as at a handful of select stores around…
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Brasserie Auval Continues to Impress Throughout 2017
An article by Noah Forrest In the span of less than three years, Brasserie Auval has become one of the most sought after and hyped breweries in Canada. Whenever a new beer drops, the online trading forums light up with those seeking and trading these illustrious beers. To say they are hyped is a bit…
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A Look at Brasserie Dunham’s 2017 Fall Bottle Release
An article by Noah Forrest Two Saturday’s ago marked the 2017 Brasserie Dunham Fall bottle release, an event that helps one cope with the impending winter doom that awaits us. As usual, many incredible barrel-aged bottles were sold to thirsty patrons in the beautiful town of Dunham, Quebec. In previous years, the list of available…
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Dieu du Ciel! Releases Two New Fruited Sours: Symbiose No9 & Été Indien.
An Article by Noah Forrest Dieu du Ciel! spoiled us last year. They released so many new beers that it was actually hard to keep up – especially for a fanboy blogger like myself. This year was a bit more restrained for DDC in the “new release” department, and instead, they seemed to fine-tune their…
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Examining Beer Glassware Part 2: Lehmann Oenomust at Alambika
An article by Noah Forrest A few months ago, I tested some handmade beer glasses from the Pretentious Glass Co. in order to examine how different craft beer styles work in conjunction with craft glassware. These glasses were smooth, durable and uniquely constructed. I was impressed with their design and general function. They had a…
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Brasserie Harricana Dives Head First Into the Barrel Aging Game
An article by Noah Forrest Last June I spend several hours wandering through Mondial de la Bière (Montréal’s largest beer festival), trying beer after beer from some of Quebec’s best. When I arrived at the Brasserie Harricana kiosk, I was greeted by an old friend, Francis Richer, who had recently taken the helm as head…
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The Trillium Brewing Company Basically Owns the IPA Scene
An article by Noah Forrest Most of my writing efforts center around the Quebec and Ontario brewing scene within Canada. That said, I’m changing directions today so that I can talk for a moment about pretty much the best IPAs in the world right now. And of course, I’m referring to Trillium Brewing Company in Boston,…
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A Look at Brasserie Vrooden’s Take on German Beer styles.
An article by Noah Forrest Let’s be honest, for the most part, the modern craft beer enthusiast isn’t particularly excited about traditional German-styled lagers and ales (with the exception of the hyper-trendy Berliner Weisse). This is certainly not the case for everyone, but I believe the success of the Pilsner and it’s aggressive annihilation of…
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Microbrasserie Labrosse – The West Island Finally has Beer
An article by Noah Forrest Like so many Montreal “Anglos,” I grew up in the West Island. I lived there for a good portion of my life. As a people, I don’t think we are particularly well-liked by the rest of the city. Many see West Islanders a people who act entitled in some way,…
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Brasserie Dunham Throws Surprise Summer Bottle Release
An article by Noah Forrest Summer is finally taking hold of Montréal, or at least we can hope. I was recently on vacation and the weather was garbage for the most part. That said, the colder temperatures allowed me to kill off a few imperial stouts. However, I think many of us are looking forward…
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Ultra Mosaika from Dieu du Ciel! is Here to Save Us
An article by Noah Forrest “Beer geek” is a popular term within the craft beer community. A lot of people (including those who label themselves as one) consider beer geeks to be an individual who knows a lot about beer, to the point where they see themselves an expert of sorts. And this isn’t wrong,…
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