St. Pancrace's crab beer making waves in Baie Comeau

A microbrewery on Quebec's North Shore has added a new ingredient to one of its beers.

Crab meat.

The St. Pancracemicrobrewery in Baie Comeau decided to try adding crab during the brewing process.

The result was Crbe Bitter.

Co-owner Pierre-Antoine Morin described the brew as a British-style light amber with a subtly sweet nose that gives way to a slightly salty aftertaste.

He also insisted that it does not taste like seafood.

Morin said that the Crbe Bitter follows in the footsteps of a microbrew tradition of highlighting regional tastes.

"Springtime is maple season in much of Quebec. Many microbreweries take advantage of that to make maple beer,"said Morin.

"Well, the sap doesn't flow very well here on the North Shore. But everyone knows that the big family activity around here at Easter is a crab party."

The beer was introduced during a special dinner on April 18 where customers were also served the 100 crabs used in the brewing process.

Morin said if people like the crabby beer this year, it will likely return next spring when the fresh crab arrives at the docks for another season.