Sampled draught at the Mondial, Montreal (May 2007). Bright, lightly hazy gold with a bit of lasting white cream....hugely malty, creamy aroma, faint noble hops in the background grow a bit more defined with some warmth....wonderfully balanced body, great fresh Munich malts perfectly interacting with grassy, moderately bitter hops, fairly strong sharp finish which just lasts and lasts, offering faint mineralic/chalky notes for interest, but never overpowering. Another incredibly good helles from Quebec!

Bu au Mondial 07. Blonde claire, petit collet. Arome d’herbes fines malté, un peu crèmeux. Goût de malte crème, avec des épices doux et un peu houblonné.

<i>Any first impressions?</i><br /> -A sheet of foam protects the clear golden shine.<br /> -An ingenious blend of pils malt and wooden hops seduces physically, and mentally due to its obvious authenticity.<br /> -Pillowy malt serves as the bed for the crunchy, resinous hop flavor and bitterness. <br /> -The well-fed body is enlivened by active carbonation.<br /> <br /> <i>What if you dig deeper?</i><br /> -I thought Amère à Boire was the only Quebec brewpub to recreate such authentic lager stylings. I closed my eyes and easily saw myself in the Bavarian countryside.<br /> -This was served a little too cold, if I may find something to improve.<br /> -Honeyed, citrusy fruitiness runs through the complex interplay of pils maltiness and spicy, earthy hoppiness.<br /> -This is an extremely well-brewed, flavorful helles, the likes of which I would like to see more often as the house blond in craft brewpubs.<br /> <br /> <b>On tap at the brewpub.</b>

Clear pure blonde colour. The head is white, large and mostly lasting. Excessively clean, pure lager character, spot on as they say. Charming hay field, floral, spicy, soft saaz coming up with pieces of the oily bohemian zing. Light-medium body, impossibly tight and crisp carbonation. Purely extracted, joyous pils malt character, an ever-lasting support for drinkability and the other ingredients’ showcase. Well well, this is as clean as it gets, I’d be curious to roll my tongue along a version conditioned with the yeast. It is almost too clean, a pleasure to drink certainly, but almost too easy to do so. I find myself wanting to drink more without really concentrating on it. A straight road to success, yet I would like to try this and that variant of wildness. An update with come once the next time I’m there and drown myself into a whole pint.

The pour reveals a clear golden color with a thin white head. Superb aroma and flavor of rich malt, bread, hazelnuts and honey with noble hops. The body has a light to medium thickness with a creamy texture and medium to lively carbonation. This is the first beer I had at the brewpub and it is very impressive.