Dieu du Ciel!

Dieu du Ciel! is one of the best-known names in Quebec craft beer, and its brewpub on avenue Laurier Ouest is where the story began. Jean-François Gravel, who started home brewing in 1991, and Stéphane Ostiguy opened it to the public on 11 September 1998, with more than 300 people at the launch, after about eleven months spent preparing the space. Gravel and Ostiguy met during an internship, and a third founding partner has since left the business. Isabelle Charbonneau and Étienne Tremblay later joined as shareholders. The company lists its values as boldness, integrity, refinement and collaboration.

The brewery describes its goal as making bold, exciting beers, and the brewpub is the best place to understand what that means in practice. Two of its beers have become modern classics. Péché Mortel is an imperial coffee stout at 9.5 per cent, rich and strong enough to sip slowly, while Rosée d'Hibiscus is a 5.9 per cent white ale brewed with hibiscus flowers, a much lighter choice. Both are on tap at the brewpub, and they are the natural first order on a visit.

Success led to expansion. In January 2008 the company opened a pub and production brewery in Saint-Jérôme, and in September 2021 that pub moved to a new home at 248 rue Godmer, with the brewery at 259 rue de Villemure. The Montreal brewpub, however, is the original, and the place where the company's story began.

It suits beer lovers, groups of friends and anyone who wants a relaxed, unpretentious evening. Pace yourself with the stronger beers such as Péché Mortel, which at 9.5 per cent is more than twice the strength of a 4.5 per cent Czech-style lager like those poured at Bily Kun.

Opening hours are not listed on the home page, so check before you go, particularly early in the day. The brewpub is at 21 avenue Laurier Ouest in Mile End, so it fits well into an evening in the area after dinner on Saint-Laurent Boulevard or a coffee at Café Olimpico. The bagel bakeries of Mile End are close enough for a late snack on the way home, since St-Viateur Bagel's flagship stays open until midnight.