Beer Spa

[midlife crisis]

A friend sent me this. Anyone familiar with it?

https://muskokabeerspa.com

[Tapsucker]

I know someone who does contracting up in that area and flagged this place with me just before they opened. He thought it has a lot of promise, but he did mention he felt the beer was pretty uninspired. I'm not sure if he did any work there or just got a sneak peak. The beer could have improved since then many months ago, or it could just be a gimmick. My wife spends time near there with friends so I have encouraged her to go on a reconnaissance trip. Since I would likely be paying for it, I'll make sure we get a full report...

[midlife crisis]

Thanks. I don't really see it appealing to guys unless they include something manly (ha ha) like golf or fishing. Plus, I have never heard of Clear Lake Brewing Co. And not to be too snarky, but beside the caption "best food you've ever had" is a picture of a pretzel, some onion rings and some other unidentified deep fried artery cloggers. So maybe not the "best" exactly. But having said that, it is kind of a unique idea.

[Tapsucker]

Yeah, golf or fishing would help get my attention, but chilling by a lake also works for me. Thing is, my mom lives on a lake, so I can always go chill there and I've set her up with a kegerator and keep it stocked up with homebrew. (most of the time when her friends don't clear it out too fast. LOL)

The Clear Lake idea appeals to me if it's a nice alternative with good beer to shill by a lake with strangers that might become new friends. Treat it like an extended stay at a favourite bar. Conversation, etc.

Your take on the food is pretty disturbing though. I didn't look at that. Youch!

One place I have yet to visit, but have had multiple recommendations to make sure I do is the Pohjala Taproom in Tallinn. Brewpub/Sauna mashup. It can't get any better than that!

[seangm]

I've had friends keep telling me about this place because I'm the "craft beer guy". Doesn't really seem like my thing though, too gimmicky and I don't really care for spas in the first place. I'd rather just rent a cottage or cabin on my own terms. The Clear Lake beers I've tried weren't very good either and seriously, that bit about "best food" beside a picture of onion rings and a pretzel? lol

Also Pohjala, do go. We didn't do the sauna thing but the whole facility is fantastic. In fact I can't recommend Tallinn enough, a gorgeous city and a seemingly underrated country in general. Lots of very good local breweries and craft imports too; I was impressed for such a small country, they punch above their weight.

[Tapsucker]

Also Pohjala, do go. We didn't do the sauna thing but the whole facility is fantastic. In fact I can't recommend Tallinn enough, a gorgeous city and a seemingly underrated country in general. Lots of very good local breweries and craft imports too; I was impressed for such a small country, they punch above their weight.

Thanks for the confirm on Estonia. That's my ancestry and outside of sentiment, I've been blown away on my visits. It helps that I know the language, but not as much as you would imagine as everyone seems to be multilingual. Though, I did get some friction from a bouncer once when I spoke English to my wife, he assumed I was a British lager lout and didn't want us to be in his establishment (hooligan Brits are still a problem there, especially during stag party season). I told him in Estonian we were from Canada and he was even more suspicious. LOL.

Probably the first brewpub (in the sense we would describe a brewpub here) in Tallinn is Hell Hunt (fair or gentle wolf). Recommended if you are visiting. I recall good food, solid beer and great community. The list has really expanded over the years, but the Hunt is still going.

Fun fact, I'm told the brewmaster at Pohjala came from Brew Dog.

[seangm]

Also Pohjala, do go. We didn't do the sauna thing but the whole facility is fantastic. In fact I can't recommend Tallinn enough, a gorgeous city and a seemingly underrated country in general. Lots of very good local breweries and craft imports too; I was impressed for such a small country, they punch above their weight.

Thanks for the confirm on Estonia. That's my ancestry and outside of sentiment, I've been blown away on my visits. It helps that I know the language, but not as much as you would imagine as everyone seems to be multilingual. Though, I did get some friction from a bouncer once when I spoke English to my wife, he assumed I was a British lager lout and didn't want us to be in his establishment (hooligan Brits are still a problem there, especially during stag party season). I told him in Estonian we were from Canada and he was even more suspicious. LOL.

Probably the first brewpub (in the sense we would describe a brewpub here) in Tallinn is Hell Hunt (fair or gentle wolf). Recommended if you are visiting. I recall good food, solid beer and great community. The list has really expanded over the years, but the Hunt is still going.

Fun fact, I'm told the brewmaster at Pohjala came from Brew Dog.

Hell Hunt was the first place we stopped actually, the place we were staying was just up the street. Now that you mention it we did see a number of rowdy soccer hooligans; the Euro qualifiers were going on if I recall, Estonia vs N Ireland. Definitely stag and doe parties all over as well. I guess we flew under the radar since we rarely stayed out too late haha. Definitely a country I'd love to visit again, get down to Tartu and see some more Baltic countries.