AUG/SEP 2006 | REGIONAL | INTERNATIONAL

Mondial de la Bière, now in its 13th year, saw more than 80,000 people flow through the halls at Windsor Station in Montreal this year. Great local and international beer and food were in abundance.

“I am very pleased to see that the Mondial de la Bière has become an event that people look forward to and show up to, rain or shine,” said Jeannine Marois, president and founder of the event. “We are looking forward to hosting visitors again next year, from May 30 to June 3, 2007.”
Consumers voted on their favorite beers this year, selecting Brutopia, Le Bilboquet, Dieu du Ciel and McAuslan (all local/regional breweries).

A panel of professional judges was employed in a unique beer judging in which the judges had to first identify a category for the beer and then rate the beer in that category. This required having a lot of confidence in the judges. The results are available on the festival Web site, with Boréale Noire (Les Brasseurs du Nord) in Boisbriand, Quebec, taking the platinum.

The Mondial program included beer education, with workshops on food and beer pairing, free and open to the public (14 cheese workshops, 10 beer workshops, two debates), along with the CONFERENCEMBEER06.

The event closed with a superb dinner and beer-pairing. Chef Brian Morin (beerbistro in Toronto) prepared a five-course meal, with each course accompanied by a beer-tasting.

For more information, visit festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca.

Mondial's winners are pictured below.

Tom Dalldorf is publisher and editor of the Celebrator Beer News.