Black Sistah!!!

No joke. That is the name of a beer I picked up last weekend in Bromont (actually, it's called the Black Nun, but Black Sistah!!! has a much cooler ring to it). This beer is a stout, hence the inspiration for the name, I suppose. Not sure how p-c the name is, but whatever, it's Quebec, and they don't really give a flying "merde" about being politically correct. It's brewed by a microbrewery called Le Grimoire, and has a nice initial flavour (hints of coffee and dark chocolate, typicle of a stout), but to be honest, there's a lingering aftertaste that doesn't do too much to make my tastebuds jump up and down and yell "This beer rocks!".

Black Sistah!!!!

Next up, Boreale Noire, another stout. If this beer had to battle it out with "The Sistah!!", and in the ring was a polar bear (for Boreale) and a black nun (for the Sistah!!....man, I love saying that...."Sistah!!"), the polar bear would kick some serious ass. The flavours are more pronounced in this beer, there's a slight bitterness, and most importantly, a clean finish that doesn't linger. On the bottle, it says to serve it at 12 degrees (like I'm actually gonna do that), but as the beer warmed up, it did release more flavour. A nice beer indeed.

Boreal Noire, Grrrrrr

Last up, is Griffon extra pale ale, from McAuslan Brewing (brewers of the St. Ambroise line of beers). This beer is represented by the ever elusive Griffon, which may or may not hang out with polar bears and black SISTAHS!!! This beer has very subtle flavours, but the flavour is there, and it took on more character the more I drank (usually the more I drink, the less I taste). It has a slight bitter finish, and overall I would call it a nice, refreshing summer beer.

Griffon Extra Pale Ale

So there you have it, a few Quebec beers to give a go....I know the LCBO and the Beer Store carry some of the McAuslan beers, and I'm sure a quick hop over to a depanneur in Hull would result in some other good finds.

The SISTAH!!! is watching you......