Craft Beer; My Love Story

If your beer journey is anything like mine,

it began with an awful-tasting, pale liquid to cheaply get drunk at parties.

(Cue the keg stand).

Now thinking back to my early beers, they seem to taste like a sweaty locker room, old bread & bitterness that I swallowed as fast as possible - and honestly - get drunk.

But thank goodness that all changed. Here is how my beer story began...

Flashback to being 18 years old, in my hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My older brother (a full-fledged beer geek indeed) took me to a local tap-room and my beer life would change forever.

It was a frigid winter evening, one like Montrealers know all too well. Yet the pub's windows were fogged up from its jolly patrons. I entered the cozy room and the rest is history. La Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel was to become my standard watering hole and to this day remains my absolute favourite bar.

Then, from the hand-written beer lineup on the chalkboard, the Péché Mortel beer lured me in (that’s French for “Mortal Sin”).

I had met my first craft beer; an Imperial Coffee Stout.

With one sip, my tastes buds came ALIVE, as though they had been in slumber for centuries. Full technicolor. Studio 54 vibes. Utterly divine.

Péché Mortel is a fierce brunette served only in glasses for moderation and enjoyment; no pints allowed for this bold 9.5% brew. The eruption of roasted coffee, healthy bitterness, full-bodied sugary malt, thick foam and rich aromas... irresistible.

The Imperial Stout Style, dark, velvety, dare I say seductive, was originally brewed exclusively for the Russian court of Catherine The Great in the late 1700's. The last Empress of Russia deemed it the highest beverage and had it exclusively brewed in London for her and her Court's enjoyment.

I could never go back to cheap pale lager beers of rancid aromas and absence of character. I sat there in awe, with a new definition of BEER. That was the night I understood that there was a whole world to be savoured, to be eagerly enjoyed.

In the years that followed, that massive beer chalkboard menu of Dieu Du Ciel, filled with fresh brews and words like plum, spice, ale, Belgian, Weiss, Session IPA, kept my taste buds discovering the boundless world of great beer.

Not only did I find brews worth my time and money, I also met a vibrant community of beer lovers, friendly neighbours and a kind place to socialize, loosen up & celebrate life.

In 2017, I moved to Greece and 2021 co-founded the Bonnie and Clyde Urban Tours Travel Agency. We launched the very first craft beer tours in the whole country!

On the beer tours, we share beer appreciation with people from across the globe, with the idea that each beer we drink is a new love story. Every style has its unique personality, each craft brewer pouring its soul into their labour & brews.

Without question, Bonnie and Clyde Urban Tours is partly an expression of that passion I have for great beer and community, which was born on that night. We choose a non-touristy tour style, always with a human approach & friendly attitude.

We are proud to say that in 2022, Bonnie & Clyde won the Travel and Hospitality Award for Best Learning Experience in Crete!

So come along for a beer tour with us & let your taste buds come alive!

Cheers!

- Bonnie