Specialty Beer Shops: Bières etc.

On a Saturday morning we decided to explore the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area, in the eastern part of Montreal where we found a great neighbourhood beer store, situated near the corner of Saint Catherine street and Avenue Desjardins. The shop is called Bières etc. the name says it all. This specialty beer store is owned and operated by Mme. Brigitte Couture, who opened up shop "en 2011 pour faire la promotion de bières québécoises auprès des résidents d’Hochelaga-Maisonneuve"....That would be us! That morning we got to meet her and talk beer!

The shop may be small, but it is jam-packed with beer. If there was a measurement for beer/floor-space ratio, this shop would top the scale. Since there is very little back-store storage space everything must be properly organized and displayed in a way that utilizes every inch of available floor-space. That being said, everything is easily accessible and well displayed, nothing is lost to the eye, what you see is what they have.

There are beers everywhere, in nice displays on the floor, on the shelves, and inside the fridges. The chalkboards over top of the fridges are both aesthetically pleasing and helpful.  Customers can use them to assess what is in the fridge without having to examine every label, though we do that anyways. Whatever you want they have, and if you are not sure just ask the knowledgeable staff. They also sell nice glassware, cheeses, jams, ciders, and other local products. Bières etc. epitomizes our society's artisanal/local shift, and we love it!

Mme. Couture showed us some of her newly acquired limited edition beers, which definitely tickled our interest. We grabbed a bottle of McAuslan's St-Ambroise, Russian Imperial Stout, Special Reserve, as well as a bottle of Cherno Pivo, Imperial Stout by Le Trèfle Noir. Both of these beers we have yet to drink, we are gonna let them age a while. They will both go well with a big Christmas/New Year's dinner, or maybe to warm us up in the depths of winter. Before we made our way out, we were offered a nice sampler of a Dieu Du Ciel beer, however, at this point we forgot which one, but we did thoroughly enjoy it.

Thank you all for taking the time to learn about Bières etc., and do check it out when you are in the area. You will not be disappointed, we guarantee it! Residents of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve are lucky to have such an awesome establishment. We wish you all Good Beer buying!

Cheers!

-Jean