La Fin du Monde

Unibroue Brewery
Chambly, Québec, Canada

As I have mentioned in several places on this site, the definition of a beer style is a fluid thing (no pun intended), and, in my mind, is almost impossible to narrow down to a distinct set of criteria. I actually think it impedes the enjoyment of a good tasting beer to endeavor to place the beer in your glass into one strict category. Relax, it’s just beer. Anyway, for years the discussion as to the distinct dividing lines between Belgian Singles (pater), Doubles (dubbel), Triples (tripel),  and Quadruples (quad?) - ABVs, colors, whether or not they were brewed in Belgium (Flanders or Walloonia), and whether or not they were brewed by Trappist monks, has run rampant. May I suggest, the next time we get together I will let you buy me a beer, and we can have a nice chat - looking forward to a rousing discussion - and that beer.
So with all this in mind, and counter to some reviewer’s blather, I would like to suggest a Canadian ale - La Fin du Monde - for an Honorable Mention, on the Belgian Beer Journey.
The Unibroue Brewery was founded in 1992, in the city of Chambly, Québec, Canada, a few kilometers southeast of Montreal, on the Rivière Richelieu, by two guys named André Dion and Serge Racine. Earlier, in 1990 Monsieur André had started a company called Unibroue, not as a brewery, but as a distribution scheme concentrating on local micro-breweries. When the plan did not pan out, Andre and Racine teamed up and bought into, then fully purchased, La Brasserie Massawippi, in the town of Lennoxville, Québec, rolling it into the Unibroue firm. Soon, after a series of corporate machinations (too tedious to relate here), in 1992 Unibroue began to brew its own beers.
As proclaimed on their website, Unibroue is “An avant-garde microbrewery.” The website continues that the brewery is: “Inspired by the stories and legends of Québec. Since 1992, Unibroue brews with passion, joie de vivre and daring. Thanks to the ambition of a dedicated team, the first brew of Blanche de Chambly [a Belgian-style wheat beer named in honor of nearby Fort Chambly], Unibroue has now become a company of a hundred artisans who brew distinctive premium beers. We’re pioneers of craft beer in Québec, growing just as fast as the new generation of consumers and brewers we’ve inspired.” One of their first brewmasters was a Belgian man named Gino Vantieghem, who brought along a wealth of Belgian brewing knowledge. Fast forward to 2006, and after a couple of more corporate wheelings and dealings, Unibroue came under the umbrella of the Japanese company Sapporo International.
In the summer of 1994, Unibroue introduced La Fin du Monde, which is translated as “The End of the World.” This name comes from the old legend that early 16th century French explorers (was it Jacques Cartier and crew?), when they arrived in Québec area, were so enthralled by the land that they proclaimed they had arrived at “The End of the World.” Another version of the story was that the explorers were so lost they thought they arrived at the end of the world. In any case, there was no need to go any farther.
La Fin du Minde is a fine, beautifully golden Belgian-style triple that is bottled “on the lees,” which refers to the fact that it is bottle conditioned. The brewers at Unibroue make no claim that La Fin du Monde is a Belgian Trappist ale, rather they say: “As in Belgian brewing culture, we add complexity to the flavors of our beers by using flowers, fruits, herbs and spices. This method applies to all our beers – not just our Belgians!”
La Fin du Monde is a relatively robust ale that complements quite nicely with equally robust foods like spicy sausage and stout cheeses. One writer suggests that La Fin du Monde would go well with Mexican or Thai dishes, which I would tend to agree, although I have yet to give this idea a try - soon. What I can tell you is that when I’m sitting on my porch in northwest Florida, and I raise a glass of La Fin du Monde, the aroma alone is enough, if I close my eyes, to take me back to sitting in cafe on the banks of the Rivière Meuse in Liège, Belgium on a warm summer day. It is for this reason that I bestow upon La Fin du Monde an Honorable Mention on the Belgian Beer Journey. Trust me, give it a try.