Happy Anniversary, Muskoka Brewery!
It's hard to imagine any craft brewery in Ontario that is 20 years old and is still around or hasn't been swallowed up by one of the big, nasty, multinational corporations. Is there any Ontario craft brewer that's older than you, which has remained small like you?
Never change, my friends!
For this Bracebridge, Ontario, craft brewer's 20th anniversary, the folks have brewed a limited-edition, oak-aged version of their flagship cream ale. And for this year's Father's Day, without any prompting, my 13-year-old daughter asked her mother to take her to the LCBO to pick out some beer for me, and this is one of the three bottles that she chose.
She knows me so well and has great taste in beer.
Let's take a look at this one:
20th Anniversary Oak-Aged Cream Ale (5% ABV)
Muskoka Brewery
Bracebridge, ON
Appearance: I love the colour of this ale—deep amber with red highlights and a creamy-beige head that keeps a thick, silky cap.
Nose: malty oak and toasted caramel.
Palate: oaked malt with a slightly astringent, yet toasty finish. There's a slight bitterness on the sides and back of the tongue and a good, solid body.
Overall impression: the oak adds a nice complexity to what is otherwise a common cream ale. That is to say, I've always liked their cream ale but I tend to not reach for it when I'm shopping for this style of beer. The oak-aged version, on the other hand, reminds be of another ale—one that I do reach for every once and a while: the classic, Innis & Gunn Original.
Muskoka's anniversary cream ale is rich, creamy, and is easily drinkable. I would definitely reach for it when I'm in the LCBO. And because it's a limited edition, I suggest you reach for it soon.
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Congratulations to Muskoka Brewery for 20 successful years. I'm raising my glass and wishing you at least another 20 more.
Cheers!
I almost had a panic attack, last night.
I was starting up my computer, ready to sit down and write this post, when the unthinkable happened: I couldn't find my notebook.
It's a simple notebook, with a hard, brown cover. The inside pages are blank, unlined. The only thing in this book are the notes that I have taken with the beers that I have consumed, with the intention of reviewing them. Everything that has been written for the past year in this blog is contained within the opening pages.
And I misplaced the book.
I ran around the house, looking in every place that I would possibly put this book, without success. And I was freaking out: sure, I could write future reviews in any old book, but I had reviews in this book that I haven't yet published.
And today's review was important.
I found the book, eventually, near the computer, tucked behind the monitor. I must have tucked it there earlier, when I was working from home, with my office laptop stacked on my personal one, and I had made room for office notes.
I'm so glad that I found these notes, because recreating them would have meant that I would have to replace the beer that I had consumed and start from scratch. Not that that would have been so bad: I could easily drink this beer again.
But it was just over a year ago that I first reviewed this Ottawa brewery, and now that these brewers have just surpassed their one-year anniversary in Ottawa, I wanted to pay tribute to them again.
With Bicycle Craft Brewery's first anniversary, I have seen Fariborz Behzadi and his wife, Laura, grow this excellent brew house to the success that it is today, with their five mainstay brews and their countless seasonals and one-offs. While I was sorry to miss their anniversary party, I was lucky enough to try five recent seasonals.
All of them were excellent: two of them, Isidore's Harvest Ale and Pumpkin Spice Ale, I enjoyed last year and was keen to have them again. The Pumpkin Spice Ale is the best in the city, and is the only pumpkin ale that I'm going to drink this season (I've reviewed too many over the past couple of years and am pumpkinned out, except for this one).
One nice fruit ale that came out this season was Edgewood Avenue. I enjoyed it the day after my Thanksgiving feast, with a cold turkey sandwich, and it was a marriage made in heaven, with the nice malt and slightly tart fruit, mixed with the poultry and stuffing (yes, I put stuffing in my turkey sandwich!). Yum!
On The Lam was released at the anniversary party, and is a delicious IPA that does not overpower the bitter taste sensors, but provides a great balance of hops and citrus. It's an ale that I could drink all day long—a half-growler was not enough.
But my favourite of their seasonal ales is the one that I will focus on for this review, and now that I've found my notes, let's get to it.
City Hops (4.9% ABV)
Bicycle Craft Brewery
Ottawa ON
Appearance: dried apricot, with good effervescence; a creamy, off-white head that stays to a thick, solid cap.
Nose: mild, citrus hops; slightly herbal.
Palate: slightly tart with grassy notes that grow to fully bitter hops and a full finish.
Overall impression: this ale got better and better with each sip, and it started off great. It's an ale that needs to open up and when it does, it's brilliant.
I didn't need my notes to remember that this harvest ale needs to be snapped up while it's available (please say it's still available, Fariborz and Laura!).
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Grab the other seasonals while they last, too, and wish the folks at Bicycle Craft a happy first anniversary, with many more ahead.
Cheers!
