An East End Bingo Hall Will be Reborn as a Microbrewery

Montreal brewers Avant-Garde Artisans Brasseurs are planning their first open to the public microbrewery, set to open this winter.

The craft brewery, helmed by Renaud Gouin et Shawn Duriez, has been in the business since 2016, with seven beers in its portfolio right now. No sour beers here (at least not yet): it leans towards robust, classic beers, with three Belgian and three British ales currently in production, although a touch of playfulness seeps in with a coconut porter on the decks.

Those beers have been produced at Brasserie Oshlag, pretty much next door to where the new brewery and taproom will be. Avant-Garde is taking over former bingo hall Bingo Hochelaga (“La salle de bingo la plus HOT en ville!”), which shuttered in January.

According to Métro, a brick and mortar location specifically for Avant-Garde was always in the plans — Duriez and Gouin told the newspaper that they plan to use the 16,600 square feet of new space to get into some more specialized beers and widen its offerings — oak-aged beers have been floated as just one potential idea.

The new Avant-Garde will also feature a tasting room for the public (with a brewing permit instead of a bar permit, it likely won’t go to the lengths of a full brewpub) — all up, it’s around a $1.5 million investment.

Avant-Garde is expected to open in February 2019.

• Avant-Garde Artisans Brasseurs [Official]
• Des brasseurs s’installeront dans l’ancien Bingo Hochelaga [Metro]