Tasting

What does a beer from Québec taste like? That depends on which of the three lineages is in the glass. A Molson is pale, light, and simple. The beers from Chambly and the microbreweries, by contrast, are fuller and spicier, and belong more to the category of beers you sip slowly.

Unibroue's La Fin du Monde is built as a tripel: golden, with fruit and spice on the nose and a dry finish. Trois Pistoles leans toward the dark strong ale style, showing dried fruit, caramel, and a warm finish. Both are robust, and both sit well above a lager in alcohol content.

Dieu du Ciel!'s Péché Mortel is the dark example. It smells of coffee and roast, is bitter and dense, and pours thick into the glass. Rosée d'Hibiscus, from the same brewery, is a wheat beer with hibiscus flowers and sits at the opposite end of the flavor spectrum: floral and pale.

For the robust beers, a goblet or tulip glass works best — one that narrows at the top to trap the aromas. Drink tripels at 8 to 10°C (46–50°F); serve dark strong ales and stouts a bit warmer, at 10 to 14°C (50–57°F), so they don't lose aroma. The pale lager tastes best cold.

With bottles that undergo secondary fermentation, how you pour matters. Pour in one steady motion without tilting, and leave the last inch or so, along with the sediment, in the bottle. Pour in the yeast and you get a cloudier beer with more yeast character; leave it behind and you get a clearer one.