Bottle Shop & Tasting Room at Brasserie Harricana

So funny enough, I was working on my previous post on Brasserie Harricana beer when I noticed that Noah – the always eloquent and taker of the beautiful black background photos of Beerism had just published a post about these new barrel aged beers from Harricana.

He reviews in his trademark style both the green label and pink label releases, it was serendipitous that I was in the midst of drinking some of this stuff myself.

At the end of his post he mentioned that there was the launch of Harricana’s bottle shop this past Saturday at 1 pm. He must-have prime connections that my hermit ass must not to have such advance info.  I hopped at the chance to scope it out and I am much grateful to the man that I did.

First of all, if you haven’t been the the Brasserie itself, what are you waiting for. The room is beautiful, the contrast of modern and colder elements (the marble, the bars, the gold accents) against the more rustic ones (the pink leather chairs,  the wood, the vintage accents). The beer selection is varied and is also offered in smaller pours, the food and service top tier. It’s great and unpretentious.

The tasting room/bottle shop is upstairs from the bar, accessed from the pink door on the side of the building at 7205 St-Urbain.

Guided by the heady smells of fermentation…or the signs, one takes the stairs up to a bright and airy space. The first corner houses a bottle fridge, a growler filling station & this also doubles as a cash.

Yes I said growler station! Last year Quebec finally adopted legislation concerning the sale of beer on tap. Alas its bogged down in the usual simplicity/innovation cramping red tape this province is famous for. Nonetheless it’s a first step and still  great news for consumers and producers alike.

Currently they offer 950ml growlers, the deposit is 4$ and the beers on tap will be priced between 10-14$. They had 6 selections available when I passed by (A blonde, Scotch ale, a stout with fruits and a sour beer with wild herbs, you can check the Brasserie’s Facebook page for updates)

The rest of the room is taken up fair variety  of different types of barrels of fermenting beer, storage for upcoming and current stock and a ping pong-table, that got some action from some staff members and friends.

On the day of my visit the charming proprietor Marie-Pier Veilleux was pouring tastes of the 3 current iterations of the 7205 series (I reviewed .001 here) , they also had a few pink label beers for sale (69 and 343) and some merch (bottle openers and glasses, more to come according to staff)

They mentioned that for the moment they plan to keep the shop open until 7pm, unlike the pub downstairs it’s cash or credit only so be prepared. It’s a great addition to their business and a way to offer tastings sessions and events without crowding the bar downstairs.

I hate to gush on like a fanboy about anything but I must profess my love for Harricana, if you’re a whisky fan the parallel I can make is that their ethos remind me a lot of the early days of Bruichladdich. Solid production chops with the will the experiment and try unconventional techniques to achieve their results and a branding and marketing that eschews a lot of the trappings of their respective genres (the salmon pink color that ties everything together reminds of the Laddie’s aqua color scheme) I look forward to what they will bring out next.

7205 St-Urbain 2nd floor, 7/7, 3-7pm

*growler shot credit is from the Harricana Facebook page, same with logo

Franck

Brasserie Harricana 7205.001

Last week was a rather weird one, I twice ended up losing whole swaths of tasting notes and drafts for a couple of blog posts I had been working on. Now I know, have a back-up! Write it down they say! I usually do both of those things it just turns out I had reworked these drafts from their written versions as I though the originals weren’t that good.

Moving on, last week on my lunch hour I randomly popped into Dépanneur Peluso’s new digs on Beaubien, this new space is very nice, with a pretty wide selection. Lo and behold I snapped to attention when I saw a new release by Brasserie Harricana. I will have to make a separate post/rant on the intensity of my love for this brewery/pub, let’s just say I’ve got a crush.

This one’s from their new green label (7205 named in honor of the address of their new tasting room…more to come) of ephemeral, experimental barrel aged beers, limited and never to be repeated.

It turns out. 001 was one that I had sampled during Chambly beer fest, I had enjoyed it but was absolutely smitten by a crisp refreshing rye beer that day (#56 American Rye Session) and therefore didn’t spend as much time on it. 001 clocks in at 8% abv. it is a vatting of 3 different beers it’s composed of 50% strong wheat beer, 25% mixed fermentation Witbier and 25% Belgian double. All aged in red & white wine casks with Brettanomyces, they we’re then re-fermented with a large quantity of blackberries.

Ok you with me so far, it seems convoluted but it’s very much keeping in line with the style of barrel aged blending that is rising in popularity (in North America at least).

You’ll have to excuse me as I am pulling my tasting notes from memory but this was a distinct enough beer for me to remember the impression it left on me.

The nose has a good presence of wet grains, damp oak and some sharpness, the funk is not over present and the fruit/berry seems to have transformed into a feeling of crushed grapes.

The palate: is immediately sharp, the acidity and tannins are present but not overpowering, when that damp funk mixes with the blackberries, it taste almost like blackcurrants. The finish is super short but then it returns with a bit of spice, pepper and a feeling of drinking Malbec.

This beer walks such a tightrope, the sharpness and tannins are well balanced, the secondary fermentation with the berries provides a necessary respite from the dank cellar notes of the wild yeasts. The oak and the fruits combine to make something akin to wine, if it wasn’t the presence of the grains reminding you that this is beer. A blend that has immense crossover appeal, I would be curious to pair this beer with food. The brewers and blenders at Harricana have a very skilled touch with these fruit and grape adjuncts as is demonstrated in many of their other products.

Grade: A