The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 21 Rosé Cheeks Moonlight Kettle Series Brut IPA

Beer # 521 Rosé Cheeks Moonlight Kettle Series Brut IPA 


Brewery: Muskoka Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Brut IPA with Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Must

ABV: 4.8%      IBU: 38

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

muskokabrewery

    @Muskokabrewery

 I try to highlight as many of my local breweries as I can because they are so good to us here in Muskoka. This brewery, Muskoka Brewery, has been making locals happy for over 20 years. And lately, they have doubled down with the beer experimentation. This Brut IPA is made with Cabernet Sauvignon must (or juice). Then fermented to give us a hybrid beer that shares qualities with the sparkling Brut IPA style and a rosé wine. Let's try it out.

Onto our beer...

Pours light amber with a pink tinge. The head is off white with tiny tight bubbles. The aroma is quite light somewhere between wine and cider. The first sip is very light in body with a slight cider note. Effervescent with hints of red or rose wine. Honey and rose petals mix with fresh berries and light citrus. Aeration gives us a little alcohol note, with bubbles on the tongue and fresh berry.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

A few breweries have been trying out this hybrid beer style and... meh... mixed results. done well it is delicious and refreshing, done poorly it is #drainaward worthy. This one is closer to the positive side but still a little meh. It's good... it's just not exciting, and a new hybrid style should be. Then again I am still looking for a good Brut IPA... the ones I have had are very meh. This one... I'll drink especially if you are paying. 

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 14 Full Bean Half Foam Mocha Latte

Beer # 514 Full Bean Half Foam Mocha Porter 

Brewery: Muskoka Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Porter

ABV: 5.3%      IBU: 39

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery


muskokabrewery

    @Muskokabrewery

Another entry from Muskoka Brewery's Moonlight Kettle series, tonight's beer is a chocolate, coffee and lactose porter.  The effect is quite good, I had to remind myself I was drinking a beer and not a latte.

Onto our tasting...




Pours a dark chocolate brown with a milky tan head made up of small bubbles. Head is super creamy and is reminiscent of a latte. The aroma is bitter coffee and chocolate, with hints of grain and vanilla. The first sip is straight-up coffee and malt with a touch of lactose sweetness. The middle has a nice coffee hum and chocolate there is body from the cocoa butter and lactose. Aeration gives us some espresso bitterness and cocoa powder.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

A great tasting beer and a nice approximation of a latte in stout form. Get one of these while you still can.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 12 ghoST OUT by Muskoka Brewery

Beer # 512 ghoST OUT

Brewery: Muskoka Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured White Stout

ABV: 6.5%      IBU: 25

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

muskokabrewery

    @muskokabrewery

An interesting beer tonight for the #2-4BeersofChristmas. I think I have only had two other white stouts, but it is an interesting concept. Can you pack all the flavour of a stout into something that looks like a golden ale? Well Muskoka brewery just put this one out so I was curious to see how it did.

Onto our beer...

Pours a liquid honey colour with an off-white head made of small bubbles. The nose took a few minutes to open up. It first started out smelling like a golden ale, however as it warmed a bit the stout aromas started to build. hints of liquorice and caramel The first sip is slightly mind-bending. by looking at it you expect an IPA flavour or a golden ale. However, what you get is a very light dry stout flavour. I get creaminess and a little cheese. There are notes of chocolate and coffee and some sweet oat malts. The body is very light, and there is a slight tang in the back of the throat. Aeration is very malty, with caramel and golden syrup, and there is a little herbaceous bite from the hops.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience: 4/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

This is a fascinating beer but I need to try more beers in this style. The biggest problem I have with it is the disparate and conflicting signals I get through my senses. I feel like I should be drinking a golden ale, but I'm tasting something that drinks, close to... but not quite, a stout. Worth a try though. Get one if you can find it.


Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 8 Kveik Chocolate and Orange Muskoka Brewery

Beer # 508 Kveik Chocolate and Orange

Collaboration with Quidi Vidi Brewing Company


Brewery: Muskoka Brewing Company


Type: Independent Brewery    Est.:  1998

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Brewery: Quidi Vidi Brewing Company

Type: Independent Brewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Quidi Vidi St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 8.0%      IBU: 30

Format: Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 750  ml

Cost: $10.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

muskokabrewery                quidividibeer

    @muskokabrewery             @QuidiVidiBeer

Tonight's offering is the Community Ventures Collaboration between Muskoka Brewery of Bracebridge Ontario and Quidi Vidi Brewing Company from just outside St. John's Newfoundland.  The beer is a flavoured Farmhouse ale with chocolate and orange. I was looking forward to this I thought chocolate and orange are great for the holidays... but sadly, something went wrong with this beer...

