Mondial de la Bière 2015: Montréal’s ‘World of Beer’ in Photos

On June 10 to 14, 2015, Mondial de la Bière celebrated its 22nd annual “World of Beer” Festival in Montréal, Canada. Located at the Palais des Congrès in the city’s downtown district, the festival joined together beer industry veterans, media personnel, tourists and local consumers for a five-day celebration of unique beers brewed in Canada and around the world.

A total of 85 breweries exhibited at the international expo, with 40 microbreweries from Quebec alone touting 226 new brews never before seen or tasted at the Mondial de la Bière. In all, 523 beers, meads and ciders were served, with beer alone comprising of 475 sample products.

As guests of Ale Street News, journalist-photographer team, Patrick Phillips and I took on the massive exhibition with vigor. Armed with our media bracelets, mugs and map of the festival’s indoor and outdoor floor plans, we captured as much as we could of the brewers, products and attendance on the show floor, the fine rare beers available in the VIP lounge, and the general essence of the final weekend on Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13.

Please enjoy the photo gallery below, showing our journey from our first day in VIP, our introduction to the main event, some standout brewers, beers and cheese, and an overall glimpse of the mind-opening, palate-expanding experience of Montréal beer.

Photos by Patrick Phillips. To view the slideshow, click the first image below and use the arrows to scroll.

: A segment of the bottle selection available in the VIP/Press lounge. (Not available to general admission or VIP consumers.)

: A first taste of Montréal beer:

: My mug is empty, but I’m excited to try what’s next.

: Cervejaria Colorado (L) from Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil was another personal favorite.

: Montréal’s Dieu du Ciel! brewpub was another standout brewer at the event.

: A selection of Red Racer offerings from Central City Brewing.

: The perks of being press: as we worked on our stories and appetites, bread and local cheese was available to soak up those 4oz tastes.

: Did I mention there was complementary beer, bread and cheese?

: A favorite of the photographer: Muskoka Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout, an imperial stout brewed by Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge, Ontario.

: Another from Muskoka to regret not doubling up on: the Twice As Mad Tom IPA, an imperial IPA aged in cognac barrels. Think about that!

: We were lucky enough to snag two of the last tastes of this Brazilian whale: Tripel Hop Montfort, a Belgian style tripel by Cervejaria Bodebrown in Brazil.

: (L to R): Cat Wolinski, Beer Affair and Pat Phillips, cameraman and co-founder of Team Biscuit Films check to make sure they are really here.

: Pat goes in for his first taste of Montréal beer on the show floor: Saint-Bock’s Malédiction, a sweet stout served with a marshmallow garnish.

: Taking notes on our first two tastes at the Saint-Bock booth.

: Hopfenstark cheerfully lured us in to try some rockin’ sours.

: To our pleasant surprise, Hopfenstark brewer, Fred Carmier showed us the full spectrum of his current and vintage sours, some harking back from as long ago as 2007. Pictured middle and right are two iterations of the Cassandra Complex sour blend with oak aged raspberry.

: Alaen Ouellet donned a Station Ho.St DIY horse costume.

: At least Fred was amused.

: The last stop on our Hopfenstark journey was the magical, balanced imperial stout, far from the flavor profile of the first sour.

: We could smell Alexander Keith’s of Nova Scotia from a mile away…in celebration of their new Hop Series, the commercial brewer’s truck sent boiling hops and mash wafting across the show floor.