Muskoka Cream Ale I Muskoka brewery
Bracebridge, ON | ABV: 5.0% | IBU'S: 20 | Style: Cream ale | Colour: Yes
Cream ale. That term has been tainted for me because of Sleeman Cream Ale and an host of other beers bearing that name, which are barely distinguishable from a Molson Export. As a result, I don't buy cream ales because they are usually a titanic disappointment. Well imagine my surprise to find that Muskoka Cream Ale is actually really damn good. The reason: it doesn't taste like a cream ale. Muskoka Cream Ale is actually more like an amber ale or a lightly bittered English pale ale, and a really good one to boot.
In fact, prepare yourselves folks, because I'm going to stroke this beer's ego pretty hard because quite frankly it's just a really enjoyable pint. Come summertime, one of my favourite things is a well executed red or amber ale, mostly because the good ones provide the refreshment factor of a lager with the flavour factor of...well...non-lagers. To me, Muskoka Cream Ale is the quintessential amber ale because it is flavourful, light in body, has a perfect mouth-feel, drinks easier than water, and has no aftertaste. On top of this, it goes extremely well with food, so Muskoka's claim that this is a stellar cottage beer is not just marketing. It's very true. This beer's 5.0% ABV and perfectly low 20 IBU's are both good indicators of how easy this beer is to drink, but the flavour is even more reason to buy it. There's really no indication of the typical cream ale treatments of lagering, lager yeasts, or adding adjuncts to dumb it down. Muskoka Cream Ale has the characteristics of an ale all the way home. Smooth caramel flavour from the malts, grassy and earthy undertones, and hints of hop bitterness for balance are all featured here. It's miles maltier than any cream ale I've ever had, so it has a tonne more complexity and depth of flavour than most its brethren. Despite this, it manages to stay very light, so it drinks easy, dances across your tongue, and provides all the refreshingness of a lager, without the creamed corn flavours.
I can only thank my lucky stars that Cream Ale is featured in Muskoka's Survival Sampler, otherwise I never would have even tried this absolute gem.
In fact, prepare yourselves folks, because I'm going to stroke this beer's ego pretty hard because quite frankly it's just a really enjoyable pint. Come summertime, one of my favourite things is a well executed red or amber ale, mostly because the good ones provide the refreshment factor of a lager with the flavour factor of...well...non-lagers. To me, Muskoka Cream Ale is the quintessential amber ale because it is flavourful, light in body, has a perfect mouth-feel, drinks easier than water, and has no aftertaste. On top of this, it goes extremely well with food, so Muskoka's claim that this is a stellar cottage beer is not just marketing. It's very true. This beer's 5.0% ABV and perfectly low 20 IBU's are both good indicators of how easy this beer is to drink, but the flavour is even more reason to buy it. There's really no indication of the typical cream ale treatments of lagering, lager yeasts, or adding adjuncts to dumb it down. Muskoka Cream Ale has the characteristics of an ale all the way home. Smooth caramel flavour from the malts, grassy and earthy undertones, and hints of hop bitterness for balance are all featured here. It's miles maltier than any cream ale I've ever had, so it has a tonne more complexity and depth of flavour than most its brethren. Despite this, it manages to stay very light, so it drinks easy, dances across your tongue, and provides all the refreshingness of a lager, without the creamed corn flavours.
I can only thank my lucky stars that Cream Ale is featured in Muskoka's Survival Sampler, otherwise I never would have even tried this absolute gem.
