Going to Montreal, which Pubs should I hit?

[GreenLantern]

So myself and 9 buddies are going to Montreal for a surprise stag for a friend.

I arrive Fri at 2 PM and fly out Mon at 6 pm.

I am an avid beer drinker, I love trying different types from all over. Especially something hoppy. Like Hop Heads IPA or Paddockwood 606 for any Prairie boys in the mix.

Something 55 IBU or higher is where I want to be. Can anyone point me towards the top end pubs in Montreal? Google is getting me a lot of advertisements and I don't trust that source. I want concrete answers from Hopheads that have drank there before!

[valo403]

Pubs? Club Super Sex. Done.

[Bill Bumface]

My experience in Montreal involves drinking 2 for 1 Molson Dry at Winston Churchill's. I was young and broke (and apparently into especially ugly girls that night). Leave me alone.

[GreenLantern]

We already have our clubs/strip joints picked out and bottle service booked for the specific night we want to be there.

But what I don't have booked or planned, are the pubs!!!

I have two afternoons and one evening to kill, I need to find the good beer my sons...

Also, which place in your experience had the best poutine?

Debate.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

So myself and 9 buddies are going to Montreal for a surprise stag for a friend.

I arrive Fri at 2 PM and fly out Mon at 6 pm.

I am an avid beer drinker, I love trying different types from all over. Especially something hoppy. Like Hop Heads IPA or Paddockwood 606 for any Prairie boys in the mix.

Something 55 IBU or higher is where I want to be. Can anyone point me towards the top end pubs in Montreal? Google is getting me a lot of advertisements and I don't trust that source. I want concrete answers from Hopheads that have drank there before!

http://www.peelpubmontreal.com/en/bar.php

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...8&output=embed
They have 140oz pitchers and a medium-sized selection of beers. They have a beer-hall style setup. Had a lot of fun there before.

[SeeBass]

If you are under 28, Peel Pub is a great and cheap place to start

^^beat me by a minute

[GreenLantern]

It would appear that this Peel Pub is 2 blocks directly east of our hotel, great suggestion guys.

Now is there something with a bit of a wider beer selection? More local stuff?

[wookster]

St. Catherine's street at night is quite interesting...lol.
Especially for a stag.

[troutman]

Steve Armitage:

Thanks Mark!

Montreal!

Crescent Street! Poutine! Dick Irvin! The Big O! Peter Dalla Riva! Smoked Meat! Mitsou! Formula One! Gino Vanelli!

[Knut]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

It would appear that this Peel Pub is 2 blocks directly east of our hotel, great suggestion guys.

Now is there something with a bit of a wider beer selection? More local stuff?

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/20

Here is a beer guide for Montreal. There are a few places pretty close to you. Below is a place that would pretty close to you. I am sure i have been there before. It is a local brewery.
Les 3 Brasseurs - 732 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal

[Knut]

Also. Get a Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich from http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/

[Two Fivenagame]

Brutopia on Crescent St.

It's a microbrewery and they have live bands and it usually gets packed. Anything on Crescent is a good time - especially if you don't speak a lick of French.

[BlackEleven]

As an avid beer drinker who lives in Montreal, I can make some recommendations.

Best beer in the city, imo, is at Dieu du Ciel (Upper Plateau). A bit far from downtown, but totally worth it. They brew their own beer onsite and the beer menu changes once a month of so. Go early, it's not that big and gets extremely busy.

St. Bock (Latin Quarter) is also a good spot. They only carry Quebec beers, but they have a good selection (usually around 20 beers on tap). You can also order a metre plank there with about 10 quarter-pint classes. A good way to try a lot of beers.

Just up the street from St. Bock is L'Amere a Boire. I prefer St. Bock, but it's got a good selection as well as is a good fallback if St. Bock is packed (which it often is, don't even try to go if the Habs are playing that night).

Vice & Versa (Little Italy) is a good spot that only carries Quebec micro-brew if you're in that area of town. Large selection of great beers. A bit out of the way from downtown, but easily accesible by metro.

Cheval Blanc (Plateau) is another micro-brewery/pub that has decent beers. Good location.

If the weather is nice, Ste. Elisabeth is probably my favourite terrace in the city. The outside looks dodgy, but don't be scared off, the terrace in the back is amazing. Beers are just your standard pub beers, but they are $4/pint during happy hour on Friday (4-8pm). It's also walking distance from St. Bock and L'Amere a Boire.

