#136: Canada Trip » Muskoka Mad Tom IPA, Great Lakes Miami Weiss, Lake Effect IPA, Winter Ale, Junction Conductors

Over the weekend, I trekked up to Ontario, Canada with my band Mouth To Mouth To Mouth for the second time this year. Last time around I had an enjoyable pass through several tastings of Canadian craft beers, but it still felt like I was missing the big flavors brews. Apart from a few moderate stand-outs, most of what I'd run across hung on the English side of drinkable, but shy on flavor.

We rolled up to Toronto on Friday night, in preparation for the fest we were playing on Saturday and were lucky enough to stay with my friends Adam and Miranda of Godstopper, who stayed with me in Ithaca less than a month prior.

During that stay, we partook in Ithaca's Box of Hops and Dogfish Punkin and Captain Lawrence's Pumpkin Ale. Afterwards, they vowed to show me the flavor-rich underbelly of Canadian craft brewing and boy, did they deliver!

Muskoka » Mad Tom IPA | ABV: 6.4% | IBU: 65 | Rating: 8.7
This IPA is on the mild side of bitter. Sweet and bitter grapefruit, smooth body, and soft carbonation makes this one an easy drinker and a great start to the evening. There's a nice touch of citrus pith in the finish as well. A solid IPA.

Great Lakes Brewery » Miami Weiss Wheat Ale (Etobicoke, ON) | ABV: 4.5% | Rating: 9/10
Miami Weiss really took the cake. This aromatic brew starts off with a big nose of passion fruit and smooth, soft hops. Great Lakes took a traditional German style and packed it full of Pacific Northwest hops for a surprisingly unique beer.

Lots of bread and fruit notes alongside firm, drinkable hop pine and resin flavors, presented with a hazy yellow body and nice mouthfeel. An easy high rating on this one.

Great Lakes Brewery » Lake Effect IPA (Etobicoke, ON) ABV: 7.0% | IBU: 70 | Rating:
This second offering from Great Lakes is packed with great, big hops. Fruity grapefruit aromas start things off, followed by a rush of big, bitter hop flavors in the taste. It's dry, with a pleasant tang in the finish.

Clean, crisp mouthfeel backed by grassy hop bitterness. This one never ventures in too fruity, staying on the darker, mature, dry side of IPAs.

Great Lakes Brewery » Winter Ale (Etobicoke, ON) | ABV: 6.2% | Rating:
I'll trust just about any winter warmer from our neighbors to the north. This special brew pours out dark ruby with a touch of white head. Elegant spices of cinnamon, orange peel, and ginger are present, along with a distinct sweetness and a touch of hop heat. It's smooth the whole way through and never succumbs to the overly-velvet or potpourri realm, which plagues many cold-weather offerings.

Junction Craft Brewery » Conductor's Craft Ale | ABV: 5.3% | Rating: 8.9/10
This tall-boy delivers a transparent amber body, topped with white head. Engaging and alluring would probably be my best two words for this one. Using 5 malts and 5 hops, Conductor's is malty and dry, but not particularly hoppy at first. Subtle, restrained hop flavors pass through pine, earth, lemon, toasted, and caramel stages further through the tastings. Mild esters and a touch of rye flavors compliment this compelling beer.

An impressive, well-crafted hybrid Pale.

Great Lakes Brewery » Devil's Pale Ale | | ABV: 6.0% | Rating: 8.9/10
This was one I got to try on draft and out of a tall-boy can. By far the biggest hop presence of any Canadian beer I've had so far. Didn't have time for many notes on this one, but rest assured you're in for plenty of hop-hell bitterness!

A few more pics below...