Specialty Beer Shops: La Grange du Marché

Over the past three to four years there has been significant growth in the MicroBrew scene. Both, in terms of small breweries and brewpubs, but more specifically in regard to the amount of specialty shops dealing exclusively in the sale of microbrews. In this article we will discuss one in particular: La Grange du Marché, situated within the Jean-Talon market. La Grange du Marché is going on there one year anniversary as of this September.

Over the weekend we decided to take a bike ride to the Jean-Talon market to peruse the market stalls, and indulge in free samples. After lunch we made our way to La Grange du Marché to see what was on offer at the tasters table. We tasted Brasseur Illimites C- Slovenian style Pilsner, centre bottle. Overall, we would say it tasted fine, but we both noted that it was a fairly thin beer and tasted a little like a cider. However, we have never had a Slovenian style pilsner so we lacked comparability.

After tasting our samples we walked into the shop to see what they were all about. We were very pleased by the selection of beers; though they had no representation from  Microbrasserie de l'île d'Orléans and Brasserie Dunham. They also had a very tasty selection of savoury marinated meats. What we liked most was how they organized their inventory by beer company, and the addition of symbols to designate certain flavour or bitterness profiles. As well, they separated seasonal and new products from the rest of the stock. We had a chance to speak to one of the employees at checkout and we were told that they were expecting there first shipment from Brasserie Dunham within the next month!        

It did not take us long to choose which beers to bring home. Usually we make our selection based on whether or not we have ever tried the beer or we keep within a style, this time we went with beers he had yet to try. We ended up selecting an Oktoberfest by Les Trois Mousquetaires, G-Hopweizen by Brasseur Illimites, and La Saison Chaude also by Brasseurs Illimites. Two of which I brought with us to a BBQ that night. Both beers did not disappoint. However, One beer stood out for us and that is the Hopweizen with Nelson Sauvin hops by Brasseur Illimites, fantastic!

Thanks for reading and I hope you check out La Grange du Marché! We will be keeping you on top of the local beer shop scene in our dedicated segment: Specialty Beer Shops. 

Cheers!

- Jean