#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.

#031b: Canada Tour Brews (L'Alchimiste, Le Cheval, Alexander Keith's)

A few more pictures from time on the road in Canada...

Post show L'Alchimiste Bock De Joliette - a wonderfully malty Bock

Post show L'Alchimiste Blanche - Witbier

Closing out the night at Casa del Popolo with Le Cheval Blanc Blanche. 

A wonderfully refreshing Witbier.

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Picked up these two cans of Alexander Keith's for the show in Toronto. 

Single hop session tall-boys seemed like a good bet for my first Nova Scotian beers.

A bit underwhelming, but solid for a house show.

Found out later they're Anheuser–Busch InBev which explained a bit.

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I missed snapping a pic of St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale and Pale Ale. 

The McAuslan Abricot was quite nice...

#031a: Canada Tour Brews (Unibroue, Silversmith, Sawdust City, Amsterdam, Double Trouble, Cameron's, etc) at The Loose Moose (Toronto, ON)

When on tour, try new beer...

Location: The Loose Moose (Toronto, ON, Canada)

The Story? Anytime I'm visiting another city/state/country, I have to take a dip in the local cuisine and drafts. If I have beer enthusiast with me, the effect is amplified. Our touring guitarist (and co-headliner), Cameron Wisch is very much "into" beer, having brewed his own for some time now, even including them in releases such as Zona Mexican's "Washed Up IPA" and Sirs "IPA For An Answer".

After a bust at The Beer Store on the Dundas St. West and having been duped into visiting Steam Whistle Brewing (I'm sorry... you're an independent brewery and you brew one beer and its a generic pilsner?) on recommendation of a clerk at said Beer Store, we finally ventured around some construction and stumbled upon The Loose Moose.

Cameron, the rest of the band, and I quickly threw down orders off the craft-Canada section of the menu. Thank goodness for 3 oz. samples, otherwise I would have show up at the show in a wheel barrow.

The Beer? 
Round 1:

Silversmith Black Lager | 5% ABV | Niagara-on-the-Lake

Very Smooth and toasty. Light mouthfeel with a pleasantly lingering finish and nice coffee on the nose. A good start. Year-found offering from Silversmith (only one of two beers they brew).

Sawdust City Golden Beach Ale (Belgian Ale) | 4.5% ABV | Gravenhurst, ON

Mmmm! Tons of citrus on the nose. Lemony, low carbonation, light on the tongue and tummy, and lightly hopped. One of the best of the bunch. I would order this any time, especially summer. A uniquely citrus, unspiced, clean take on the Belgian style. 

Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA | 7.1% ABV | Toronto, ON

Different. An English influenced IPA for sure. Almost still and tastes good a bit warmer - but isn't on cask. Medium body. Unfiltered, Amarillo hops and 7 malts. Drinkable, but not in a throw-it-back kind of way. Hops come off a muted and the malts are mild. Very reminiscent of last summer in northern England. 

Double Trouble Hops & Robbers IPA | 5.7% ABV | 50 IBUs | Guelph, ON

Brighter than the Amsterdam, tasting more like a session IPA. Very quenching with hints of lemon. Crisp. 

Cameron's RPA (Rye Pale Ale) | 6.6% ABV | Oakville, ON

Now we're talking. This one starts blurring the British/American IPA line, with floral notes on the nose and more pungent American hops. Grapefruit and lingering hops on the tongue, while still smooth - not sharp. Toasty, pepper notes in the finish. One of the best Ontario craft beers I've run across so far. 

Round 2:

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly (Belgium-style Witbier) | 5.0% ABV | Chambly, QC

VERY clean. Hints of coriander peak through along with orange peel, pepper, and yeast. A classic wit. Dry on the finish and not sweet at all. I really need to remember to dig through this brewery further... 

Lake of Bays Spark House (Red Ale) | 5.0% ABV | Baysville, ON

Nice and bitter. Prickly carbonation with plenty of lemon & grapefruit hits through the hops. Solid. 

Junction Craft Brewing ESB | 5.0% ABV | Toronto, ON

Toasty, smooth, and very English. A bit of bitterness, but the finish smooths it all out. 

Highlander Brew Co. (Scotch Ale) - not pictured

Clean and malty. Very wet up front. Given on recommendation from the bartender as an "Uncivilized version of Innis & Gunn" - apt.


Overall, a pretty straight forward variety of independent beers with a couple very nice surprises - Sawdust City Golden Beach Ale & Cameron's RPA were the winners here. The bar itself was wonderful - good spacing and lighting and the 3 bartenders who hosted us were friendly, knowledgeable, and fun. Thumbs up.