Muskoka Spring Oddity

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:50 am

Had this last night at The Ship.
$7.00 for a small glass. Usually they serve these types of beers up in the regular 20 oz pints, but for some reason, this one comes in a smaller serving. Anyway....

It is only slightly hazed, and fairly bright straw yellow, and poured a billowing bleached white creamy foam.
It is very fruity with some tropical notes alongside yeast, and floral spice.
It is quite boozy and sweet but has a nice bitterness and spicy finish. Reminds me of a tripel but they are calling it something else. No matter, it is a good beer.

cratez · Post by **cratez** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:16 pm

Great review, Len. Surprisingly the pub beside my apartment has it on tap, so I plan to try it tonight. Sounds like a pretty solid Tripel/BSPA. I'll report back with my thoughts!

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 7:15 pm

I found it boozy too, but still quite liked it...

Droogy · Post by **Droogy** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:45 pm

Found a 750 bottle today in Waterloo. Agree with the notes of the first post in that it tastes like a triple. Label says 8%. The head doesn't stick around like it would on a triple... Maybe just the use of Belgian yeast as it states on the label?

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:13 pm

rating from rb:
750ml bottle from the LCBO. pale clear golden with a white head. warm fermented belgian yeast eating candied sugar with juniper, nose. fermented candy sugar bleeding into lean pilsner malt with juniper berry and hop bitterness in the finish. really nice beer.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:26 am

cratez wrote:Great review, Len. Surprisingly the pub beside my apartment has it on tap, so I plan to try it tonight. Sounds like a pretty solid Tripel/BSPA. I'll report back with my thoughts!

Thank you my friend. I hope you enjoyed your pint. I had another tonight, alongside the mill street red beard or whatever it is called. Both nice brews overall!

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:00 am

Had a taster glass of the draft at Beer Bistro and pegged it as a Belgian style immediately. Based on the comments above, it appears this is the intention of the brewer (i.e., per the label of the bottled version).

Excellent beer and better IMO than most Belgians I've had of the type.

Gary

Jonah Hex · Post by **Jonah Hex** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:33 am

FYI, this is starting to show in the LCBO system:
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/produ ... ber=290973
as well as the Beer Store:
http://www.thebeerstore.ca/beers/muskoka-spring-oddity

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:39 am

If the ingredients list candied sugar, and yeast, does that mean it's bottle conditioned?

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:00 am

Probably not, for it to be bottle conditioned you would look for terms such as "Ale on lees/yeast" or "Bottle Re-fermented"

Candi Sugar can be used for bottle conditioning but is likely to be used to add alcohol without increasing body, and beer will always have yeast unless its been filtered with 0.5 micron filters

tyler90 · Post by **tyler90** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:12 pm

icemachine wrote:Probably not, for it to be bottle conditioned you would look for terms such as "Ale on lees/yeast" or "Bottle Re-fermented"

Candi Sugar can be used for bottle conditioning but is likely to be used to add alcohol without increasing body, and beer will always have yeast unless its been filtered with 0.5 micron filters

But if there's an excess of both, then that would be bottle-conditioning, no?

elproducto · Post by **elproducto** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:23 pm

Candy sugar is used in the boil to help dry it out, and can add colour as well as flavor. A staple in Belgian brewing.

Picking some up after work.. very glad they dropped the price on this seasonal.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 5:54 pm

Having my first taste from a bottle - I'm not a huge fan of tripels, or BSPAs, but I have to say this is pretty good. Still tastes pretty boozy to me, but then all tripels taste boozy to me.

The finish is a bit harsh for me, and that may be the booze or the bitterness from the herbs.

The aroma is wonderful. I think I'd rather sniff it than drink it, actually. The smell is an herby, but also sweet (like candy amazingly).

Probably a fun beer to bring to parties with "non-beer folk".

Lukie · Post by **Lukie** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:05 pm

Yes, at first the Oddity tastes like a tripel but more similar to a La Fin Du Monde or a Charlevoix type of tripel due to the spices. I did not enjoy the caramel/toffee hop profile in this beer. At the end, it tastes more like a spiced up British IPA to me. Maybe the sushi I had just before the Oddity didn't do justice to it.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:30 am

We've long complained about lack of beer styles in Ontario, and Belgian styles in particular are non-existent. So this is another good sign yes?

Props to beers like Muskoka Mad Tom IPA, Amsterdam Tempest RIS and Bellwoods Saison, beers which look the part to inspire what's missing in our brew scene.