Given that this was a first-time event, the days started a little slow, but the hall at Parc des Expositions was packed with happy revelers at closing time. Attendees had a chance to chat with the brewers, many of whom were present, while tasting their way around the world. Conferences and seminars by brewers, beer writers and historians were also held.

As in Montréal, there is a beer competition, with one platinum first place awarded and 10 ties for gold/second. A surprise to everyone, including the brewer, was the first place medal going to Triplexxx from a 10-month-old Italian brewery, Croce di Malto, located in Trecate in the province of Novara in the Piedmont region. According to winning Brewmaestro Allessio Selvaggio, the beer is his own take on the Belgian tripel style. Made with barley, wheat and oat malts (hence the three Xs), this 7.8% abv brew was definitely “tripelly,” only with a more complex malt profile.

In further acknowledgment of the burgeoning Italian craft beer movement, Birra Baladin’s Teo Musso won one of the gold awards for his rich and mysterious Christmas beer, Nöel, which made the booth for Baladin (the best-known Italian brewery there) even more busy. Rare beers being poured by Baladin included Super Baladin Sour Edition (a tart take on the flagship that tasted of sour cherries but included no fruit in the brewing process) and Mama Kriek (which obviously did, but it had its own peculiar Baladin spin, using the birrificio’s own developed yeast.

Rogue Ales’ Chocolate Stout was the lone U.S. medalist. The other gold winners, curiously, were all from either France or Canada, including two beers from the former’s Brasserie St. Germain — Page 24 Blanche and Page 24 Blonde Réserve Hildegarde — and Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company’s Festivale from Ontario and Dieu du Ciel!’s Rigor Mortis Abt from Montréal.

Aside from Rogue, among the smattering of U.S. craft breweries (but no brewers) represented at the États-Unis Pavilion booth were Blue Point, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Harpoon, Magic Hat, Sam Adams, Weyerbacher and the sole California representative, North Coast Brewing from tiny Fort Bragg.

To my palate, it was the Italian beers, virtually all of which I had never tasted before, that were most impressive. They included Tuscany’s Birrificio Bruton’s Lilith, a well-balanced pale ale, and 10, a U.S.-style hoppy barley wine; Rodersch, a kölsch style from Birrificio Bi-Du, based in Rodero in the Como province (hence the appellation); and Bastarda Rossa, a reddish ale made with Bastarda chestnuts from Birra Amiata in Tuscany. According to Brewmaster Claudio Cerullo, Birra Amiata also does a stronger version, called Doppio Bastarda, or Double Bastard. Attention, Stone Brewing!

Most amazing were the beers of Birra del Borgo, outside of Rome. Brewmaster Leonardo Di Vincenzo had over a dozen beers represented, each one a unique brew. Among them were Re Ale, a U.S.-style IPA; Re Ale Extra, an imperial version; Genziana, made with a bittering radish of the same name that is indigenous to the region; Duchessa, a saison made with spelt; Duchessic, the Duchessa blended with a one-year-old lambic from Cantillon; and Enkir, basically the same as Duchessa except made with the namesake ancient wheat instead of spelt, giving a citrusy flavor.

And that’s not all: Di Vincenzo went outside to fetch a special beer not yet released: My Antonia, a “continuously hopped” imperial pilsner that is a collaboration with — you guessed it — Dogfish Head! Di Vincenzo explained that he will brew the beer for European distribution while Sam Calagione will brew it at Dogfish for the U.S. market. It was wonderfully dry-hopped. Look for it soon in the States.

According to Jeannine Marois, president and cofounder of Mondial de la Bière, there were over 10,000 attendees at the Strasbourg fest. Next year’s dates have already been set: October 22–24, 2010.