Detour - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge)

Detour - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 4.3%

Mango, ruby grapefruit aroma with pine and hoppy loveliness. A darker gold in a glass with a head of foam that leaves behind some lacing.

A bitter beer first and foremost with pine hops in the forefront but the hops also combine with the malty body for a flavour that I'll describe as toasted bread topped with a sprinkle of sugar and a fresh citrus (orange as well as grapefruit) and mango salsa, or perhaps a chilled compote. Yes, I'm aware that this is a beer and not an entree at brunch but Detour has some serious depth of flavour and the most amazing thing to me it that it's only 4.3%!

I am a big fan of hoppy beers that are low in alcohol (my favourite beer in the whole world is Pump House Brewery's Special Old Bitter) but it is especially impressive that Detour has so much malt flavour as well and is still only 4.3%. I really hope that this is not just a seasonal and that instead is available year round because this beer would be the perfect accompaniment to all sorts of yard work or summer sporting events.

Twice As Mad Tom IPA - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge)

Twice As Mad Tom IPA - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.4%

A colour between gold and brass in a glass with a thin darkened off-white head. Very sprucey and sweet aroma. The taste is bitter but also very sweet and loaded with a lovely sprucey hops flavour. A bit of sticky resin in the finish and aftertaste but overall this is a sweet and light-on-the-tongue Double India Pale Ale full of great "forest" flavours as well as a little citrus and floral touches. Deceptively high in alcohol: it certainly doesn't taste 8.4% alcohol.

Muskoka Summer Weiss (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge)

Muskoka Summer Weiss (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 5.0%

Gold in a glass, ever so slightly hazy. Cloves and banana all feature in the yeasty, floral aroma that is also slightly herbal with touches of mint.

The taste is also yeasty with herbal tones that reminded me for just a moment of black licorice. Mostly cloves and banana and typical Weiss flavours. A nice wheat beer, I (and many others) always thought that wheat beers go well with summer and this one by Muskoka seems particularly well suited.

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity 2012 (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.0%

Hint of melon in the hops, some banana. Sweet malt. Quite sweet and quite bitter - hops and distinctly gin-like with the juniper berries. A orange peel flavour rather than the sweetness of orange flesh. A bit of alcohol warming, toasted bread bordering on caramel in the malt. Full gold in a glass, no sediment in the glass or the bottle. A bit spicy maybe a bit of honey finish. The juniper, orange peel and malt form a really nice mix that puts me in mind of nectar though the mouthfeel is not thick, though not quite watery. As it warms and loses carbonation (it is well carbonated by the way) it tastes more and more like honey.

I wonder how this beer would age, if it were bottled on lees? It seems like the flavour could go from good to great however it's not bottled on lees so it would only grow musty and stale; it even has an expiry date. It also has great artwork on the label and an interesting story you can read in the image below.

Winter Beard - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.0%

Winter Beard - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.0%

This Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout is an opaque, very deep brown that is nearly black. There is alcohol in the aroma as well as tart red fruit with a dark chocolate backing. The taste is strongly of alcohol with dark chocolate, milk chocolate and, at first, some hops then tartness and red fruit (presumably cranberries) with a finish that reminds me of fruitcake.

Overall, a nice strong fruit flavoured seasonal but the fancy bottle, elaborate name and description (see below) and hilarious graphic built up sky-high expectations that the beer just doesn't seem able to meet.