Muskoka Mad Tom IPA

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:28 pm

Huh. Perhaps I will need to revisit that one.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:05 pm

JeffPorter wrote:
icemachine wrote:I had a can of the Muskoka Dark the other day, and while not a robust porter, definitely more than a dark ale, different class from the Hockley Dark or Neustadt 10W30
IMHO, this is the best brown ale (light porter?) we have in the province. Every once and a while I just cravings for a brown ale, and this is the one I reach for - great for braising with too...

having one right now:
dark brown, tan head, toasted malt, chocolate, light caramel, layer of dark fruit, slightly sweet, slightly chewy, touch of roast, hints of smoke, not well hopped enough to be a porter, but darker and fuller then most brown ales

NRman · Post by **NRman** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:58 pm

matt7215 wrote: this is the most consistent IPA we have in this province

Hey Matt
2 things
1. we agree. Emma and I are loving Mad Tom.
2. We were drinking it last night at Burn's Howff with carguy and Mrs carguy and as we stumbled home he mentioned you live close by! Next time we are there we'll call you. They had 24 MTs and we did leave a few.....

BTW if you ever see Chasing Zero playing in Cambridge - go in...they are fantastic if you like 90s grunge and alternative covers. Foos, STP, Alice in Chains, Tool, etc etc.

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:55 pm

Wow, just had a can of this tonight.

Amazingly fresh! It's like a different beer..

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:22 am

I agree the 'regular' Muskoka beers are very decent and I'm just as glad if they stay in the lineup. I found them all to be surprisingly 'finished' beers... the Hefe and Dark stood out for me as commercially appealing yet very tasty.

Maybe the lack of fanfare makes us take some good Ontario brews for granted?

Anyway back on topic, I believe putting Mad Tom in cans will help sell the beer to an even broader fan base. I run into people shopping who want JUST cans, and it sure is easie for people to take a chance on a single than a six-pack.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:30 am

matt7215 wrote: im sure the craft lager is a huge volume product for Muskoka so that is likely here to stay

the cream ale is a fantastic ontario session ale, very approachable to newbs but highly enjoyable session pale ale for anyone, next time you feel likely a 5% pale ale give it a try

the dark is basically a porter already, they'd just have to rebrand it as Muskoka Porter

I actually really liked the lager:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/66 ... /?ba=Derek

Flawless and easy-drinking with some nice flavour.

I think the cans definitely work with the cottage country image.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:59 pm

i can not get over how much i love this IPA

carguy · Post by **carguy** » Tue May 22, 2012 2:49 pm

I see my local LCBO has started stocking the cans, which I was quite excited about until I saw the price. It is the same price as the 6 pack of bottles, if you work out the price per ml. It is $9.50 cheaper to buy a 2-4 of bottles from TBS than the equivelant (four six packs, or 18 cans) from the LCBO.

Now, I'm no fan of TBS, and have been known to spend a lot of money on beer, but that's quite a difference, so I'm going to keep getting my Mad Tom at TBS, as I'm there once a month anyway returning bottles.

Just an FYI in case anyone likes good beer AND likes saving money.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Tue May 22, 2012 3:41 pm

matt7215 wrote:
JeffPorter wrote:
icemachine wrote:I had a can of the Muskoka Dark the other day, and while not a robust porter, definitely more than a dark ale, different class from the Hockley Dark or Neustadt 10W30
IMHO, this is the best brown ale (light porter?) we have in the province. Every once and a while I just cravings for a brown ale, and this is the one I reach for - great for braising with too...
having one right now:
dark brown, tan head, toasted malt, chocolate, light caramel, layer of dark fruit, slightly sweet, slightly chewy, touch of roast, hints of smoke, not well hopped enough to be a porter, but darker and fuller then most brown ales

It's been awhile since I've had any of them, but I always found the 10W30 to be more complex and flavourful than the Muskoka Dark.

Muskoka was third in the province for me, with the 10W30 being tops and and Black Oak coming in at second.

Cale · Post by **Cale** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:36 pm

I revisited a lot of the brown ales shortly after Muskoka switched up their labels. I think I found it was the Hockley Valley I liked the most, which surprised me.

In the end it was a pointless exercise as I don't ever buy brown ales!

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:38 pm

Cale wrote:I revisited a lot of the brown ales shortly after Muskoka switched up their labels. I think I found it was the Hockley Valley I liked the most, which surprised me.

In the end it was a pointless exercise as I don't ever buy brown ales!

i did the exact same thing

when i feel like brown ale (which is rarely) Hockley is the one I buy

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:10 pm

carguy wrote:I see my local LCBO has started stocking the cans, which I was quite excited about until I saw the price. It is the same price as the 6 pack of bottles, if you work out the price per ml. It is $9.50 cheaper to buy a 2-4 of bottles from TBS than the equivelant (four six packs, or 18 cans) from the LCBO.

It's pretty much the same when you buy any case of 24 at The Beer Store vs. buying 4 six packs or 18 cans of the same beer at the LCBO. It might not always be a difference of $9.50, but it's always at least a few bucks difference.

It's not as if the LCBO is charging more than TBS for the smaller unit sizes. A sixer of Mad Tom sells for the same price both places. But since TBS is also allowed to sell 12 and 24 packs while the LCBO isn't, they have the advantage of bulk pricing on those larger units.

Personally, since I rarely drink the same beer twice in a row, buying more than a six pack of any beer doesn't make sense to me. But for those who are inclined to stick with one beer for a few sessions, buying by the case at TBS is definitely a better value.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Wed May 23, 2012 12:38 am

GregClow wrote:But since TBS is also allowed to sell 12 and 24 packs while the LCBO isn't, they have the advantage of bulk pricing on those larger units.

And why is that? Isn't the LCBO supposed to make the rules?

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Wed May 23, 2012 3:56 pm

Derek wrote:
GregClow wrote:But since TBS is also allowed to sell 12 and 24 packs while the LCBO isn't, they have the advantage of bulk pricing on those larger units.
And why is that? Isn't the LCBO supposed to make the rules?

My understanding is that the price "per unit" has to be the same everywhere in Ontario e.g. a six pack costs the same at the brewery, the beer store, LCBO.

The real question then is why can 4x6 be considered a 24 at TBS and not the LCBO?

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Thu May 24, 2012 3:33 pm

JerCraigs wrote: The real question then is why can 4x6 be considered a 24 at TBS and not the LCBO?

And why doesn't the LCBO carry cases of 24?

TBS should NOT have any control over the LCBO.