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Ravenhead

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Hey all,

The SWMBO and I are going to Burlington, VT on Thursday(11th) and rolling up to Montreal, QC on Friday(12th) for a few days. Just wondering if anybody has a MUST DO for those to locations. I am going to try to make it to Magic Hat but may not be early enough and in Montreal if I can swing it I want to Unibrou. What info can you all give me...

Thanks in advance.

Todd
 
You beat me to it. The tour of Magic Hat is nice, and the beer is not that bad. (plus there are free tasters)
But definitely the three Big John mentioned.
 
vt pub & brewery in burlington, good food & great beer. as for breweries, check out otter creek, not to far from burlington, they have a good tour and sampling. :mug:
 
Vermont pub and brewery , American Flatbread and the 3 needs. Skip Magic Hat.

If you're going to travel out of Burlington go to the Alchemist.

Word! and Word!

Alchemist is only a short way from Burlington and they make some tasty beer.

As for Montreal, I would love to hear the lowdown on that myself. I know there are a few folks on here from up that way. Give us the scoop. I love going up there to visit. Though I hate trying to get back into my own friggin country! Sheesh!
 
Montreal is a pretty cool town, a little chilly this time of year but not as bad as February. They've got several brewpubs up there, I like one called Brutopia. It's sort of a young crowd, but always a good time and the food is pretty good.
 
if you can while in MTL,check out dieu du ciel...Home too manys beers to list...Brutopia is not bad, it's right downtown on on Cresent street, but like MEV says kind of a young crowd. Alot of people here like Trois Brasseures, it's a microbrew pub chain. I find the beer tastes like soap. Vt pub and brewery had good beer and is in downtown burlington. I go their everytime I'm in Burlington. Worth the trip.
 
if you can while in MTL,check out dieu du ciel...

Seconded. It's not just a super-cool bar: they also make Péché Mortel. I'm not a big imperial stout fan, but this stuff is legendary. You will be missing out if you go to Montreal without trying it.
 
If you have to choose between places to go in Burlington, I vote for American Flatbread. We liked their beers better (overall) and the pizza was delicious.
 
If you have to choose between places to go in Burlington, I vote for American Flatbread. We liked their beers better (overall) and the pizza was delicious.


Flatbread, Vermont pub and Brewery and the needs are all within walking distance of each other. So there is no excuse not to go to all 3.

;)
 
I was in Montreal this summer. I went to a few of the previous mentioned brewpubs. They were decent. I missed going to McAuslan brewery. It was right along a bike path we rode. I tried their stout and scoth ale at a tasting at one of the open air markets, both very good especially the stout.
Brasserie McAuslan Brewery
Check out their brewery and tell me what I missed. Montreal is a great town especially if you cycle. Their car drivers actually give bicyclist the right of way. As a regular bike commuter in the states I envy their commuting ways.
 
In Montreal Dieu du Ciel is a place totally worth checking out. The beers are excellent. If you're the kind that stay up late thats when I would hit Brutopia (any night but a monday night) because as well as beer they always have great live music...Exams are starting now so the "young crowd" may be a little less overwhelming if that bothers you.

Another great brewpub is Benelux (on Sherbrooke and Jeanne Meance.) They have some great pints and though they are a bit pricey totally worth checking out, I didnt hear you say how long you'd be in the area, but on Wednesday nights Benelux is 2 for one pints!

Ummm...thats all I can think of. Unless you're really hungry, dont mess with les trois brasseurs, eat at Brutopia, they have great pub fair that is fairly priced (Happy hour 5:30 til 8 think)

Unibrou is worth a shot, Ive never seen it.

Now in Burlington, Flatbread is a MUST, great people there. Ive never had the chance to check out VT pub and brewery but Ive only heard good things about it. I

f you're looking to buy beers to bring home/back to the hotel check out some Rock ART, its a microbrewery based out of Johnson VT (about 30 min south of Burlington on back roads, dont know if they do tours) but most of their beers come in 22ozers (known as bombers locally, anyone else call them that?) or 6 packs. Its one of my under the radar favorite breweries.
 
If you're looking to buy beers to bring home/back to the hotel check out some Rock ART

Oh yeah! We stopped in Burlington on the way back from Montreal this summer and picked up a few Rock Art bombers at the Co-Op. The Jasmine Pale Ale was really good, and unique, if you want a beer to quaff. The ESB3, on the other hand, was one of the only true drain pours I've encountered: nothing but overwhelming alcohol heat.
 
The ESB3, on the other hand, was one of the only true drain pours I've encountered: nothing but overwhelming alcohol heat.

yeah, they've been stepping up their alcohol percentage alot lately for some reason, thus all the bottles with their EXTREME labels. I would recommend the Vermonster (barleywine). Their Golden Tripple and Ridge Runner (mild barley wine) are very good, but to satisfy my dark tastes, nothing beats the Midnight Madness Smoked Porter.

Wow, I cant wait to go home for Christmas!
 
Another vote for Vt Pub + Brewery and against wasting time at Magic Hat. No specific advice on Montreal other than we spent our honeymoon there five years ago and it was wonderful. Of course, we weren't going in December, but we'd go back in a heartbeat.
 
+1 for Dieu du Ciel and Benelux. I love both places.

Brutopia is hit and miss. I haven't been in a while, and I have usually enjoyed thier beers, but have heard some negative comments from reliable sources as of late.

As far as brewery tours, McAuslin is worth a shot, and Unibroue as well(haven't gone).
 
Great Info and KEEP IT COMING!

