Beer # 105 Muskoka Brewery Detour

Detour

Muskoka Brewery

Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Dry Hopped IPA 4.3% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 355 ml.
$2.28 (Canadian) At LCBO ($13.65 for a six pack)
Twitter: @Muskokabrewery

Back up to Bracebridge today for Muskoka Brewery's newest addition to their stable of year round beers: Detour.  Detour is an excellent name for this beer, a "sessionable" dry hopped IPA bursting with flavour. It truly is a departure from some of the other hop bombs on the market... Let's call this one the "fruit-bomb." I am very excited about this beer because after being in the industry for so many years and initially having trouble selling Muskoka beers; it is these deep, flavourful, brews

coming out of Bracbridge lately that have garnered Muskoka the attention it deserves. Their specialty brews, many of which I have discussed here on this blog, are what is attracting the newly savy craft drinkers; and this very approachable beer will start to attract the average commercial beer drinker as well.

Enough with the rambling, let's take a Detour:

Very clear gold in colour, with a short off white head made up of small bubbles. Pineapple and pine on the nose with a little bit of hard candy thrown in (In fact it reminds me exactly of those imported English mixed fruit candies from Simpkins of Sheffield that come in the small brass coloured tins that I always got in my stocking for Christmas as a kid.) I also get the slightest hint of rosewater or turkish delight. First sip is a delight of tropical fruit. Guava, mango, pineapple, passionfruit, sweet but not sickly. This beer is a celebration of the fruity hops. The lighter graininess of the IPA serves counterpoint to the fruit and only to remind you this is a beer not a coconut drink on the beach. A little herbal hops comes out in the end to tone down the fruit. Aeration puts a slight caramel taste into the fruit, which goes very nicely with the pineapple. Very well balanced, smooth and refreshing. Leaves me very sad the bottle is empty.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

Cost: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Final Thoughts:

Yes you read that correctly, I think this is the first beer I have given a perfect score. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this beer. For my tastes it is as near perfect as I can imagine. It is light, refreshing, full of good flavours, still tastes like a beer, and it has left me wanting more. I have prided myself on not making heavy-handed recommendations, but in this case I must say: If you are living in Ontario and this beer is not your go-to patio beer this summer... you are wasting your money. Rant finished, beer finished....

Cheers
CJT


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