Brasserie du Bas-Canada Opens in Gatineau

On November 17, 2017, Brasserie du Bas-Canada opened in Gatineau, Quebec. The brewery was founded by Gabriel Girard-Bernier and Marc-André Cordeiro-Lima, friends who had brewed at home for several years before developing plans for a professional brewery. A crowdfunding campaign raised approximately C$18,000 and helped the founders gauge local interest while preparing the brewery and its tasting room. Brasserie du Bas-Canada quickly became associated with modern, hop-forward beer. In January 2018, it released Los Tabarnacos, a mango milkshake IPA, and the second beer in its HYPA series, whose name combined “hype” and IPA. Demand soon exceeded the brewery’s initial expectations, and heavily hopped beers came to account for much of its production. The brewery nevertheless continued to produce other styles, including lagers, sour beers, and strong stouts, while helping draw wider attention to the developing craft-beer culture of Quebec’s Outaouais region.