The one night in Burlington is going to be busy...American Flatbread, VT Pub and Brewery, and 3 needs. I am willing to do my best. Friday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon I will chase down the recommended MTL places as well.

I know it seems odd to be going in December but we like traveling around the holidays to places where we don't have family. We had hoped to go to Europe but funds and time aren't there so for half(or less) the expense, I read that Montreal was very similar to the European feel around the holidays. Lots of festivals, public events and culture. Thought we give it a try.

Thanks and keep suggesting.


Todd
 
Montreal very much does have an old-world kind of feel to it. We went in June, so we could just walk around the city as much as we wanted (although mid-summer, it's feindishly humid). Should be a real good time for you guys. Burlington absolutely :rockin: :rockin: as well.
 
Just a caution with the Vermont Brewery, go for the beer but be careful with the food. I was there in the spring and tried the beer-battered fish. It sounds good, with a batter made from their own Burly Irish Red Ale, but somehow they managed to remove every trace of flavour from the batter, leaving a tasteless, somewhat soggy mess. Several other folks tried the beer-battered onion rings and found them just as bad. Maybe it was just an off day, but the beer was definitely worth the visit. I got to try my first sour beer there (Spuyten Duyvil) and I also enjoyed the IPA.
 
Just a caution with the Vermont Brewery, go for the beer but be careful with the food. I was there in the spring and tried the beer-battered fish.

Fish wouldn't be my first choice when visiting Vermont..... unless I'd been fishing for trout

Of course you know old Vermonters go to Boston to get scrod :drunk:

Sorry... a really old and corny joke.


Other than the brewpubs... a walk down Church Street during the holiday season is a must
 
So here is the line-up for Thursday (12/11):
Burlington-
Vt Pub and Brewery
American Flatbread (for dinner and beer)
The Three Needs

Friday thru Monday night(or other available times)
Brutopia
Dieu Du Ciel
McAuslan
Benelux

Can't wait to hit all these great suggestions. Thanks guys for taking the time to post.

Todd
 
I was just in both places a few weeks ago.

+1 on Vt Pub & Brewery (thanks to Jester for the recommendation). Very good beer, some are pretty imaginative.

In Montreal I really enjoyed Benelux, a smallish brewpub on Sherbrooke, a couple blocks from McGill University. They had probably 10 taps, all but three being their own beer, and all were very good.
 
I personally am a big Magic Hat fan. The #9 was the first beer I had that got me into craft beer. I turned 21 at the brewery ............ so I am partial to it.
 
So We're back and this is the first opportunity to get back on the board. Had an awesome trip... definitely a Northeast experience!!

Thursday night after getting into Burlington and hitting the hotel we jumped in a cab and headed downtown. We first hit VT Pub and Brewery and got the six sampler, the absinthe beer was interesting but not something you'ld want by the pint. Try the cheese plate... it was phenomenal.

Next was American Flatbread....really good! The food was appropriately modern and artisanal but the beer was great good!

3 Needs was the pleasant surprise. The beer was excellent made even better by the fact that the decor is lets say lacking. The bar reminded me of bars in San Diego (where I'm from) where the tatted and pierced/plugged set tend hang out. Great music overhead... great time but not family friendly.


On to Montreal! First off if you ever get the chance to go to Montreal, GO! it was a beautiful, friendly, exciting place. Living in a very concervative CO town and coming from a city of 4 million, Montreal was a wonderfully metropolitan and international city. Food was delicious and affordable. The people went out of their way to help or talk to us. Can't say enough about the city.

The first pub we hit was Benelux. Excellent. It was deliscious, modern and very local. The Server was Quebecois and very friendly. She helped us as much as possible to pick our beers which were excellent. Food was funny. We had the Fri special which was a Euro dog and a pint and we had the cheese plate...or should I say olive and almond plate with three slices of Dubliner cheese. I'm talking about probably 2 cups of olives and the same for almonds... a little disappointing but hey I'm game and the beer was excellent.

That night we also made it to Brutopia...beer wise disappointing but staff wise very fun. Brutopia is in the part of town that is the most English/American. The employees were super friendly.. in some respects too friendly. Lets just say that after the 5 shots of whiskey and many beers the walk home was challenging (especially because of the 2" of ice on the sidewalk).

Saturday was a bit of a wasted day unfortunately but we had an amazing dinner at a place called Boris Bistro. A little pricey but we have spent a lot more for a similar dinner in the States and Europe.

Sunday night we went to Dieu Du Ciel... Incredible! Beers were the best of the trip and in the Laurier neighborhood of Montreal it was out of the tourist areas and very local. The food once again okay but the cheese plate again a great way to go! The staff was not bilingual but very nice and with a little stumbling through Highschool french we got what we wanted and more! The beer is ethereal. I cannot say enough. It is a must visit while in Montreal.

There it is for you all. With out you guys the trip wouldn't have been a success. The weather was a challenge but we still loved it. Thank you all!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Todd
 
Thanks for the report. Glad to see you had a great time. So often people never "report back" (me included). It's nice to see advice used. Happy New Year.
 
Sounds like you had a nice trip. I'm glad you had a good time in Montreal. One of the world's premier cities and HUGELY underrated IMO.
I'm about 2 hours away from Montreal and go to Dieu du Ciel at least 3-4 times a year. It's just an AMAZING brewpub. Their beer is some of the best out there. Period.

I could only dream of having a place even close to as good as Dieu du Ciel here in Canada's sleepy capital of Ottawa.
 
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