"MondialDeLaBiere" news and stories

Photo: Joshua M. Bernstein.

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and the New York Times.

It takes a strong man to wear pink. It takes an even stronger man to heft a frothy pint of pink beer, like the rare-burger-hued Rosée d'Hibiscus, from the genre-busting Canadian brewers at Dieu du Ciel! ("god of the sky").

Since 1998, these mad fermentationists have crafted head-scratching, tummy-pleasing beers like the Equinoxe du Printemps, a strong Scotch ale made with maple syrup, and the Clef des Champs, a floral rye ale flavored with heather and mugwort. Naturally, there was no way that Dieu du Ciel would make a conventional wheat beer.

One day, head brewer Jean-François Gravel was watching a TV documentary on western Africa, which included a discussion of bissap -- a tea made from an infusion of hibiscus flowers and sugar. Gravel re-created the drink at home, realizing the flower's floral profile and acidity would complement a tangy blanche (a wheat bear).