Hope that helps. I might add more to the list later if I think of some.

[GreenLantern]

All of these places so far are great, I like it a lot.

Doesn't seem like the French are big on their IPA's, but that Brutopia has one!

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by Hesla

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/20

Here is a beer guide for Montreal. There are a few places pretty close to you. Below is a place that would pretty close to you. I am sure i have been there before. It is a local brewery.
Les 3 Brasseurs - 732 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal

Not to be a jerk, but I wouldn't bother with 3B. It's a massive French (from France) chain and they're everywhere. It's main appeal is connivence because there's one on almost every corner, but if you're looking to sample some of the best beers around, I'd leave it off the list.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Hesla

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/20

Here is a beer guide for Montreal. There are a few places pretty close to you. Below is a place that would pretty close to you. I am sure i have been there before. It is a local brewery.
Les 3 Brasseurs - 732 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal

I've also been there and its a nice place.

If you do go to the strip clubs your first night then be prepared to have no more free time doing anything else. I'm not really in to that sort of thing...but my mind was absolutely blown when a few buddies insisted on going there. Its a whole different world there!

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

All of these places so far are great, I like it a lot.

Doesn't seem like the French are big on their IPA's, but that Brutopia has one!

Dieu du Ciel makes some as well. But like I said, their menu changes frequently. They have a rather large list:
http://www.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php

Usually about 15 of those are on tap at a given time.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

All of these places so far are great, I like it a lot.

Doesn't seem like the French are big on their IPA's, but that Brutopia has one!

I'm not big on Crescent street, but Brutopia is by far the best place on it, imo.

[GreenLantern]

Out of thanks, but very much appreciate the effort guys.

I got a list going now, it seems like most of the Brewpubs you mentioned BlackEleven we could hit in walking distance, with the exception of Dieu we would have to cab too.

We have 10 guys total so we are looking for a walking pub crawl if we can manage since organizing that many guys in cabs can be a hassle, maybe not in Montreal. The Metro would take us right up to those pubs from around our hotel? Fri is strip club, Saturday is costume bar crawl (Halloween weekend) and the Sunday is reserved for walking (as much as possible) pub crawl night.

Would we have any trouble with those places being open weird hours on a Sunday? Would we luck out and they might be less packed?

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I got a list going now, it seems like most of the Brewpubs you mentioned BlackEleven we could hit in walking distance, with the exception of Dieu we would have to cab too.

We have 10 guys total so we are looking for a walking pub crawl if we can manage since organizing that many guys in cabs can be a hassle, maybe not in Montreal. The Metro would take us right up to those pubs from around our hotel? Fri is strip club, Saturday is costume bar crawl (Halloween weekend) and the Sunday is reserved for walking (as much as possible) pub crawl night.

Would we have any trouble with those places being open weird hours on a Sunday? Would we luck out and they might be less packed?

If you want to go to Dieu du Ciel area, it might be easiest just to take the metro there, but cabs are always easy to get in Montreal. If you take the metro, go to Laurier Metro and walk west through Little Portugal until about half a block after St. Laurent (should take 7-8 minutes). If you want to stay in that area Casa del Popolo (small pub that has live music almost every night) and Sala Rosa (well known spanish restaurant) are right across the street. You'd have to walk south on St. Laurent about 10 minutes to find a lot of other pubs/bars though.

Berri UQAM metro is in the Latin Quarter where St. Bock, L'Amere a Boire and Ste. Elisabeth are (La Paryse is also there which is a legendary burger joint in town). This area gets very busy and jumping on Thurs-Sat nights, but is a mostly local, French clientele (you won't have a problem speaking English though).

Guy-Concordia metro will bring you to Crescent Street and the busiest part of St. Catherine. You can find Brutopia around here as well as plenty of strip clubs (Wanda's is the closest, Supersexe is walking distance).

The hours for most stores in Montreal on Sundays is 12-5. The pubs will be open, but some of them don't open until later in the afternoon. Dieu du Ciel opens at 3:00pm I believe. Btw, I just noticed you can find out what beers they have on tap here:
http://www.dieuduciel.com/en/home.php

Put your mouse over the beer to find out what kind of beer it is.