Onto our tasting...

Pours a medium-dark chestnut with an off-tan head Aroma is very medicinal with hints of molasses and old citrus. The overwhelming smell of polyphenols, especially when the beer is just poured. There is something just "off" about the taste of the beer. Chocolate is minimal and extremely bitter. Orange is very faint, tastes old, and is backed up by bitter green leaves. Aeration is stale orange juice.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 2/6 SO-So
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 0/6 FAIL
Re-Order:  0/6 FAIL
Experience: 1/6 FAIL
Christmas Cheer 1/6 FAIL


Final Thoughts:

This beer skirted the edge of being a #DrainAward. There was something wrong with this beer, something did not go right at all. Very disappointing as I usually am a big fan of everything Muskoka brewery does. Well, they can't all be rockstars. Avoid.

Cheers

CJT

 

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Beer # 483 Black Raspberry Thunder Milkshake IPA

Beer # 483 Black Raspberry Thunder Milkshake IPA

Brewery: Muskoka Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada 

Beer Style: Flavoured Milkshake IPA

ABV: 6.0%      IBU: 18

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.65 CAD     Purchased At: Sobey's

muskokabrewery

    @muskokabrewery

Tonight's offering is the second collaboration between Muskoka Brewery and Kawartha Dairy. The brewery created a beer inspired by one of Kawartha Dairy's ice cream flavours. Last yeas was a salted caramel truffle and this year was the ever-popular Black Raspberry Thunder. Created in a milkshake IPA style, in case you don't know, this quite popular style is an IPA that has added lactose in the ferment. The yeast eats this sugar as well as the maltose and leaves a creamy slightly sweet taste in the final beer. I may do another post about it later because the science is quite interesting. As a similar fermentation style is used in the making of some wine (Malo-Lactic Fermentation).  Into this mix is added black raspberry and chocolate and you have an ice cream inspired beer.

So... I like ice cream, I like beer.... let's see how well they go together.

Onto my milkshake IPA brings all the blogs to the yard...

Pours a reddish-purple with a short creamy head with a pinkish hue. Aroma is piney and milky with hints of fresh fruit, berries and peaches. First sip is smooth and creamy with notes of chocolate and black cherry soda. The smooth creamy lactose mimics the feeling of an ice cream float. The beer is lightly effervescent aeration brings out some chocolate light sediment very fun.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  3/6 SO-SO
Experience: 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

So I've been having trouble with the Milkshake style. I have been finding it is just an excuse to stuff a lot of fruit into a beer and take advantage of a (possibly) flash in the pan style of beer which is popular right now. While it is fun and different I'm finding very few of them are interesting enough to drink more than once. While this one is a fun drink, I would be hard-pressed to ever want another.

Cheers
CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 14: Ebb and Flow by Muskoka Brewery

Beer # 473 Ebb and Flow

Brewery: Muskoka Brewery


Type: Independent Microbrewery    
Est.:  1995

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Session Sour Ale

ABV: 2.4%      IBU: 5

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.15 CAD     Purchased At: The Beer Store

 muskokabrewery

    @MuskokaBrewery

Normally I stick to big bold beers for this series. However, Muskoka brewery just released this low alcohol session sour for the holidays. And the holidays are not always about heavy alcoholic, pass out in front of the fireplace beers. There are a lot of parties to go to. If someone wants to be a bit more responsible in the drinking choices; having a tasty lower alcohol beer like this on hand would be a nice choice.


Onto our beer...

pours a slightly hazy light gold Aroma is grassy, fruity, floral, pineapple, and grapefruit. First sip is mildly sour, with tropical fruit and hints of pine. Aeration brings out citrus lemon and tangerine and a hint of green grass.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

This turned out to be a nice light refreshing beer. It citrusy and clean with some nice tropicals in the background. This is a perfect beer for holiday parties you can easily have a few without getting out of control. Take a few to your next party, and don't drink and drive.

Cheers

CJT

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