United Nations of Beer

Boreale Blanche

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB HQ)

Boreale Blanche wheat beer

This bottle had me at "Hello". Polar bears are my favourite animal (those of you who have had the pleasure of viewing my La Fin du Monde review will have met Poley, the world’s most intelligent stuffed animal and my lifelong companion).

This means that beers with polar bears on the bottle get a couple of additional brownie points before I even open them.

Fortunately for everybody’s fragile sanity, there’s more to this beer than a bear-clad label. Boreale is a pretty well-known brand, produced by Les Brasseurs du Nord out of Blainville, QC.

I'd yet to have tasted any of these beers, though, so it was with some relish that I twisted open the top and poured out a glassful.

Being a white wheat beer, Boreale Blanche pours a crisp golden yellow. Its smell is incredible.

You expect that white beer wheaty nose, which is of course present, but there's a stong citrus-lemony scent, plus one other spicy element you don't see coming until it hits you: ginger!

Yes, some genius at Brasseurs du Nord has added ginger to this brew, or I'm a total idiot. (All bets are off on that one. Ed.)

A quick glance at the back of the label makes subtle reference to its blend of "wheat, oats and malted barley, highlighted by a zestful blend of hops and spices." See! I am not a complete idiot after all.

I actually got to meet the brewers at the recent Mondiale de la Bier in Montreal and confirmed that yes, ginger IS part of this drink. Investigative journalism, eat your heart out. (Is that a Pulitzer I hear being giftwrapped?)

And that gingery promise comes across full and hard in Boreale Blanche. This is truly a unique white beer. What a brave decision it was to muck about with the balance and create something so different that it's addictive.

There is virtually no aftertaste, either, just a gentle meandering mellowing of what you already tasted. The overall balance is medium, not too sweet and certainly not bitter. It's not fizzy, at least not overly so, which is also a pleasant discovery. Many Quebec beers can be gassy.

Just one downside here. Those of you used to the standard wheat beer taste might find its zingy quality a little off-putting. But you're a bunch of wimps!

Seriously, Boreale Blanche is superb, but it should perhaps have made some mention of the unusual flavour in its name. Boreale Blanche Gingembre would have been a safer bet. I love it, but not everybody will.