The terroir inspires the brewers of Baie-Comeau to the extent that they tell us stories about it. They invite us to travel through time and space, marked by flavors of land and sea.
Saint-Pancrace: This cove, located 15 km northeast of Baie-Comeau, offered a safe anchorage for the sailboats of French settlers. The identity of the microbrewery was born from its salty air, freshwater falls, and boreal forest. The adventure began in 2013 with the creation of the pub on La Salle Square, followed by the production facility in 2017.
Regular beers, seasonal beers, exclusive beers, and those only served at the pub: "Each of our beers has a name and its legend," explains André Morin, co-owner and production director. "La Magpie, La Swell, La Père-Divet... The places, objects, characters, and traditions that give their name to these craft beers do exist, but it's up to each person to have fun unraveling the true from the false of the story associated with them.
Local products showcased
The microbrewers work with gatherers and producers from the region, especially for wild berries. Sea buckthorn flavors La Tête de cheval, haskap for La Baie Cachée, cloudberry for La Fleur de Feu, sweet gale and juniper for La Traite, a special beer for the Hivernants Festival in Sept-Îles. While some beers do not have a terroir essence, the intention to create a connection with a place, a moment, a context of the North Shore is always there, like an evening on the beach around a fire or a stop in the Groulx Mountains.
With farmers, Microbrasserie St-Pancrace pushes teamwork and the challenge "to the point of wondering what they could grow," emphasizes André Morin. Carmanor Farm is replanting a rhubarb field, and the brewers are turning it into a beer that, after a small production, will benefit from regional distribution in the fall of 2021.
The Crâââbe, please!
While the rest of Quebec celebrates the end of winter with maple syrup, the North Shore eats freshly caught crab from the waters of the St. Lawrence. At Microbrasserie St-Pancrace, they produce a bitter beer, English-style. "We start by throwing a big crab party at the pub. The crab cooking juice replaces the water used in the beer. Every year, at the beginning of May, we make a small quantity. It has a slightly salty and iodized taste with a caramel side. It was born from our collaboration with Hopera microbrewery in Jonquière, which had tested it with lobster," says André Morin.
Four variations of a beer on Route 138
Trail 09, here's one more reason to take a road trip from Tadoussac to Natashquan. In May 2021, the microbreweries of the North Shore (Microbrasserie de Tadoussac, Microbrasserie St-Pancrace, La Compagnie in Sept-Îles, and Brasserie La Mouche in Natashquan) will launch this "thirst blonde" type of beer, to be enjoyed when it's very hot. The brewer of each microbrewery will create their version, based on their techniques and tastes. Ready, set, go!
Written by: Christine Gilliet (Words and Tides)
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