Lucky 13

As a matter of fact "Lucky 13" is lucky for me. Not only is it the date of my sister's birthday "Lucky 13" is the name of a good friend of mine's band. www.lucky13band.com or Facebook them here Lucky 13 (Sorry for the shameless plug...) definitely worth checking out when they are in town. Just go up and ask for "Weeble."



And 13 is Lucky for you dear reader, as tonight we review beer # 13 Muskoka Cottage Brewery's Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout. Yes as a matter of fact... it does sound like dessert in a glass. Muskoka Cottage Brewery is located in Bracebridge just over two hours north of Toronto.   www.muskokabrewery.com

 Bracebridge is one of those "pretty as a postcard" towns at the edge of Northern Ontario which has a big hockey tradition. Ace Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the benefactor of a fund raiser held by the Maple Leafs in the thirties that became the All Star Game) and Kris King: Maple Leaf, Phoenix Coyote, and last captain of the Winnipeg Jets being the most notable. Bracebridge, like its neighbouring town Gravenhurst takes its name from the episodic novel "Bracebridge Hall" by Washington Irving. In 1996 Muskoka Cottage Brewery opened it's doors promising fresh pure ingredients in all of their products and it is a credo that has served them well; winning numerous awards over their 15 year operation.

Onto the tasting: The bottle is a 750 ml champagne-style bottle closed with a swing-top cap normally found on Grolsch bottles. The Cap is sealed with a tamper-evident label that bears a "drink by" date of March 31 2011. Tonight's offering is an "stout" (pardon the pun) 8% ABV, that pours very dark chesnut to black with a redish tinged tan head. First sniff is all "Cherry Cordial" yes those chocolate covered ooey-gooey cherry candies you get from people you don't like at Christmas. The nose also gives off heaps of dark chocolate.

First sip is chocolate soda with a hint of cherry followed by deep roasted malt sugars, a hint of the high alcohol content, and a lingering hint of dutch process cocoa on the finish. Aeration gives off a winey note; short bursts of red fruit finishing quickly and returning to the chocolate.

A quick note about temperature. Often times we bring beer home and bung it in the refrigerator, which normally isn't a bad idea. However, this beer needs to be served at 9 C. Something I didn't notice until I started drinking it; so I let it warm up. It made all the difference. If your brewmaster has gone to the trouble of putting down a temperature to "enjoy" the beer at please heed it, after all he should know what he is talking about.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass (with caveat see below)
Cost: Pass (Well it should... I got it free! but for a 750 ml bottle I believe it's $8.95)
Colour: Exceptional (I love the red tinge in the otherwise tan head)
Beer Style: Exceptional
Re-order: Pass ( I couldn't do another one today, but maybe tomorrow, and if the temperature hits the plus side again...no thanks)
Experience: Pass

Final thoughts. I didn't taste cranberry! I wanted desperately to taste it, but warm or cold the most I got was a slight tartness and a red fruit that could have been cherry or raspberry. So... slightly let down but overall a very nice beer especially when it warmed up. This is the best beer from Muskoka Cottage Brewery that I have tasted thus far.

Cheers
CJT