RIMOUSKI, QC – Brewpub Le Bien, le Malt has just launched La Poule, a series of dealcoholized (0.5%) beers that are the only dealcoholized craft beers currently being made in Canada.
The full press release:
La Poule: Canada’s One and Only 0.5% ABV Craft Beer
The microbrewery industry is growing well all over Canada, but only one brewery now produces a 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) craft beer. Le Bien, le Malt is located in Rimouski, in eastern Québec. Ever since the brewery opened its doors just over a year ago, brewer Ghislain Lefebvre has been thinking about producing a dealcoholized beer. “We’ve been looking for a way to create a unique product, a low alcohol beverage that our clientele could enjoy while keeping with the character of our craftbrewed beers” says Mr. Lefebvre.
From the start, Rimouski-based Le Bien, le Malt has always aimed at building strong regional partnerships and promoting regional development. So when Mr. Lefebvre asked undergraduate engineering students at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) to build a dealcoholzing system as a term project, they came up with a solution. The project gave the students the opportunity to experience firsthand the conditions of commercial engineering work, while they composed with real constraints from various industry environments. They also developed partnerships with the industry and got involved in regional development.
The dealcoholization system allows the transformation of 50 liters of beer per batch, which gives the brewer the opportunity to take any of the beers on tap and turn it into a 0.5% ABV beer. A small vacuum pump is used to create a partial vacuum, thus decreasing the evaporation temperature of ethanol. The beer is then dealcoholized without being cooked, which preserves much of the character of the initial beer.
Mr. Lefebvre explains that the name “La Poule (The chicken) came from the idea that the only creature that could possibly get drunk with a 0.5% ABV is a chicken.” A whole series of dealcoholized beers under the La Poule brand name will be available on tap for the delight of consumers. This product is available onsite only.
It goes without saying that the Le Bien, Le Malt craft brewery also produces excellent alcoholized beers! Six unique beers are available on tap onsite, including Pale Ales, Stouts and Witbier. All these products, along with the La Poule dealcoholized beer, are great reasons to stop by while in the area or on your way to New Brunswick.
Le Bien, le Malt hopes this initiative will inspire other breweries to follow suit. The owners would like to thank the DMIG at the UQAR, the CRSNG-UQAR design engineering Chair, the MAPAQ , and Mr. Ivin Pelletier for their financial contributions.
Cool!