A short holiday trip to New York had to be revised into a trip to Montreal after I couldn't find my birth certificate (and my passport is out of date. Grrrr.)

So, instead of seeing the Diane Arbus exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I went to the Eternal Egypt exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.

I made the requisite pilgrimmage to Schwartz's Delicatessen.

But enough art and food talk.

Why are there no decent Quebec micro-brews easily available?

True, you can buy beer in a depanneur, but only tasteless Molson and Labatts mouthwash.

While one such corner store had Sleeman's (produced in Guelph, Ont.), I couldn't see a Quebec counterpart.

And again, while I didn't do a detailed, scientific survey, flavourful beer was hard to find in the few bars and pubs I patronized (I was told there are a few brew pubs).

There are lots of reasons to visit Montreal, but beer isn't one of them. Toronto is a way better place for beer lovers.

Can anyone explain why this sorry state of affairs has developed?