While on the road, I chanced by a depanneur near the pulp mills in downtown Hull and found an artifact, Labatt Porter. This beer is a vestige of an earlier style of Canadian beer which died away as lagers came on to the scene. Old lumberjack taverns up the Outaouais may still have old sign for porter painted on their outside brick walls. Ten years ago Molsons still produced a competing beer under the brand Champlain Porter. Now only this one is left and likely has one of its few remaining bases of popularity, such as it is, on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. It is really a sweet milk stout. It is chocolatey, lactose sweet, a bit like a richer cola with low carbination and the aroma of new baked bread and caramel. It is not hoppy like the Sleeman Fine Porter or roasty like Cooperstown Benchwarmer. Not profound but comforting. Probably the best tasting beer for style Labatt still brews - which is not a great compliment. It may be gone itself in another decade. Click on the photo for a better view.
Comments
MTLdude - October 3, 2006 3:59 pm
I just had one the other day - this beer is surprisingly good. Will buy again :)
George D.Page - January 16, 2007 4:35 pm
I have been drinking this beer for years. Much better than other local beers.
JJ Stettin - March 28, 2007 2:18 am
Is Champlain Porter truly gone?
Johannes Roy - July 14, 2007 5:28 pm
This stuff is delicious tastes a little like the malt beer i drank as a kid. Just baught a single bottle today out of curiosity, but I can see myself downing a couple of these in the future.
Thomas McGrail - July 28, 2007 3:57 pm
I love this stuff and used to drink it and Champlain Porter years ago when I lived in Montreal. I pick some up every time I visit Quebec, it seems impossible to find this style of porter in Ontario any more.
Pierre Gauthier - August 20, 2007 2:40 am
An excellent porter.
If you enjoy Fuller's London Porter and different types of dark ale you should love this one.
dragonforge - October 13, 2007 12:40 pm
Champlain Porter was by far and away one of the finest and best tasting beers of any sort. Even the Tadcaster stone vats of Samuel Smith's could not come close, nay, were not even in the same ball park.
While it did not have the bitter edge of most populars brands today, warm or cold, its complete and perfect balance could slake any thirst.
It was last brewed more than 10 years ago and it is ashame, given the ressurgence in the popularity of beers now that the feminine dominated tea parties and wine tastings have been relugated where they belong, in the rear, that it is not available for the multitudes to enjoy.
There are countless recipies that can not be done properly without this perfectly polished product.
Thomas M - September 24, 2008 8:26 pm
Just tasting it now after I found it at the local depanneur for outrages 12 dollars + tax for 6 bottles. The design of the bottle and the case looks like a time import from the 70ties. Comming from Europe I was hoping for a taste comparable to the dark "Alt" beers in Germany which is sweetish, (e.G. Koestritzer) but was quite surprised by the predominant sweetness. Not really my cup of tea to be honest but I'll let my girlfriend taste what she thinks of it. Might wanna try some of your other suggestions in your post though.
Mtlxpo - September 10, 2009 7:07 pm
One of the worst beers I have ever had. Far too sweet, no bite, no depth of flavour, and a lingering bad aftertaste. Nothing like UK porter... hard to believe there is a market for this at all.
3rMatt - December 4, 2009 10:40 pm
Heh... it's an ok-ish beer, but I tend to think like Mtlxpo: too sweet for my tastes. Unlike them though, I tend to think there is probably more people that like it than most of us will readily imagine. Definitely a once-in-a-while drink.
Frank Periard - July 9, 2010 5:23 pm
Champlain Porter was a remedy recomended for my wife's health problem.She was losing weight,was getting weaker by the day and had no appetite.The doctor suggested that she should drink one bottle of Porter a day.
In no time ,her health changed.she started to eat again,became much stronger and after a short time she was back to her normal self.This was fifty years ago,so thanks to Champlain Porter [ the original ],she has reached 79 years old and still in perfect health.
Alan - July 9, 2010 8:22 pm
What a great story, Frank. Thanks for stopping by.
Jasmin Darveau - July 20, 2010 10:24 pm
Along with the mythical "Unibroue", this one is surely my prefered large-scale commercial beer ever. Cheer !