The Bar Towel

First of all, I was surprised to find there hasn't been a thread for Muskoka here. It's amazing how spoiled for choice we have become! You'd think someone would have had something to say about Muskoka in all these years. Perhaps they should have released a fried chicken sour to get on our radar. /s

I wanted to call out their recently released Munich To My Ears marzan. It is very well executed and a treat for those of us longing for great traditional lagers.

Tapsucker wrote:First of all, I was surprised to find there hasn't been a thread for Muskoka here. It's amazing how spoiled for choice we have become!

I would have though there'd be a thread for them too. Perhaps they're just not exciting enough. I've always like Mad Tom.

Tapsucker wrote:Perhaps they should have released a fried chicken sour to get on our radar.

Tapsucker wrote:First of all, I was surprised to find there hasn't been a thread for Muskoka here. It's amazing how spoiled for choice we have become! You'd think someone would have had something to say about Muskoka in all these years. Perhaps they should have released a fried chicken sour to get on our radar. /s

I wanted to call out their recently released Munich To My Ears marzan. It is very well executed and a treat for those of us longing for great traditional lagers.

Agreed, it's a really well-done festbier. Muskoka is an all around solid brewery and while they might not be the most exciting, they certainly put out some nice specialties from time-to-time. My only gripe is that they've messed with Harvest Ale too much, they need to return to the recipe from when it was in the 750 ml bottles.

I've always kind of had a soft spot for Muskoka. Partly because they were one of the best local breweries at the time I was really starting to get into craft beer, and a couple of cool experiences I had visiting their brewery around that time. However, I've definitely paid less attention to them for quite a while now. I've just really felt they've been aiming more for the mass market rather than the quality they previously had, while at the same time spreading themselves too thing with their non-core offerings. Particularly my beloved Spring Oddity and Harvest Ale have not at all been what they once were ~7-8 years ago.

But, even their core offerings are still relatively solid, so I haven't totally disowned them.

Anyway, I did try their Marzen a while ago. I wasn't overly impressed, but after reading this I'm going to try again.

I also try the Harvest Ale every year just to check. I've had a couple this year, it's.... not bad. Not much else to say, at least one of the times I was drinking it out of a can while walking so I can't get to fine with my assessment.

I like these simple local breweries scattered throughout out large province.

Of course now Godspeed is my local, so there's no lack of good Oktoberfest / Märzen or other tasty offerings to sway me to Muskoka lagers etc. I would order Mad Tom on tap, if that's what's going. I'm grateful Tom helped prime the Ontario brewing scene & LC that were embarrassingly lacking in IPA style beers, while now there may be hundreds.

I'd buy a good Harvest Ale or something if it were as highly recommended as some past ones have been. At this point I'd happily enjoy Muskoka if I were at some lake up north.

S M A wrote:I also try the Harvest Ale every year just to check. I've had a couple this year, it's.... not bad. Not much else to say, at least one of the times I was drinking it out of a can while walking so I can't get to fine with my assessment.

So I've done the same thing for the past few years and this year's was an even bigger let down. I'm finding it watery and bland, not getting much of anything from it. I think I'm done with this experiment, time to move on since I'm getting less hopeful that it'll ever taste like it originally did.

seangm wrote:

S M A wrote:I also try the Harvest Ale every year just to check. I've had a couple this year, it's.... not bad. Not much else to say, at least one of the times I was drinking it out of a can while walking so I can't get to fine with my assessment.

So I've done the same thing for the past few years and this year's was an even bigger let down. I'm finding it watery and bland, not getting much of anything from it. I think I'm done with this experiment, time to move on since I'm getting less hopeful that it'll ever taste like it originally did.

Same here, every year I buy with hope it’s returned to what it once was. Alas, it never is. But I actually found this year’s better than last year.

Lots of activity in the industry recently. Here's more.

Muskoka Brewery Acquires Rally Beer Company

S. St. Jeb wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 12:35 pm Lots of activity in the industry recently. Here's more.

Muskoka Brewery Acquires Rally Beer Company

I kind of laugh at Rally Beer (which I am not sure I have ever seen or interacted with), as they are a beer with electrolytes. Years ago Sleeman made a beer with coconut water targeted at active folks and were soundly ridiculed a mocked by beer nerds & media. Ahead of the curve they were...

Cass wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 1:07 pm

S. St. Jeb wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 12:35 pm Lots of activity in the industry recently. Here's more.

Muskoka Brewery Acquires Rally Beer Company

I kind of laugh at Rally Beer (which I am not sure I have ever seen or interacted with), as they are a beer with electrolytes. Years ago Sleeman made a beer with coconut water targeted at active folks and were soundly ridiculed a mocked by beer nerds & media. Ahead of the curve they were...

lol yea, same here. It sounded so gimmicky and the efficacy seems questionable. Muskoka must see something in the brand though...

seangm wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 4:23 pm

Cass wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 1:07 pm

S. St. Jeb wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 12:35 pm Lots of activity in the industry recently. Here's more.

Muskoka Brewery Acquires Rally Beer Company

I kind of laugh at Rally Beer (which I am not sure I have ever seen or interacted with), as they are a beer with electrolytes. Years ago Sleeman made a beer with coconut water targeted at active folks and were soundly ridiculed a mocked by beer nerds & media. Ahead of the curve they were...

lol yea, same here. It sounded so gimmicky and the efficacy seems questionable. Muskoka must see something in the brand though...

I had a Rally and it was better than I expected, but it really is a silly gimmick. With that and the non-alc Athletic Brewing that I'm seeing everywhere, what's next? Steroid Stout?

shintriad wrote: ↑Thu Nov 03, 2022 12:35 pm I had a Rally and it was better than I expected, but it really is a silly gimmick. With that and the non-alc Athletic Brewing that I'm seeing everywhere, what's next? Steroid Stout?

Barrel aged pumpkin spice radlers.