The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 9 Wild Bog Cranberry Sour

Beer # 509 Wild Bog Cranberry Sour 

Brewery: Whitewater Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2015

Location: Forrester's Falls, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Sour Ale

ABV: 6.0%      IBU: 5

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.25 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

whitewaterbrewingco

    @Whitewaterbrew

 Tonight's offering brings us back to Forrester's Falls on the Ottawa River, home of the best white water rafting in Ontario. This brewery was started by a couple of former rafting guides (The last time I was in Ottawa I went out with the same crew these guys used to work for... The rafting was amazing!) I've had a few beers by them and I think I have posted some on the blog. The Class IV IPA is pretty good, so I was looking forward to including this one in the #2-4BeersofChristmas.

Onto our beer...

Pours clear gold with the barest pinkish hue. the head is white and fluffy and made of small bubbles. Bright red fruit and cranberry dominate the nose. The first sip gives us fresh cranberry sauce with hints of cinnamon and clove. Aeration gives us sugar, hard candy, citrus candy, citric acid. Tastes like a cranberry sour key.

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:

This is a fun beer. The nice bright flavour would pair well with turkey. Maybe you could even use it to spice up your cranberry sauce. But the one thought that most stands out in my mind is that I want to add vodka or rum and make this an awesome Holiday Beer Cocktail.

Cheers!

CJT











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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 4 Vintage Winter Beard

Beer # 167 Vintage Winter Beard

Muskoka Brewery

Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Aged Flavoured Porter 8.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$13.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @MuskokaBrewery

Well here is a throwback for this Thursday I am posting about a beer I (sort of) posted about before. Way back in my 13th post I did Muskoka Brewery's Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout. Here it is 4 years later and I am doing it again, but this time the beer was aged at the brewery for one year in the bottle prior to sale. The have also rebranded the beer as "Winter Beard" and this is the "Vintage Brew Edition" from 2013. The bottle says the beer can be further aged upright in a cool location for 2 years, so if after Christmas I still have some money, I may put away 2 bottles and revisit this beer again (If I can keep my hands off of them...)


This beer is loaded with chocolate, I'm surprised they don't call it triple chocolate. It contains cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, and 70% dark chocolate. It also contains locally sourced cranberries (Bala Ontario area I believe).

Onto the weirding of the beard...

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Very dark brown in colour with a hint of red in it and a light brown head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is dark chocolate and cranberry with some deep malted grains and a slight sugary hint. There is also a hint of wood and the aroma of whiskey. There are light hints of caramel, vanilla, licorice, and dark rye bread. The beer is very smooth, and ageing has made it very subtle. (looking back on my notes from the earlier tasting to compare, I noticed that the aromas of "cherry cordial" and "chocolate soda" are very toned down. The chocolate is there but the richness shows more, the cranberry is more evident than the ripe red fruit and cherry I got before). This beer has aged very gracefully. The malt and the chocolate have melded well, it is hard to tell where one starts and the other ends. Aeration froths the beer a bit giving it a mousse-like feeling. The aroma switches more to coffee, with a hint of brandy. Alternatively I also get hints of liquor filled fondant candies.
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Christmas Spirit 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed revisiting an old post and comparing notes between the two (very different) versions of this beer. This one I would have to say I enjoyed more, as the beer has achieved a maturity, and subtleties that I felt was lacking in the regular release. I definitely want to see this beer in two years. Oh, One other thing... It really didn't factor too much into the enjoyment of the beer... but I had a HELL OF A TIME trying to get the damn cork out... keep a corkscrew handy if you grab this bottle!



Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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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